Systematic Debugging

Structured debugging prompt with ranked causes, confirmation steps, and fixes — avoids circular suggestions.

debuggingdevelopmentchatgpt

Prompt

I'm debugging a {{language}} issue in a {{framework}} app.

**Symptom:** {{describe what happens}}
**Expected:** {{describe expected}}
**Environment:** {{environment}}

**Error message (if any):**
```
{{error}}
```

**Relevant code:**
```
{{code}}
```

**What I've tried:**
- {{attempt 1}}
- {{attempt 2}}

Walk me through debugging this systematically:
1. What are the most likely root causes? (ranked by probability)
2. How to confirm which cause it is (specific commands or logs to check)
3. The fix for each possible cause

Variables to customize

{{language}}{{framework}}{{describe what happens}}{{describe expected}}{{environment}}{{error}}{{code}}{{attempt 1}}{{attempt 2}}

Why this prompt works

The ranked probability approach prevents ChatGPT from going down rabbit holes. Including what you've tried avoids circular suggestions.

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