Fix Root Causes

When debugging, fix the root cause, not the symptom. Trace every problem to its root cause and fix it there.

Why: Symptom fixes accumulate. Each workaround makes the system harder to reason about, and the real bug remains. Root-cause fixes are slower upfront but reduce total debugging time.

Pattern:

• Reproduce first, ideally as a failing test
• Ask "why" until you hit the root cause
• Leave out guards that only hide the failure (an if x is None: return that silences a crash, or a bare except, is a symptom fix)
• If a workaround needs a paragraph-long comment to justify it, the code is wrong (fix the code, not the comment)
• Check for the pattern, not just the instance (grep for the same pattern, fix all instances)
• When stuck, instrument instead of guessing (add logging, read the actual error and traceback)

Restart bugs: suspect state before code

When something "fails after restart," suspect stale persistent state first: config files, caches, lock files, serialized state. On firmware, that includes values kept in flash, EEPROM, or retained RAM across a reset. If clearing that state restores behavior, prioritize state validation as the fix.