Error Handling Skill

Handle errors intelligently by leveraging past solutions and building a knowledge base of fixes.

Core Workflow

When Encountering an Error

1. Recognize the error - Identify the error message and its type
2. Search for solutions - Check if a similar error was solved before
3. Apply or adapt - Use the found solution or develop a new one
4. Log for future - After solving, log the error and solution

Error Recognition

Recognize errors from multiple sources:

Source	Indicators
Bash commands	Non-zero exit code, stderr output, error keywords
Playwright/Browser	Console errors, network failures, page crashes
Log files	Error patterns in file content
Build output	Compilation failures, missing dependencies
API responses	HTTP 4xx/5xx status codes, error JSON
User messages	User describes or pastes an error

Error type keywords to watch for:

• PHP/Laravel: Fatal error, SQLSTATE, Exception, Class not found
• JavaScript: TypeError, ReferenceError, Cannot find module
• Python: Traceback, ImportError, AttributeError
• Database: Connection refused, Access denied, Table doesn't exist
• Docker: container is not running, port already allocated

Searching for Solutions

When an error is encountered:

# Search the error memory database
bash $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/search.sh "<error message>" --max 5

Interpret confidence levels:

• 100%: Exact match - apply solution directly
• 70-99%: Very similar - solution likely works, may need minor adaptation
• 50-69%: Related error - review solution for applicability
• 30-49%: Loosely related - use as reference only

Logging New Errors

After solving an error not found in the database:

bash $CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/log-error.sh --json '{
  "errorMessage": "<full error message>",
  "project": "<project name>",
  "projectPath": "<working directory>",
  "source": "<bash|playwright|read|user|build|api|other>",
  "whatHappened": "<what was being done when error occurred>",
  "cause": "<root cause of the error>",
  "solution": "<how it was fixed>",
  "rationale": "<why the solution works>",
  "fileChanged": "<optional: file that was modified>",
  "codeBefore": "<optional: code before fix>",
  "codeAfter": "<optional: code after fix>",
  "tags": ["tag1", "tag2"]
}'

Error Source Classification

Classify errors by their origin for better matching:

Source	When to Use
bash	Errors from shell commands, scripts, CLI tools
playwright	Browser errors, page load failures, element not found
read	Errors found when reading log files or error outputs
user	Errors the user describes or pastes directly
build	Compilation errors, asset building failures
api	HTTP errors, API response errors
other	Anything that doesn't fit above categories

Tagging Guidelines

Use consistent tags for better searchability:

Technology tags:

• Languages: php, javascript, python, typescript
• Frameworks: laravel, react, vue, filament, livewire
• Tools: docker, composer, npm, git

Domain tags:

• database, api, auth, forms, validation
• routing, middleware, permissions, migrations
• testing, deployment, configuration

Error type tags:

• connection, syntax, runtime, type-error
• missing-dependency, permission, timeout

Available Commands

Command	Purpose
/error-memory:search <query>	Search for similar errors
/error-memory:log	Log a new error interactively
/error-memory:list	List all stored errors
/error-memory:show <id>	View full error details
/error-memory:stats	View database statistics
/error-memory:migrate	Import from old solved-errors.md
/error-memory:init	Initialize the database

Proactive Error Handling

Before Running Commands

If about to run a command that commonly fails:

1. Consider what errors might occur
2. Have error handling ready (try/catch, error codes)
3. Know where to look for solutions

After Errors Occur

1. Don't immediately retry the same thing
2. Search for the error first
3. Understand the cause before applying a fix
4. Verify the fix actually resolved the issue
5. Log the solution for future reference

Recognizing Patterns

Watch for recurring error patterns:

• Same error type across projects → systemic issue
• Same project with multiple errors → architectural problem
• Same tag appearing often → skill gap to address

Integration with CLAUDE.md

The error memory system enhances the existing CLAUDE.md instruction to log errors to ~/.claude/solved-errors.md by providing:

• Structured storage instead of markdown
• Intelligent search with fuzzy matching
• Usage tracking and statistics
• Automatic error detection via hooks

The old solved-errors.md can be migrated with /error-memory:migrate.

Additional Resources

For detailed error patterns and matching algorithm:

• references/error-patterns.md - Common error patterns by technology