github-actions-debugger

GitHub Actions Pipeline Debugger

Overview

This skill is designed to act as an expert CI/CD diagnostician. It focuses specifically on reading raw logs from failed GitHub Actions, identifying the root cause of the crash or failure, and outputting the precise YAML or code changes required to fix the pipeline.

When to Use

• Use when a GitHub Actions workflow fails unexpectedly and the error log is long, obscure, or misleading.
• Use when debugging dependency mismatch errors, missing secrets, caching issues, or runner environment problems in CI.
• Use to optimize slow pipelines by identifying bottlenecks in workflow steps.
• Use to update and modernize deprecated actions or workflow syntax.

How It Works

1. Log Ingestion & Redaction: Analyze the provided GitHub Actions workflow log (often exported as a raw text file or pasted directly). CRITICAL SAFETY REQUIREMENT: The user/agent must redact all sensitive credentials, secrets, tokens, private keys, and internal system paths from the logs before pasting or uploading them.
2. Context Mapping: Cross-reference the failure point with the specific step and job in the .github/workflows/*.yml definition.
3. Root Cause Analysis: Identify if the failure is due to:

• Missing or misconfigured secrets (${{ secrets.API_KEY }}).
• Node/Python/OS environment version mismatches.
• Flaky tests or timeout