GitNexus gitnexus-debugging

Use when the user is debugging a bug, tracing an error, or asking why something fails. Examples: \"Why is X failing?\", \"Where does this error come from?\", \"Trace this bug\"

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/abhigyanpatwari/GitNexus

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/abhigyanpatwari/GitNexus "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/gitnexus-claude-plugin/skills/gitnexus-debugging" ~/.claude/skills/abhigyanpatwari-gitnexus-gitnexus-debugging-4a1e82 && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: gitnexus-claude-plugin/skills/gitnexus-debugging/SKILL.md

Debugging with GitNexus

When to Use

"Why is this function failing?"
"Trace where this error comes from"
"Who calls this method?"
"This endpoint returns 500"
Investigating bugs, errors, or unexpected behavior

Workflow

1. gitnexus_query({query: "<error or symptom>"})            → Find related execution flows
2. gitnexus_context({name: "<suspect>"})                    → See callers/callees/processes
3. READ gitnexus://repo/{name}/process/{name}                → Trace execution flow
4. gitnexus_cypher({query: "MATCH path..."})                 → Custom traces if needed

If "Index is stale" → run
npx gitnexus analyze
in terminal.

Checklist

- [ ] Understand the symptom (error message, unexpected behavior)
- [ ] gitnexus_query for error text or related code
- [ ] Identify the suspect function from returned processes
- [ ] gitnexus_context to see callers and callees
- [ ] Trace execution flow via process resource if applicable
- [ ] gitnexus_cypher for custom call chain traces if needed
- [ ] Read source files to confirm root cause

Debugging Patterns

Symptom	GitNexus Approach
Error message	`gitnexus_query` for error text → `context` on throw sites
Wrong return value	`context` on the function → trace callees for data flow
Intermittent failure	`context` → look for external calls, async deps
Performance issue	`context` → find symbols with many callers (hot paths)
Recent regression	`detect_changes` to see what your changes affect

Tools

gitnexus_query — find code related to error:

gitnexus_query({query: "payment validation error"})
→ Processes: CheckoutFlow, ErrorHandling
→ Symbols: validatePayment, handlePaymentError, PaymentException

gitnexus_context — full context for a suspect:

gitnexus_context({name: "validatePayment"})
→ Incoming calls: processCheckout, webhookHandler
→ Outgoing calls: verifyCard, fetchRates (external API!)
→ Processes: CheckoutFlow (step 3/7)

gitnexus_cypher — custom call chain traces:

MATCH path = (a)-[:CodeRelation {type: 'CALLS'}*1..2]->(b:Function {name: "validatePayment"})
RETURN [n IN nodes(path) | n.name] AS chain

Example: "Payment endpoint returns 500 intermittently"

1. gitnexus_query({query: "payment error handling"})
   → Processes: CheckoutFlow, ErrorHandling
   → Symbols: validatePayment, handlePaymentError

2. gitnexus_context({name: "validatePayment"})
   → Outgoing calls: verifyCard, fetchRates (external API!)

3. READ gitnexus://repo/my-app/process/CheckoutFlow
   → Step 3: validatePayment → calls fetchRates (external)

4. Root cause: fetchRates calls external API without proper timeout