linux-troubleshooting – DevOps & Infrastructure skill for AI agents

Linux Troubleshooting Workflow

Overview

Specialized workflow for diagnosing and resolving Linux system issues including performance problems, service failures, network issues, and resource constraints.

When to Use This Workflow

Use this workflow when:

• Diagnosing system performance issues
• Troubleshooting service failures
• Investigating network problems
• Resolving disk space issues
• Debugging application errors

Scope and operational boundaries

Start with read-only, bounded diagnostics on the named authorized host. Logs, process arguments and traces may expose credentials or personal data; collect only what is needed and redact before sharing. Attaching strace can affect timing and reveal payloads; obtain the applicable tracing authority and detach promptly. Restarting a service can interrupt users or lose in-flight work: inspect its configuration/dependencies, preserve evidence, and agree a recovery path before an authorized restart. Adapt commands to the distribution/init system and installed tools; do not install packages or elevate privileges just to run every phase.

Workflow Phases

Phase 1: Initial Assessment

Skills to Invoke

• bash-linux - Linux commands
• devops-troubleshooter - Troubleshooting

Actions

1. Check system uptime

2. Review recent changes

3. Identify symptoms

4. Gather error messages

5. Document findings

Commands

uptime
hostnamectl
cat /etc/os-release
dmesg | tail -50

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @bash-linux to gather system information

Phase 2: Resource Analysis

Skills to Invoke

• bash-linux - Resource commands
• performance-engineer - Performance analysis

Actions

1. Check CPU usage

2. Analyze memory

3. Review disk space

4. Monitor I/O

5. Check network

Commands

top -bn1 | head -20
free -h
df -h
iostat -x 1 5

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @performance-engineer to analyze system resources

Phase 3: Process Investigation

Skills to Invoke

• bash-linux - Process commands
• server-management - Process management

Actions

1. List running processes

2. Identify resource hogs

3. Check process status

4. Review process trees

5. Analyze strace output

Commands

ps aux --sort=-%cpu | head -10
pstree -p
lsof -p PID
strace -p PID

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @server-management to investigate processes

Phase 4: Log Analysis

Skills to Invoke

• bash-linux - Log commands
• error-detective - Error detection

Actions

1. Check system logs

2. Review application logs

3. Search for errors

4. Analyze log patterns

5. Correlate events

Commands

journalctl -xe
tail -f /var/log/syslog
grep -i error /var/log/*

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @error-detective to analyze log files

Phase 5: Network Diagnostics

Skills to Invoke

• bash-linux - Network commands
• network-engineer - Network troubleshooting

Actions

1. Check network interfaces

2. Test connectivity

3. Analyze connections

4. Review firewall rules

5. Check DNS resolution

Commands

ip addr show
ss -tulpn
curl -v http://target
dig domain

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @network-engineer to diagnose network issues

Phase 6: Service Troubleshooting

Skills to Invoke

• server-management - Service management
• systematic-debugging - Debugging

Actions

1. Check service status

2. Review service logs

3. Test service restart

4. Verify dependencies

5. Check configuration

Commands

systemctl status service
journalctl -u service -f
systemctl restart service

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @systematic-debugging to troubleshoot service issues

Phase 7: Resolution

Skills to Invoke

• incident-responder - Incident response
• bash-pro - Fix implementation

Actions

1. Implement fix

2. Verify resolution

3. Monitor stability

4. Document solution

5. Create prevention plan

Copy-Paste Prompts

Use @incident-responder to implement resolution

Troubleshooting Checklist

• [ ] System information gathered
• [ ] Resources analyzed
• [ ] Logs reviewed
• [ ] Network tested
• [ ] Services verified
• [ ] Issue resolved
• [ ] Documentation created

Quality Gates

• [ ] Root cause identified
• [ ] Fix verified
• [ ] Monitoring in place
• [ ] Documentation complete

Related Workflow Bundles

• os-scripting - OS scripting
• bash-scripting - Bash scripting
• cloud-devops - DevOps

Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
• Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
• Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.