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.

7 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/SKILL.md --create-dirs "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gunabot/nanoclaw/main/.claude/skills/debug/SKILL.md"

Manual Installation

  1. Download SKILL.md from GitHub
  2. Place it in .claude/skills/debug/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 Apple 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, add to plist EnvironmentVariables:
<key>LOG_LEVEL</key>
<string>debug</string>
```

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

**Apple Container Bug:** Environment variables passed via `-e` are 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 '{}' | container run -i \
  --mount type=bind,source=$(pwd)/data/env,target=/workspace/env-dir,readonly \
  --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

**Apple Container quirks:**
- Only mounts directories, not individual files
- `-v` syntax does NOT support `:ro` suffix - use `--mount` for readonly:
  ```bash
  # Readonly: use --mount
  --mount "type=bind,source=/path,target=/container/path,readonly"

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

To check what's mounted inside a container:
```bash
container 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
container 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
container 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}' | \
  container run -i \
  --mount "type=bind,source=$(pwd)/data/env,target=/workspace/env-dir,readonly" \
  -v $(pwd)/groups/test:/workspace/group \
  -v $(pwd)/data/ipc:/workspace/ipc \
  nanoclaw-agent:latest
```

### Test Claude Code directly:
```bash
container run --rm --entrypoint /bin/bash \
  --mount "type=bind,source=$(pwd)/data/env,target=/workspace/env-dir,readonly" \
  nanoclaw-agent:latest -c '
  export $(cat /workspace/env-dir/env | xargs)
  claude -p "Say hello" --dangerously-skip-permissions --allowedTools ""
'
```

### Interactive shell in container:
```bash
container 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
container builder prune -af
./container/build.sh
```

## Checking Container Image

```bash
# List images
container images

# Check what's in the image
container 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
echo '{}' > data/sessions.json
```

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. Apple Container system running?"
container system status &>/dev/null && echo "OK" || echo "NOT RUNNING - NanoClaw should auto-start it; check logs"

echo -e "\n4. Container image exists?"
echo '{}' | container 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"
```

Related Skills

setup

7
from gunabot/nanoclaw

Run initial NanoClaw setup. Use when user wants to install dependencies, authenticate WhatsApp, register their main channel, or start the background services. Triggers on "setup", "install", "configure nanoclaw", or first-time setup requests.

setup-linux

7
from gunabot/nanoclaw

Set up NanoClaw on Linux (Ubuntu/Debian recommended). Installs deps, configures .env, optional WhatsApp auth, and optional systemd service.

customize

7
from gunabot/nanoclaw

Add new capabilities or modify NanoClaw behavior. Use when user wants to add channels (Telegram, Slack, email input), change triggers, add integrations, modify the router, or make any other customizations. This is an interactive skill that asks questions to understand what the user wants.

add-gmail

7
from gunabot/nanoclaw

Add Gmail integration to NanoClaw. Can be configured as a tool (agent reads/sends emails when triggered from WhatsApp) or as a full channel (emails can trigger the agent, schedule tasks, and receive replies). Guides through GCP OAuth setup and implements the integration.

add-discord

7
from gunabot/nanoclaw

Enable Discord as a NanoClaw channel (works alongside WhatsApp or Discord-only).

/add-codex

7
from gunabot/nanoclaw

Add Codex CLI as an alternative NanoClaw agent runtime.

debugging-streamlit

44152
from streamlit/streamlit

Debug Streamlit frontend and backend changes using make debug with hot-reload. Use when testing code changes, investigating bugs, checking UI behavior, or needing screenshots of the running app.

Developer ToolsClaude

ios-debugger-agent

31392
from sickn33/antigravity-awesome-skills

Debug the current iOS project on a booted simulator with XcodeBuildMCP.

Mobile DevelopmentClaude

error-diagnostics-smart-debug

31392
from sickn33/antigravity-awesome-skills

Use when working with error diagnostics smart debug

Debugging & TroubleshootingClaude

error-debugging-multi-agent-review

31392
from sickn33/antigravity-awesome-skills

Use when working with error debugging multi agent review

Code ReviewClaude

error-debugging-error-trace

31392
from sickn33/antigravity-awesome-skills

You are an error tracking and observability expert specializing in implementing comprehensive error monitoring solutions. Set up error tracking systems, configure alerts, implement structured logging, and ensure teams can quickly identify and resolve production issues.

DevOps & InfrastructureClaude

error-debugging-error-analysis

31392
from sickn33/antigravity-awesome-skills

You are an expert error analysis specialist with deep expertise in debugging distributed systems, analyzing production incidents, and implementing comprehensive observability solutions.

DevOps & InfrastructureClaude