root-cause

Hypothesis-driven debugging that ends at a proven root cause, not a symptom patch. Captures the failure verbatim by running the reproduction yourself, forms two to four ranked hypotheses each paired with a discriminating test ("if H1 is true, then X will show Y"), runs the cheapest discriminating test first and eliminates hypotheses iteratively, confirms the root cause by toggling it (break it again on purpose, then unbreak), then fixes, adds a regression test, verifies the original repro passes, and writes a five-line postmortem. Use when you say "debug this", "find the root cause", "why is this failing", "this bug keeps coming back", "the fix didn't stick", "intermittent failure", or when a previous quick fix only moved the error.

v2.0.0New

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SignedSLSA L2

Signed by: skills-hub.ai distributor
Method: Distributor-signed by skills-hub.aiCryptographically signed by the skills-hub.ai distributor key at publish time.
Signed: Jul 16, 2026, 8:22 PM

Install this skill

Run this command in your terminal. No account required — it auto-detects your AI tool and installs the skill file.

npx @skills-hub-ai/cli install root-cause

Or download directly:

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Setup by platform

Claude Code

~/.claude/skills/<skill>/SKILL.md

Setup guide →

Install

One-click setup for your editor

Run in your project root

npx @skills-hub-ai/cli install root-cause --target claude-code

Instructions

This skill doesn’t include stateful context yet, instructions only. Learn about stateful skills.

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Frequently asked questions about root-cause

What does the root-cause skill do?

How do I install the root-cause skill?

Run `npx @skills-hub-ai/cli install root-cause` from your terminal. The CLI writes the SKILL.md to the correct location for your AI tool (e.g. ~/.claude/skills/root-cause/ for Claude Code or ~/.cursor/skills/ for Cursor with --target cursor) and adds it to your project's .skills.json lockfile.

Which AI tools does root-cause work with?

root-cause runs in Claude Code. It follows the open Agent Skills standard (SKILL.md), so the same skill works in every supported tool without modification.

Is the root-cause skill free?

Yes. Every skill on skills-hub.ai is free and open-source. There are no premium tiers, paywalls, or usage limits. You only pay for whatever AI assistant you're already using.

How do I use root-cause after installing it?

In Claude Code, type `/root-cause` (or whatever slash command the skill registers) and the AI follows the skill's instructions immediately. You can also reference it by name in natural language, your AI loads the skill into context when relevant.

Can I share the root-cause skill with my team?

Yes. Commit your project's .skills.json lockfile and teammates run `npx @skills-hub-ai/cli install` (no args) to install every skill at the exact version you pinned. Organization-scoped installs work via skills-hub.ai organizations.