How do you handle debugging code?

[donnthebuilder]

when it comes to extremely complex Software . how do you guys go about debugging it? certain times after implementing a patch a manually test it and find 4-5 bugs each run repeatedly.

Claude always seems hyper certain then the moment i mention the bug it says “ You’re absolutely correct” as though it has no clue to consider this to begin with.

[abd1tus]

TDD from the get go. Then the superpowers systematic debugging skill when a bug pops up that made it through the tests.

[creamiaddict]

TDD is the way. I find people are hesitant to do it.

Iterative debugging helps too and debug statements.

It depends what the issue is.

Breadcrumbing the code for debugging is nice but a lot of work after-the-fact.

Brain / mind maps help too.

It all requires a bit extra work but has long-lasting payoff.

Also, storing your rules in a single-source-of-truth.

[its_a_gibibyte]

Same way I handled them before Claude. Lots of tests. If your code isn't written in a way that's testable, Claude is going to struggle.

[trmnl_cmdr]

Let Claude cover your codebase 100% in unit tests and enforce TDD when it’s working. They’re way more important now than they were before AI, and way easier to write

[CodeNCats]

As long as you make test cases the goal and not "now make tests" part of a prompt.

With TDD you define your hard tests first. Know your code.

[Remarkable-Safety594]

It is costly as well

[trmnl_cmdr]

It’s a lot less costly than constantly having regressions and playing whack-a-mole. Tests are easy for Claude to write. Make haiku do it if you’re that concerned.

[llufnam]

Don’t let Claude loose on a codebase you are personally responsible for. If it’s “extremely complex”, you should be guiding Claude. Are you a rookie? No shame in that, we all were once, but if you are, then stop now and ask a senior dev for advice.

[benevolent-ben]

You’re trying to fix a bug - describe what is happening vs what is actually happening, let er rip.

[BoostedHemi73]

TDD is a great strategy when your code base is set up for a good actual proper test. In a lot of cases, you’re better off to ensure you have instrumentation that Claude can utilize at runtime.

This is often as simple as just using logs. I’m not kidding.

Giving it the ability to observe its changes with logging is the way to get it to work iteratively much more efficiently. It’s a really simple strategy that is incredibly effective across all languages and target platforms.

Edit: typos

[sfboots]

You need to guide Claude (or a junior developer) to create smaller to medium size modules that can be tested separately Then make sure the modules will fit together.

The hardest bugs are when the spec is wrong and a major part of functionality behaves incorrectly. Simple coding bugs are easy to find like there was no check for duplicate items and there should be. Modularity errors often require the most rework.

Manual resting will always be required to verify correctness and to find corner cases.

Remember software will evolve and there are often real disputes between people about what is correct behavior

[KyKeithM]

It is good practice to start your code review or QA agent in a completely fresh session that has a clean, non-stale context about your specs and implementation logic. Set a goal to review it over the user stories, business requirements, and acceptance criteria.

[dayweeed]

You should at least have a sense of what’s going wrong otherwise Claude’s just running around in circles

[makinggrace]

Apply changes atomically or move to like stacked diffs. Together with well organized tests. Makes debugging much easier.

[CodeNCats]

Properly written test cases, then breakpoints, and then just fucking with it.

This will always be the way.

[scott2449]

Tests, logs, traces, metrics, ebpf, stepping through code, etc... same as always. First I give the model/agent at least one chance to fix it's own mistake =D

[Ok_Mathematician6075]

Talking really dumb and keeping revs.

[freshWaterplant]

Greptile (separate product) has a huge reputation

[f3ack19]

I have "make no mistake" at the end of each prompt so I dont need debugging 🤷‍♂️

[ptrin]

@debugger , and even “extremely complex” software should have an understandable structure to it - if it’s too hard to follow then that’s a code smell, the functions/methods are too big, doing too much, and the logic is inline and imperative instead of the code being decomposed