Turn a vague bug report into a reproduction plan
Organize known facts, competing explanations, and the smallest useful checks before changing code.
Start with these inputs
- Bug report and observed behavior
- Expected behavior and environment details
- Redacted logs and relevant code excerpts
Follow the workflow
- Collect the environment and expected-versus-observed behavior; redact secrets from logs.
- Paste the materials into ChatGPT and request an investigation plan.
- Review suggested commands before running them in a safe development environment.
- Record actual observations and return them to the chat to refine the hypotheses.
Your starting prompt
Help me investigate this bug without changing code yet. Return: known facts; missing information; numbered reproduction steps; three ranked hypotheses with evidence for and against each; and the smallest check that could distinguish them. Do not report a cause as confirmed without evidence. Do not invent log lines, files, or test outcomes. Keep any commands read-only and explain them. Do not suggest destructive actions or require production credentials. Environment: [details] Expected versus observed: [description] Report/logs/code: [paste]
What the output could look like
Illustrative example, not a recorded test result.
Illustrative example using invented sample inputs:
Known: the success message appears, but the value is missing after refresh.
Hypothesis: the UI updates before persistence completes.
Distinguishing check: inspect the save request and the reload response in a development environment.
Review before you use it.
The output is a hypothesis list, not a diagnosed or fixed bug. A person must review and run the checks. Time is an approximate planning estimate, not a measured result. Free access has usage limits; features can vary by account.
The output is a hypothesis list, not a diagnosed or fixed bug. A person must review and run the checks. Time is an approximate planning estimate, not a measured result. Free access has usage limits; features can vary by account.
Sources & review notes
By AI Flow Finder · Reviewed October 14, 2026. Documented means this guide is based on the sources above. It has not yet passed a recorded end-to-end workflow test. Tool access and limits can change.