Connects your AI agent to a live debugger for runtime state inspection, stepping, and breakpoint control.

Install

mkdir -p .claude/skills/debugmcp && curl -L -o skill.zip "https://agentskills.codes/api/skills/download/15258" && unzip -o skill.zip -d .claude/skills/debugmcp && rm skill.zip

Installs to .claude/skills/debugmcp

Activation

This is the description your AI agent reads to decide when to run this skill — the better it matches your request, the more reliably it fires.

Use debugger-control capabilities such as session start, breakpoints, stepping, variable inspection, and expression evaluation when a task requires runtime evidence instead of static inspection alone.
200 chars✓ has a “when” trigger
Intermediate

Key capabilities

  • Start a debug session
  • Set breakpoints
  • Step through code execution
  • Inspect variable values
  • Evaluate expressions

How it works

The skill enables interaction with a live debugger to observe code execution, allowing for real-time state inspection and expression evaluation.

Inputs & outputs

You give it
Code with a runtime issue
You get back
Root cause of the issue confirmed by runtime evidence

When to use debugmcp

  • Reproduce bugs dependent on complex runtime state
  • Inspect variable values at specific execution breakpoints
  • Step through async control flow to identify timing issues
  • Compare actual versus expected state at critical application boundaries

About this skill

DebugMCP

Use this skill when the fastest path to root cause is a live debugger with breakpoints, stepping, runtime state inspection, or expression evaluation.

Good Fit

  • Reproducing a bug that depends on runtime values, control flow, async timing, or test state.
  • Confirming why a function returns the wrong value or why an exception is thrown.
  • Comparing expected and actual state at a precise execution point.
  • Debugging a specific test, script, application entry point, or integration boundary.

Weak Fit

  • Purely static tasks such as formatting, refactors with no behavior change, or documentation updates.
  • Failures that are already explained by diagnostics, logs, or a clear compile error.
  • Environments where the host cannot start or control a debug session.

Default Workflow

  1. Confirm that a live debugger is warranted and static inspection is not enough.
  2. Read the host's debugging instructions or guide before starting a session.
  3. Verify the exact target file, working directory, and if relevant the specific test or launch configuration.
  4. Start one debug session and place the smallest useful set of breakpoints near the suspected boundary.
  5. Step, inspect variables, and evaluate expressions until the root cause is confirmed.
  6. Clear breakpoints and stop or restart the session as needed.

Guardrails

  • Do not assume exact tool names; hosts expose DebugMCP-equivalent capabilities differently.
  • Keep one active debug session unless the host clearly supports more.
  • Prefer narrow breakpoints at entry points, failure boundaries, or state transitions.
  • Separate symptom collection from root-cause confirmation; inspect runtime state before editing code.
  • Fall back to static analysis when debugger prerequisites are unavailable.

Examples

  • A unit test fails only under certain inputs. Start a debug session for that test, pause at the assertion boundary, and inspect the state that produced the mismatch.
  • A handler returns the wrong result. Break on the decision point, step through the branch, and evaluate the inputs that led there.

See the workflow reference for a practical debugging loop and the troubleshooting reference for prerequisite checks and recovery steps.

When not to use it

  • For purely static tasks like formatting or documentation updates
  • When failures are explained by diagnostics or compile errors
  • In environments where the host cannot start or control a debug session

Limitations

  • The host must expose DebugMCP or equivalent debugger-control capabilities
  • Only one active debug session is preferred unless the host supports more
  • Narrow breakpoints are preferred at entry points, failure boundaries, or state transitions

How it compares

This skill provides direct debugger control for runtime evidence, which is more precise for confirming root causes than static inspection alone.

Compared to similar skills

debugmcp side by side with the closest alternatives in the catalog.

SkillInstallsUpdatedSafetyDifficulty
debugmcp (this skill)05moNo flagsIntermediate
godot1,0445moReviewIntermediate
python-testing-patterns772moReviewIntermediate
error-handling-patterns352moNo flagsIntermediate

Try saying

Example prompts that trigger this skill in your AI assistant.

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