# stas00/the-art-of-debugging

The Art of Debugging Open Book

Repository: https://github.com/stas00/the-art-of-debugging
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/the-art-of-debugging
Language: Python
License: CC-BY-SA-4.0
License Family: other
Topics: c, debugging, gdb, methodology, python, pytorch, linux, segfault, unix
Last push: 2026-08-26T00:27:42+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 72/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 35, longevity 76
- inputs: {"age_days": 1067, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1716, forks 107 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:26.301986+00:00)

## What it is
An open-source book teaching debugging methodologies and practical recipes for simple and complicated software problems. It covers Unix tools, compiled program debugging with gdb, Python debugging, and PyTorch-specific debugging.

## Use cases
- learn how to debug segfaults in compiled programs
- find the source of a hard-to-reproduce bug
- debug memory issues in PyTorch training
- learn gdb and ldd workflows
- speed up debugging of Python programs
- understand strace and Unix debugging tools

## When to choose
- you want a structured methodology for finding root causes of bugs
- you debug C/C++ programs on Linux with gdb
- you work with PyTorch and need to debug GPU/CPU memory or performance issues
- you prefer copy-paste recipes over theory

## When to avoid
- you need a debugging tool rather than learning material
- you need complete coverage - the book is a work in progress with unfinished chapters
- you debug primarily on Windows or in non-Python/C ecosystems

## Facets
- artifact type: learning-resource
- maturity: active
- function: developer-tools, documentation
- domain: developer-tools, tutorials
- platform: python, cross-platform
- tags: debugging, open-book, gdb, pytorch, methodology, unix-tools, segfault, ebook, linux

## Member repositories
- stas00/the-art-of-debugging (main) score 72

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:26.301986+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:34:16.072627+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/stas00/the-art-of-debugging (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:26.301986+00:00, sha 2d571681e55c)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.