Debugging on Jake Worth

Get Better at Debugging by Making Predictions

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 10:16:28 -0400

Shift to a proactive mindset by making predictions before any experiments in a debugging session.

Raise the "I'm Stuck" Flag

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 14:16:30 -0400

Consider this scenario. You’ve been given some work, and you’re stuck. Hours have become days. You’ve exhausted the internet. You’re starting to backtrack, delete work, and start over. Feeling defeated. To make matters worse, you haven’t told anybody.

Debugging Is a Story

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 13:27:03 -0400

Today I want to talk about a way I think about debugging: as a story that we tell to ourselves and each other.

"Don't Stay Stuck" Digital Guide Launch

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 09:33:04 -0400

I’m proud to announce the launch of my digital guide to software debugging, Don’t Stay Stuck: A Debugging Guide for Rising Engineers!

Banishing "Random" for Better Software Communication

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 12:19:04 -0400

“I’m still getting this random 404.”

Want to sound pro? Banish “random” from your software engineering vocabulary.

Don't Guess

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 09:30:56 -0400

This is a response to “Don’t Guess” from the excellent “The Best Programmers I Know” by Matthias Endler. My goal is to crystallize my understanding of this trait.

Your Software Is Confusing

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 10:16:44 -0400

If something in your software is confusing to a customer, it is confusing.

"I Don't Understand" Debugging

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 09:52:51 -0400

My definition of “I don’t understand” debugging.

Find Every Debugging Trail Marker

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

If you’ve ever watched me debug, you might think I’m moving slowly. That’s because I try hard to find every marker on the debugging trail. I believe this is one of the most valuable skills in debugging.

Thinking of Bugs in Classes

Sun, 03 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

We spent the time writing tests, and yet, a bug survived. Should we just stop writing tests? No, but we should maybe write better tests, and think about them differently.

The Case Against "Try This" Debugging

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In many group debugging sessions I’ve joined, a major technique being deployed is something I call “Try This” debugging. In this post, I’d like to talk about this anti-pattern, and consider a better way.

You Can't Change Nothing

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I saw a meme this week: a person debugging code, “My code doesn’t work. Let’s change nothing and run it again.”

This is something that I’ve done. It seems pointless. But that’s not quite correct.

All My Best Debugging Tips

Fri, 05 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This is a list of all the best debugging tips I’ve picked up over the years. Some of these might seem obvious, yet we forget them when it counts. Debugging is a skill. You have to bring every tool you have to the job.

Recognizing and Repairing a Broken Mental Model

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Perhaps you’re familiar with this scenario: you’re debugging and stuck. You’ve Googled, read some blog posts and docs. You return to your search engine, type some characters, and then something strange happens: the search engine autocompletes your question, and the results are all purple because they have been visited by you. I’ve come to recognize this moment as always a symptom of a broken mental model.

Logging an Object in JavaScript

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

When printing a JavaScript value to the console, I suggest using an object literal over the raw value.

How to Write a Perfect Bug Report (With Template)

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Bugs are part of software. Reporting bugs well is a necessary skill in an ever-growing number of job titles. In this post, I’d like to explain how to write a perfect bug report and offer some bug-reporting best practices.

Make a Prediction

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Imagine you’re debugging, and you’re stuck. I have a technique that’s going to help. Think of an action you might take. Predict what will happen when you take that action. Take the action. Check if you were right or wrong, consider that information, and repeat.

How to Identify the Breaking Commit With Git Bisect

Tue, 17 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Some code is broken, and you can’t figure out why. Maybe there are a lot of changes, and identifying the breaking change seems impossible. Or, maybe you’re curious about how things break in your organization. The tool you need is git-bisect.

The Problems With Code Screenshots

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Screenshots of code are common in developer communication, but they come with real drawbacks. Here’s why I try to avoid them.

How to Read a Stack Trace

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A stumbling block for many people when debugging is reading the stack trace. Today I’d like to discuss this important skill.

How Urgent Is This Bug?

Wed, 30 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I remember the first bug that I shipped to production. I was upset that I’d broken something and was anxious to fix it. But I noticed something curious: the calm demeanor of a senior mentor helping me. They refused to meet my intensity. While the world burned, they wanted to instead discuss the bug and its relative importance.

Debugging Tip: Learning From Bugs

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

You were stuck, and now you aren’t. Congratulations! Before you move on, it’s vital to stop and learn from it. It’s the best way I know to get better and spare your mind for increasingly harder problems.

Don't Stay Stuck

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

We’ve all seen this: a frustrated coworker hunched over a computer after hours, flailing alone against some impossible bug. Go home, coworker. Don’t stay stuck.

Before You Abort, Count to Ten

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s a trick that that has helped me as a programmer: before doing anything major, like killing a process, stop and count to ten.

Why I Don't Point Agile Bug Tickets

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

When I create Agile bug tickets, I leave the story points blank. Why? Two reasons: pointing bugs creates the wrong incentives, and bugs are hard to estimate.

Bug Reports Are Gold

Sat, 15 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Me: Hey, I’m experiencing an issue with your software. Here’s a detailed bug report.

SAAS Engineer: What you’re describing isn’t possible.

Narrator: But it was possible.

This is a frustrating, unproductive snippet of a conversation I’ve had a few times in my career. What can we learn? Treat bug reports like gold.