debug

Debug container agent issues. Use when things aren't working, container fails, authentication problems, or to understand how the container system works. Covers logs, environment variables, mounts, and common issues.

16 stars

Best use case

debug is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.

Debug container agent issues. Use when things aren't working, container fails, authentication problems, or to understand how the container system works. Covers logs, environment variables, mounts, and common issues.

Teams using debug should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.

When to use this skill

  • You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.

When not to use this skill

  • You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
  • You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.

Installation

Claude Code / Cursor / Codex

$curl -o ~/.claude/skills/debug-xmonkee/SKILL.md --create-dirs "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/diegosouzapw/awesome-omni-skill/main/skills/data-ai/debug-xmonkee/SKILL.md"

Manual Installation

  1. Download SKILL.md from GitHub
  2. Place it in .claude/skills/debug-xmonkee/SKILL.md inside your project
  3. Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill

How debug Compares

Feature / AgentdebugStandard Approach
Platform SupportNot specifiedLimited / Varies
Context Awareness High Baseline
Installation ComplexityUnknownN/A

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this skill do?

Debug container agent issues. Use when things aren't working, container fails, authentication problems, or to understand how the container system works. Covers logs, environment variables, mounts, and common issues.

Where can I find the source code?

You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.

SKILL.md Source

# NanoClaw Container Debugging

This guide covers debugging the containerized agent execution system.

## Architecture Overview

```
Host (macOS)                          Container (Linux VM)
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
src/container-runner.ts               container/agent-runner/
    │                                      │
    │ spawns container                      │ runs Claude Agent SDK
    │ with volume mounts                   │ with MCP servers
    │                                      │
    ├── data/env/env ──────────────> /workspace/env-dir/env
    ├── groups/{folder} ───────────> /workspace/group
    ├── data/ipc/{folder} ────────> /workspace/ipc
    ├── data/sessions/{folder}/.claude/ ──> /home/node/.claude/ (isolated per-group)
    └── (main only) project root ──> /workspace/project
```

**Important:** The container runs as user `node` with `HOME=/home/node`. Session files must be mounted to `/home/node/.claude/` (not `/root/.claude/`) for session resumption to work.

## Log Locations

| Log | Location | Content |
|-----|----------|---------|
| **Main app logs** | `logs/nanoclaw.log` | Host-side WhatsApp, routing, container spawning |
| **Main app errors** | `logs/nanoclaw.error.log` | Host-side errors |
| **Container run logs** | `groups/{folder}/logs/container-*.log` | Per-run: input, mounts, stderr, stdout |
| **Claude sessions** | `~/.claude/projects/` | Claude Code session history |

## Enabling Debug Logging

Set `LOG_LEVEL=debug` for verbose output:

```bash
# For development
LOG_LEVEL=debug npm run dev

# For launchd service (macOS), add to plist EnvironmentVariables:
<key>LOG_LEVEL</key>
<string>debug</string>
# For systemd service (Linux), add to unit [Service] section:
# Environment=LOG_LEVEL=debug
```

Debug level shows:
- Full mount configurations
- Container command arguments
- Real-time container stderr

## Common Issues

### 1. "Claude Code process exited with code 1"

**Check the container log file** in `groups/{folder}/logs/container-*.log`

Common causes:

#### Missing Authentication
```
Invalid API key · Please run /login
```
**Fix:** Ensure `.env` file exists with either OAuth token or API key:
```bash
cat .env  # Should show one of:
# CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN=sk-ant-oat01-...  (subscription)
# ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-...        (pay-per-use)
```

#### Root User Restriction
```
--dangerously-skip-permissions cannot be used with root/sudo privileges
```
**Fix:** Container must run as non-root user. Check Dockerfile has `USER node`.

### 2. Environment Variables Not Passing

**Runtime note:** Environment variables passed via `-e` may be lost when using `-i` (interactive/piped stdin).

**Workaround:** The system extracts only authentication variables (`CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN`, `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`) from `.env` and mounts them for sourcing inside the container. Other env vars are not exposed.

