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/debug-extension

Diagnose and fix failures in a built third-party `.ppmplugin` control: crashes, silent no-ops, PCF error outputs, or incorrect behavior. Uses the reported symptom, `shared/error-codes.md`, and file-level evidence to trace the manifest, Android/iOS modules, PCF dispatch, and

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power-platform-skills
1.1k110 skills25 agents5 MCP

Claude Code

$ npx -y skills add microsoft/power-platform-skills --skill debug-extension --agent claude-code

SKILL.md

debug-extension.SKILL.md
name: debug-extension
description: "Diagnose and fix failures in a built third-party `.ppmplugin` control: crashes, silent no-ops, PCF error outputs, or incorrect behavior. Uses the reported symptom, `shared/error-codes.md`, and file-level evidence to trace the manifest, Android/iOS modules, PCF dispatch, and build configuration. Produces a ranked diagnosis, asks for approval, then applies a surgical fix while keeping the committed manifest and affected contracts synchronized. Re-validates manifest changes through /generate-ppmplugin-manifest."
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, Grep, AskUserQuestion, Skill
model: opus

/debug-extension

Investigate a failure the user observed while testing a **built** `.ppmplugin` control, find the root cause, and fix it. The wrap binary runs inside the customer's shell with **no logcat / Xcode console / native debugger reachable**, so the evidence is usually just the PCF's `ErrorCode` / `ErrorMessage`, the raw `<name>Json` diagnostic output, a host log line, or the user's description of what they saw. This skill turns that thin evidence into a located root cause and a fix.

**Investigation-first, fix as the resolution.** Unlike a plain "apply this change" flow, `/debug-extension` starts from a *symptom* and works backward to a *cause* before touching code. When the cause is found, it proposes the fix and applies it under the same discipline a careful edit uses (spec-vs-drift diagnosis, contract-consistency, surgical edits, gates).

**This is one door, not the only door.** Per `shared/shared-instructions.md §7.5`, a fix can be applied from *any* skill or a plain conversational turn — the user is never blocked or forced to route through this skill. What this skill adds is *structure* for a reported problem: the symptom→layer triage, the dispatch-path trace, and the located-evidence diagnosis before any edit. Reach for it when something *broke on device* and you don't yet know why; for a planned feature change where you already know what to edit, just edit directly.

**When to use:**

  • "I tapped the button and nothing happened — no error, no UI." (silent no-op)
  • "The PCF shows `ErrorCode: PARSE` / `ErrorMessage: ...`." (a code to trace)
  • "The app crashes the moment the screen loads." (crash-at-launch)
  • "Host log says `Loaded 0 plugin package(s)`." (a native-load signature)
  • "It works on iOS but does nothing on Android." (parity / transport bug)
  • "The Done button returns the wrong data." (behavior drift)

**When NOT to use:**

  • No repo yet → `/generate-native-extension`.
  • A brand-new operation → `/design-native-extension-feature`, then generate.
  • A planned change with a known edit and no reported failure → just edit (any skill / chat).
  • A build that never produced a binary → the failure is a *build* failure; run

`/generate-ppmplugin` and read its stage output first.

**Decoupled from generate-*.** This skill refuses to run if no extension repo is detected. It does NOT scaffold, install dependencies, build binaries, or assemble the bundle. It diagnoses, then edits files.

---

Step 0 — Verify this is an extension repo

Detect the repo in this order. Stop with `BLOCKED: not an extension repo (no <X> found)` if any **required** signal is missing.

| Signal | Required? | Check | |---|---|---| | `PRD.md` exists at repo root | **Yes** | The spec is the baseline the observed behavior is compared against. | | `package.json` exists at repo root | **Yes** | Confirms this is a generated extension repo, not a random directory. | | `ARCHITECTURE.md` exists at repo root | No | Strongly preferred — holds the dispatch contract + per-op impl the trace follows. Note its absence as a concern. | | `.extension-state.md` exists at repo root | No | Informational — prior edits / drift entries are debugging leads. Created at Step 9 if absent. | | `pcf/` folder with a `ControlManifest.Input.xml` inside | No | Drives PCF detection. Use Glob under `pcf/` to locate the manifest and capture `has_pcf: true|false`. | | `ppmplugin/` build output / a `.ppmplugin` artifact | No | Informational — confirms a binary was built (this skill debugs *built* controls). Absence → the failure may be pre-build; note it. |

If PRD or `package.json` is missing, suggest `/generate-native-extension` and stop.

---

Step 1 — Read shared docs, PRD, ARCHITECTURE, manifest, and state

In this order:

1. `shared/shared-instructions.md` — constants, return-status codes (`DONE` / `DONE_WITH_CONCERNS` / `BLOCKED` / `NEEDS_CONTEXT`), safety rules. 2. **`shared/error-codes.md`** — the canonical catalog + the **symptom → likely cause → where-to-look** map. This is the core input to triage (Step 3). Read it fully. 3. `shared/naming-conventions.md` — maps PRD identity to file paths for the trace. 4. `shared/repo-layout.md` — the expected file tree. 5. `shared/ppmplugin-format.md` — the dispatch contract, the wrap `sendAsync` transport, the `{ isUpdate, message }` response container, and the native-load model (`§2`, `§5`, `§5b`). Essential for tracing transport / load failures. 6. `./PRD.md` — full read (identity, operations, expected behavior). 7. `./ARCHITECTURE.md` — full read (SDK pin, per-op impl walkthroughs, message contract, §5 error codes, manifest impl). The trace follows this. 8. `./manifest.json` — the committed dispatch contract (`name`, `receivers[].method`, `receivers[].nativeModule`). 9. `./.extension-state.md` — prior `## Edits` / `## Debug` entries and any recorded drift — often the fastest lead.

**Skip `shared/prereq-check.md`.** Debug installs/auths nothing. If a fix later needs the PCF `npm run build`, Step 8 surfaces a missing toolchain then.

Per `shared-instructions.md §9.2`, print a one-line prereq notice at the start of Step 1:

Prereq check — /debug-extension: skipped (skill does no installs / auth / network — investigation only until a fix's smoke check).

---

Step 2 — Capture the bug report

Gather the symptom. If the user invoked the skill w

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Questions about debug-extension.

Which coding agents can use debug-extension?
debug-extension installs in Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, OpenCode and Windsurf with the skills CLI, using each agent's flag shown on this page. Flowy's auto-invocation, which fires a skill when your prompt matches, runs in Claude Code only.