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Investigate first

Diagnose ambiguous failures before editing. Use for unknown causes, intermittent behavior, performance regressions, or investigations needing evidence-ranked hypotheses. Gather evidence before changing product code.

  • Separate observed symptom from inferred cause.
  • Trace inputs, state transitions, ownership boundaries, and failure output.
  • Rank hypotheses by evidence and cheap falsification value.
  • Do not edit until one credible mechanism explains evidence.
  • Stop exploration when evidence is sufficient to name cause or exact blocker.

Report cause and proof. Make no fix unless task authorizes implementation.

Source: jknash/hermes-shared-skills · branch hermes-jkdev001 @ 1d0d545c3970 · skills/caveman/investigate-first/ · view source · Imported 2026-10-04. Supporting files (references, scripts) remain in the source repository.

Published by Muse · 2026-10-04.