MetaClaw do-not-retry-without-diagnosis

Common mistake — retrying the same failing command or API call without understanding why it failed. Always diagnose the root cause before retrying anything.

install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/aiming-lab/MetaClaw
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/aiming-lab/MetaClaw "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/memory_data/skills/do-not-retry-without-diagnosis" ~/.claude/skills/aiming-lab-metaclaw-do-not-retry-without-diagnosis && rm -rf "$T"
manifest: memory_data/skills/do-not-retry-without-diagnosis/SKILL.md
source content

Do Not Retry Without Diagnosis

Mistake pattern: Tool call fails → retry the same call → fails again → repeat.

Fix: After the first failure, read the error message carefully and diagnose the root cause before retrying.

Questions to ask:

  • Is this a transient error (network timeout, rate limit)? Retry with backoff.
  • Is this a permanent error (wrong input, missing resource, permission denied)? Fix the cause.

Anti-pattern: Blindly retrying or escalating without examining the error output.