aoa-session-self-diagnose

Intent

Use this skill to turn a reviewed session into a DIAGNOSIS_PACKET.

It should answer: what drifted, what hurt, what boundary blurred, what proof is missing, and what repair shape is most plausible.

Trigger boundary

Use this skill when:

• a reviewed session contains repeated friction, contradiction, or drift
• the next honest move is diagnosis before repair
• boundary confusion or missing proof may be more important than immediate output production
• blocked automation readiness may need root-cause classification before any automation claim becomes honest
• the same class of problem may be appearing across sessions

Do not use this skill when:

• the session is still live
• the issue is already fully diagnosed and only needs repair execution
• the material is a celebration recap with no meaningful friction
• the route is actually a single quest-promotion decision

Inputs

• reviewed session artifact or harvest packet
• observed frictions, failures, or contradictions
• relevant owner layers and touched repos
• previous related session evidence if available

Outputs

• DIAGNOSIS_PACKET with drift types, symptoms, probable causes, repair shapes, and owner hints
• severity or urgency notes when evidence supports them
• explicit unknowns when diagnosis remains incomplete
• optional blocked-automation findings such as unstable inputs, hidden approval, rollback gaps, or secret coupling
• optional handoff to aoa-session-self-repair
• one DIAGNOSIS_PACKET_RECEIPT using references/stats-event-envelope.md and references/diagnosis-packet-receipt-schema.yaml
• one CORE_SKILL_APPLICATION_RECEIPT using references/core-skill-application-receipt-schema.yaml

Procedure

1. gather reviewed symptoms and evidence refs
2. separate symptom from probable cause
3. classify drift types such as boundary drift, proof debt, role leakage, memory contamination, route collapse, compaction damage, or repeated blocker patterns
4. call out blocked automation causes when the route looks repetitive but still fails readiness because of unstable inputs, hidden authority, weak rollback posture, or secret coupling
5. map each diagnosis toward the likely owner layer
6. suggest a repair shape without silently performing it
7. preserve unknowns where evidence does not justify stronger claims
8. emit one bounded DIAGNOSIS_PACKET_RECEIPT when the diagnosis packet closes, keeping the payload smaller than the diagnosis itself
9. when the finish path closes, emit one CORE_SKILL_APPLICATION_RECEIPT that points back to the bounded detail receipt and records one finished kernel-skill application

Contracts

• diagnosis is read-only
• one odd anecdote is not enough for structural certainty
• probable cause must remain probabilistic when evidence is thin
• owner hints must not override owner-layer law
• no hidden mutation or silent patching
• diagnosis does not grant automation readiness by itself
• the receipt remains descriptive and cannot become proof or repair authority
• the generic core receipt remains subordinate to the diagnosis receipt and cannot become diagnosis, proof, or repair authority
• receipt corrections use supersedes rather than silent overwrite

Risks and anti-patterns

• mistaking symptom for cause
• using vague vibes as diagnosis
• smuggling repair work into diagnosis
• turning every inconvenience into a system flaw
• blaming one owner layer for a cross-layer issue
• treating automation frustration as if it automatically proved readiness
• letting a diagnosis receipt read like a final blame or repair verdict

Verification

• confirm each diagnosis cites evidence refs
• confirm symptoms and causes are separated
• confirm a likely owner layer is named
• confirm unknowns are preserved where needed
• confirm no mutation happened
• confirm any emitted receipt stays evidence-linked and smaller than the diagnosis packet
• confirm any emitted CORE_SKILL_APPLICATION_RECEIPT points to the detail diagnosis receipt and stays finish-only

Technique traceability

Manifest-backed techniques:

• AOA-T-0080 from 8Dionysus/aoa-techniques at 5c6f0496edc3c2e74590baa35627c85fe58ef765 using path techniques/agent-workflows/session-drift-taxonomy/TECHNIQUE.md and sections: Intent, Outputs, Risks, Validation
• AOA-T-0081 from 8Dionysus/aoa-techniques at 5c6f0496edc3c2e74590baa35627c85fe58ef765 using path techniques/agent-workflows/diagnosis-from-reviewed-evidence/TECHNIQUE.md and sections: Intent, Inputs, Outputs, Core procedure, Contracts, Validation

Adaptation points

Project overlays may add:

• local drift taxonomies
• repo-specific failure classes
• severity bands