observe-before-editing

Before editing code to fix a bug, confirm what the system actually produced.

Pattern

Outputs don't lie. Code might. Check outputs first.

DO

1. Check if expected directories exist: ls -la .claude/cache/
2. Check if expected files were created: ls -la .claude/cache/learnings/
3. Check logs for errors: tail .claude/cache/*.log
4. Run the failing command manually to see actual error
5. Only then edit code

DON'T

• Assume "hook didn't run" without checking outputs
• Edit code based on what you think should happen
• Confuse global vs project paths (check both: .claude/ and ~/.claude/)

Source Sessions

• a541f08a: Token limit error was invisible until manual run revealed it
• 6a9f2d7a: Looked in wrong cache path (~/.claude/ vs .claude/), assumed hook failure
• a8bd5cea: Confirmed hook worked by finding output files in project cache
• 1c21e6c8: Verified Artifact Index indexing by checking DB file exists