meow:fix

Structured bug investigation and fix with auto-complexity detection, parallel exploration, and multiple workflow modes.

What This Skill Does

meow:fix is MeowKit's debugging pipeline. Instead of immediately editing code when you report a bug, it forces a structured investigation: assess complexity, choose the right workflow, find the root cause, write a regression test, then apply the minimal fix. The skill adapts its approach based on how complex the bug is — a typo gets a quick fix, while a cross-module race condition gets the full investigation treatment.

Core Capabilities

• Auto-complexity assessment — Classifies bugs as Quick (typo, config), Standard (logic, one module), or Deep (cross-cutting, architectural)
• Four fix modes — Autonomous (default), human-in-the-loop review, quick (for trivial issues), parallel (for multi-file problems)
• Root cause methodology — Uses meow:investigate for systematic 5-phase debugging
• Parallel exploration — Spawns multiple Explore subagents to verify hypotheses simultaneously
• Regression test guarantee — Every fix includes a test that fails without the fix and passes with it
• Scope locking — Uses meow:freeze to restrict edits to affected modules, preventing scope creep

When to Use This

Use meow:fix when...

• You've found a bug and need it investigated properly
• Tests are failing and you need to understand why
• A CI/CD pipeline is broken
• You're seeing unexpected behavior in production
• Type errors, lint failures, or UI glitches need fixing

Don't use meow:fix when...

• You're building a new feature → use meow:cook
• The issue is a design/architecture concern → use architect agent

Usage

# Default — autonomous mode, auto-detects complexity
/meow:fix login fails after 24 hours

# Review mode — pauses for approval at each step
/meow:fix payment processing timeout --review

# Quick mode — for trivial issues (typos, lint, config)
/meow:fix TypeScript error in auth.ts --quick

# Parallel mode — spawns agents per issue for multi-file problems
/meow:fix all failing tests in checkout module --parallel

Example Prompts

Prompt	Complexity	Mode
/meow:fix typo in README.md	Quick	Quick — direct fix, no investigation
/meow:fix session token not refreshed	Standard	Autonomous — investigate → fix → test
/meow:fix intermittent race condition in payment queue	Deep	Full investigation with parallel exploration
/meow:fix CI failing on main branch	Standard	Autonomous — check CI logs, reproduce, fix

Fix Pipeline (7 steps)

Step	What happens	Skills used
0	Mode selection	AskUserQuestion (Autonomous/HITL/Quick)
0.5	Check fix memory	Read memory/lessons.md + patterns.json for known fix patterns
1	Scout (mandatory)	meow:scout — map files, deps, tests
2	Diagnose	meow:investigate + meow:sequential-thinking
3	Complexity assessment	Route to Quick/Standard/Deep
4	Fix implementation	Address ROOT CAUSE, not symptoms
5	Verify + prevent (mandatory)	Regression test + defense-in-depth
6	Finalize + learn	Report, write fix pattern to memory, docs, commit

Self-Improving Fix Loop

After every fix, Step 6 writes the fix pattern to memory/patterns.json. Next time a similar bug appears, Step 0.5 finds the pattern and fast-tracks diagnosis — turning repeated bugs into instant fixes.

Fix bug #1 → write pattern (frequency: 1)
Fix bug #2 (same class) → read pattern → skip full diagnosis → apply known fix
After 3+ fixes → pattern promoted to CLAUDE.md rule (via meow:memory)

Skill Details

Phase: 1–5
Plan-First Gate: Plans if fix affects > 2 files. Skips with --quick mode.

Gotchas

• Fixing symptoms not root cause: Quick patch makes the test pass but underlying issue remains → Always investigate before implementing; use meow:investigate first
• Regression in adjacent code: Fix in one module breaks an unstated dependency → Run full test suite, not just tests for the changed file
• Test mocking hiding real failures: Mocked tests pass but real integration fails → Prefer integration tests for bug fixes; mock only external services

Related

• meow:investigate — The debugging methodology used inside fix
• meow:cook — Full pipeline for new features
• meow:scout — Helps find relevant files during investigation