principle-fix-root-causes

Fix Root Causes When debugging, do not paper over symptoms. Trace every problem to its root cause and fix it there. Why: Symptom fixes accumulate. Each workaround makes the system harder to reason about, and the real bug remains. Root-cause fixes are slower upfront but reduce total debugging time. Pattern: Reproduce first (if you can't reproduce it, you can't verify your fix) Ask "why" until you hit the root cause Resist the urge to add guards (adding a nil check to silence a crash is a symptom fix) If a workaround needs a paragraph-long comment to justify it, the code is wrong (fix the code, not the comment) Check for the pattern, not just the instance (grep for the same pattern, fix all instances) When stuck, instrument. Don't guess (add logging, read the actual error) Restart bugs: suspect state before code Code doesn't change between runs. State does. When something "fails after restart," suspect stale persistent state first: config files, caches, lock files, serialized state. If clearing a state file restores behavior, prioritize state validation as the fix. Installs 905 Repository cursor/plugins GitHub Stars 3.1K First Seen May 24, 2026 Security Audits Gen Agent Trust Hub Pass Socket Pass Snyk Pass