Bug Investigation

Testing & Quality

Systematic bug investigation and root cause analysis

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Bug Investigation

Systematic approach to investigating and fixing bugs in the @dotcontext/cli CLI tool.

When to Use

A CLI command (workflow, sync, mcp, etc.) produces incorrect output or crashes
An MCP tool returns an error or unexpected response
Semantic analysis (tree-sitter / LSP) fails on certain codebases
Scaffold generation produces malformed frontmatter or missing content
Workflow phase transitions behave incorrectly
Tests fail unexpectedly after changes

Project-Specific Investigation Surfaces

Area	Key Files	Common Issues
CLI commands	`src/index.ts`, `src/services/*/index.ts`	Commander option parsing, missing args
MCP server	`src/services/mcp/mcpServer.ts`, `src/services/mcp/gateway/*.ts`	repoPath resolution, Zod validation failures
Scaffold generation	`src/generators/*/`, `src/types/scaffoldFrontmatter.ts`	Frontmatter parsing, file path resolution
Scaffold fill via MCP	`src/services/ai/tools/fillScaffoldingTool.ts`, `src/services/mcp/gateway/context.ts`	Missing files, stale context, oversized responses
Semantic analysis	`src/services/semantic/codebaseAnalyzer.ts`, `src/services/semantic/treeSitter/`	tree-sitter optional dep missing, parse failures
Workflow	`src/workflow/`, `src/services/workflow/workflowService.ts`	Phase transition logic, gate checking
i18n	`src/utils/i18n.ts`	Missing translation keys, locale detection
Frontmatter	`src/utils/frontMatter.ts`	v1 vs v2 format confusion, status detection

Instructions

1. Reproduce the Bug

Run the CLI in dev mode to reproduce:

# Direct execution via tsx
npx tsx src/index.ts workflow --help

# For MCP-related bugs, capture stderr output
npx tsx src/index.ts mcp --verbose 2>mcp-debug.log

For MCP tool bugs, test the gateway handler directly in a script or test file rather than through the full MCP transport.

2. Identify the Service Layer

Trace the call path from the CLI command or MCP tool to the responsible service:

CLI command (src/index.ts)
  -> Service (src/services/<domain>/)
    -> Generator (src/generators/) or Util (src/utils/)

For MCP:

MCP tool (mcpServer.ts registerGatewayTools)
  -> Gateway handler (src/services/mcp/gateway/<tool>.ts)
    -> Service (src/services/<domain>/)

3. Check Known Fragile Points

Optional dependencies: tree-sitter and tree-sitter-typescript are in optionalDependencies. Code must handle their absence gracefully. Check src/services/semantic/treeSitter/treeSitterLayer.ts.
repoPath resolution: The MCP server has a 4-level priority: explicit param > cached path > initial path > process.cwd(). Bugs often arise from incorrect path resolution. See getRepoPath() in mcpServer.ts.
Frontmatter parsing: Two formats exist (v1 simple, v2 scaffold). Check src/utils/frontMatter.ts and isScaffoldFrontmatter().
Provider/default detection: Local model defaults are derived from src/services/ai/providerFactory.ts and src/utils/prompts/smartDefaults.ts. MCP-hosted generation usually relies on the connected tool's model.
File path handling: Always use path.resolve() or path.join(). Watch for relative vs. absolute path confusion, especially in contextBuilder.ts.

4. Use Existing Tests as Reference

Run the relevant test suite to see what is expected:

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run specific test file
npx jest src/services/mcp/mcpServer.test.ts

# Run tests matching a pattern
npx jest --testPathPattern="mcp"

Key test files:

src/services/mcp/mcpServer.test.ts -- MCP server instantiation
src/services/mcp/mcpServer.test.ts -- MCP tool registration and dispatch
src/services/semantic/codebaseAnalyzer.test.ts -- Semantic analysis
src/utils/frontMatter.test.ts -- Frontmatter parsing
src/utils/contentSanitizer.test.ts -- Content sanitization
src/workflow/gates/gateChecker.test.ts -- Workflow gate logic

5. Isolate with Logging

The project uses ora for spinners and chalk for colored output. For debugging:

CLI: Pass --verbose flag to enable detailed logging
MCP: The log() method writes to process.stderr when verbose: true
Services: Add temporary console.error() calls (never console.log() in MCP mode)

6. Fix and Verify

After identifying root cause:

Write a failing test that demonstrates the bug
Apply the fix in the appropriate service/util
Run the full test suite: npm test
Run the CLI manually to verify end-to-end: npx tsx src/index.ts <command>
Check TypeScript compilation: npm run build

Common Bug Patterns

"Cannot find module" at Runtime

Check if the import uses the @generators/agents/* path alias (defined in tsconfig.json)
Ensure the file is not excluded from compilation by tsconfig.json

MCP Tool Returns Unexpected Error

Check Zod schema validation in mcpServer.ts -- params may not match the schema
Check the gateway handler's switch statement for unhandled actions
Verify repoPath resolves to a directory with .context/ scaffolding

Frontmatter Status Not Detected

v2 scaffold files use scaffoldVersion: "2.0.0" and status: unfilled|filled
Ensure isScaffoldFrontmatter() check happens before v1 fallback
Check for BOM or encoding issues in the file header

Workflow Phase Transition Fails

Check gate configuration in src/workflow/gates/
Verify scale-dependent phase skipping (QUICK skips P and R)
Check src/workflow/prevcConfig.ts for scale definitions

MCP Scaffold Fill Produces Empty or Placeholder Guidance

Verify fillSingleFileTool can read the scaffold and build semantic context
Check scaffold structure registration via getScaffoldStructure()
Confirm SemanticContextBuilder is returning project-specific content
Check response size and cached-context invalidation behavior