To verify env vars are reaching the container:
```bash
echo '{}' | docker run -i \
  -v $(pwd)/data/env:/workspace/env-dir:ro \
  --entrypoint /bin/bash nanoclaw-agent:latest \
  -c 'export $(cat /workspace/env-dir/env | xargs); echo "OAuth: ${#CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN} chars, API: ${#ANTHROPIC_API_KEY} chars"'
```

### 3. Mount Issues

**Container mount notes:**
- Docker supports both `-v` and `--mount` syntax
- Use `:ro` suffix for readonly mounts:
  ```bash
  # Readonly
  -v /path:/container/path:ro

  # Read-write
  -v /path:/container/path
  ```

To check what's mounted inside a container:
```bash
docker run --rm --entrypoint /bin/bash nanoclaw-agent:latest -c 'ls -la /workspace/'
```

Expected structure:
```
/workspace/
├── env-dir/env           # Environment file (CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN or ANTHROPIC_API_KEY)
├── group/                # Current group folder (cwd)
├── project/              # Project root (main channel only)
├── global/               # Global CLAUDE.md (non-main only)
├── ipc/                  # Inter-process communication
│   ├── messages/         # Outgoing WhatsApp messages
│   ├── tasks/            # Scheduled task commands
│   ├── current_tasks.json    # Read-only: scheduled tasks visible to this group
│   └── available_groups.json # Read-only: WhatsApp groups for activation (main only)
└── extra/                # Additional custom mounts
```

### 4. Permission Issues

The container runs as user `node` (uid 1000). Check ownership:
```bash
docker run --rm --entrypoint /bin/bash nanoclaw-agent:latest -c '
  whoami
  ls -la /workspace/
  ls -la /app/
'
```

All of `/workspace/` and `/app/` should be owned by `node`.

### 5. Session Not Resuming / "Claude Code process exited with code 1"

If sessions aren't being resumed (new session ID every time), or Claude Code exits with code 1 when resuming:

**Root cause:** The SDK looks for sessions at `$HOME/.claude/projects/`. Inside the container, `HOME=/home/node`, so it looks at `/home/node/.claude/projects/`.

**Check the mount path:**
```bash
# In container-runner.ts, verify mount is to /home/node/.claude/, NOT /root/.claude/
grep -A3 "Claude sessions" src/container-runner.ts
```

**Verify sessions are accessible:**
```bash
docker run --rm --entrypoint /bin/bash \
  -v ~/.claude:/home/node/.claude \
  nanoclaw-agent:latest -c '
echo "HOME=$HOME"
ls -la $HOME/.claude/projects/ 2>&1 | head -5
'
```

**Fix:** Ensure `container-runner.ts` mounts to `/home/node/.claude/`:
```typescript
mounts.push({
  hostPath: claudeDir,
  containerPath: '/home/node/.claude',  // NOT /root/.claude
  readonly: false
});
```

### 6. MCP Server Failures

If an MCP server fails to start, the agent may exit. Check the container logs for MCP initialization errors.

## Manual Container Testing

### Test the full agent flow:
```bash
# Set up env file
mkdir -p data/env groups/test
cp .env data/env/env

# Run test query
echo '{"prompt":"What is 2+2?","groupFolder":"test","chatJid":"test@g.us","isMain":false}' | \
  docker run -i \
  -v $(pwd)/data/env:/workspace/env-dir:ro \
  -v $(pwd)/groups/test:/workspace/group \
  -v $(pwd)/data/ipc:/workspace/ipc \
  nanoclaw-agent:latest
```

### Test Claude Code directly:
```bash
docker run --rm --entrypoint /bin/bash \
  -v $(pwd)/data/env:/workspace/env-dir:ro \
  nanoclaw-agent:latest -c '
  export $(cat /workspace/env-dir/env | xargs)
  claude -p "Say hello" --dangerously-skip-permissions --allowedTools ""
'
```

### Interactive shell in container:
```bash
docker run --rm -it --entrypoint /bin/bash nanoclaw-agent:latest
```

## SDK Options Reference

The agent-runner uses these Claude Agent SDK options:

```typescript
query({
  prompt: input.prompt,
  options: {
    cwd: '/workspace/group',
    allowedTools: ['Bash', 'Read', 'Write', ...],
    permissionMode: 'bypassPermissions',
    allowDangerouslySkipPermissions: true,  // Required with bypassPermissions
    settingSources: ['project'],
    mcpServers: { ... }
  }
})
```

**Important:** `allowDangerouslySkipPermissions: true` is required when using `permissionMode: 'bypassPermissions'`. Without it, Claude Code exits with code 1.

## Rebuilding After Changes

```bash
# Rebuild main app
npm run build

# Rebuild container (use --no-cache for clean rebuild)
./container/build.sh

# Or force full rebuild
docker builder prune -af
./container/build.sh
```

## Checking Container Image

```bash
# List images
docker images

# Check what's in the image
docker run --rm --entrypoint /bin/bash nanoclaw-agent:latest -c '
  echo "=== Node version ==="
  node --version

  echo "=== Claude Code version ==="
  claude --version

  echo "=== Installed packages ==="
  ls /app/node_modules/
'
```

## Session Persistence

Claude sessions are stored per-group in `data/sessions/{group}/.claude/` for security isolation. Each group has its own session directory, preventing cross-group access to conversation history.

**Critical:** The mount path must match the container user's HOME directory:
- Container user: `node`
- Container HOME: `/home/node`
- Mount target: `/home/node/.claude/` (NOT `/root/.claude/`)

To clear sessions:

```bash
# Clear all sessions for all groups
rm -rf data/sessions/

# Clear sessions for a specific group
rm -rf data/sessions/{groupFolder}/.claude/

# Also clear the session ID from NanoClaw's tracking (stored in SQLite)
sqlite3 store/messages.db "DELETE FROM sessions WHERE group_folder = '{groupFolder}'"
```

To verify session resumption is working, check the logs for the same session ID across messages:
```bash
grep "Session initialized" logs/nanoclaw.log | tail -5
# Should show the SAME session ID for consecutive messages in the same group
```

## IPC Debugging

The container communicates back to the host via files in `/workspace/ipc/`:

```bash
# Check pending messages
ls -la data/ipc/messages/

# Check pending task operations
ls -la data/ipc/tasks/

# Read a specific IPC file
cat data/ipc/messages/*.json

# Check available groups (main channel only)
cat data/ipc/main/available_groups.json

# Check current tasks snapshot
cat data/ipc/{groupFolder}/current_tasks.json
```

**IPC file types:**
- `messages/*.json` - Agent writes: outgoing WhatsApp messages
- `tasks/*.json` - Agent writes: task operations (schedule, pause, resume, cancel, refresh_groups)
- `current_tasks.json` - Host writes: read-only snapshot of scheduled tasks
- `available_groups.json` - Host writes: read-only list of WhatsApp groups (main only)

## Quick Diagnostic Script

Run this to check common issues:

```bash
echo "=== Checking NanoClaw Container Setup ==="

echo -e "\n1. Authentication configured?"
[ -f .env ] && (grep -q "CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN=sk-" .env || grep -q "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-" .env) && echo "OK" || echo "MISSING - add CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN or ANTHROPIC_API_KEY to .env"

echo -e "\n2. Env file copied for container?"
[ -f data/env/env ] && echo "OK" || echo "MISSING - will be created on first run"

echo -e "\n3. Container runtime running?"
docker info &>/dev/null && echo "OK" || echo "NOT RUNNING - start Docker Desktop (macOS) or sudo systemctl start docker (Linux)"

echo -e "\n4. Container image exists?"
echo '{}' | docker run -i --entrypoint /bin/echo nanoclaw-agent:latest "OK" 2>/dev/null || echo "MISSING - run ./container/build.sh"

echo -e "\n5. Session mount path correct?"
grep -q "/home/node/.claude" src/container-runner.ts 2>/dev/null && echo "OK" || echo "WRONG - should mount to /home/node/.claude/, not /root/.claude/"

echo -e "\n6. Groups directory?"
ls -la groups/ 2>/dev/null || echo "MISSING - run setup"

echo -e "\n7. Recent container logs?"
ls -t groups/*/logs/container-*.log 2>/dev/null | head -3 || echo "No container logs yet"

echo -e "\n8. Session continuity working?"
SESSIONS=$(grep "Session initialized" logs/nanoclaw.log 2>/dev/null | tail -5 | awk '{print $NF}' | sort -u | wc -l)
[ "$SESSIONS" -le 2 ] && echo "OK (recent sessions reusing IDs)" || echo "CHECK - multiple different session IDs, may indicate resumption issues"
```

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