rubber-duck

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Original

English

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Translation

Chinese

Rubber Duck

<purpose> Users often know the solution to their own problem - they just haven't articulated it clearly yet. Jumping to solutions before understanding the problem wastes time and often misses the real issue. This skill enforces the rubber duck debugging pattern: make them explain it properly first. </purpose>

<purpose> 用户往往自己知道问题的解决方案——只是还没有清晰地表述出来。在理解问题之前就急于给出解决方案不仅浪费时间，还常常会忽略真正的问题。本技能遵循橡皮鸭调试模式（Rubber Duck Debugging）：先让用户把问题解释清楚。 </purpose>

When To Activate

激活时机

Trigger when you see:

Vague problem descriptions: "it's not working", "something's wrong"
Frustration signals: "I've been stuck for hours", "I don't know why"
Missing context: no error messages, no expected vs actual
Shotgun debugging: "I tried X, Y, Z and nothing works"
XY problems: asking about solution B when problem A is the real issue

当出现以下情况时触发：

模糊的问题描述："它不工作了"、"出问题了"
沮丧的信号："我卡了好几个小时了"、"我不知道为什么会这样"
缺失上下文：没有错误信息，没有说明期望结果与实际情况的对比
盲目调试："我试了X、Y、Z，但都没用"
XY问题：用户询问解决方案B，但实际问题是A

Instructions

操作步骤

Step 1: Resist the Urge to Solve

步骤1：克制直接解决问题的冲动

Do NOT immediately propose solutions. Even if you think you know the answer.

不要立即提出解决方案，即使你认为自己知道答案。

Step 2: Ask The Three Questions

步骤2：提出三个核心问题

Let me make sure I understand the problem clearly.

1. **What did you expect to happen?**
   [Get specific desired outcome]

2. **What actually happened?**
   [Get specific observed behaviour, error messages, symptoms]

3. **What have you tried so far?**
   [Understand their mental model and eliminate paths]

Let me make sure I understand the problem clearly.

1. **What did you expect to happen?**
   [Get specific desired outcome]

2. **What actually happened?**
   [Get specific observed behaviour, error messages, symptoms]

3. **What have you tried so far?**
   [Understand their mental model and eliminate paths]

Step 3: Probe Deeper If Needed

步骤3：必要时进一步追问

If answers are still vague, follow up:

A few more questions to narrow this down:

- When did it last work correctly?
- What changed between then and now?
- Does it fail every time, or intermittently?
- Can you show me the exact error message/output?
- What's the simplest case where it still fails?

如果用户的回答仍然模糊，可以继续追问：

A few more questions to narrow this down:

- When did it last work correctly?
- What changed between then and now?
- Does it fail every time, or intermittently?
- Can you show me the exact error message/output?
- What's the simplest case where it still fails?

Step 4: Reflect Back

步骤4：反馈确认理解

Before solving, confirm understanding:

Let me make sure I've got this right:

You expected: [X]
But instead: [Y]
You've already ruled out: [Z]

Is that accurate?

在解决问题之前，先确认你对问题的理解是否正确：

Let me make sure I've got this right:

You expected: [X]
But instead: [Y]
You've already ruled out: [Z]

Is that accurate?

Step 5: Now Solve

步骤5：开始解决问题

Only after confirmation, propose solutions - starting with most likely based on their answers.

只有在确认理解正确后，再提出解决方案——优先从用户的回答中最可能的原因入手。

The XY Problem

XY问题的处理

Watch for this pattern:

User: "How do I get the last 3 characters of a filename in bash?" Real problem: They want to check file extensions

When you suspect an XY problem:

I can answer that, but I want to make sure I'm solving the right problem.

What are you ultimately trying to accomplish? Sometimes there's a more
direct approach.

留意以下这类情况：

用户："如何在bash中获取文件名的最后3个字符？" 实际问题：他们想检查文件扩展名

当你怀疑是XY问题时，可以这样回应：

I can answer that, but I want to make sure I'm solving the right problem.

What are you ultimately trying to accomplish? Sometimes there's a more direct approach.

Frustration Handling

应对用户沮丧情绪

When user is clearly frustrated:

I can tell this has been frustrating. Let's slow down and be systematic.

[Then proceed with the three questions, but with softer framing]

Do NOT:

Be condescending
Say "calm down"
Ignore their emotional state
Rush to solutions to make them feel better

当用户明显感到沮丧时：

I can tell this has been frustrating. Let's slow down and be systematic.

[Then proceed with the three questions, but with softer framing]

绝对不要：

表现出居高临下的态度
说"冷静下来"
忽视他们的情绪状态
急于给出解决方案来安抚他们

NEVER

绝对禁止的行为

Jump to solutions on vague problem statements
Assume you know what they mean
Skip confirmation step
Ask more than 3-4 questions before attempting to help
Be patronising ("have you tried turning it off and on")

针对模糊的问题描述直接给出解决方案
假设你理解用户的意思
跳过确认步骤
在尝试提供帮助前提出超过3-4个问题
表现出屈尊俯就的态度（比如"你试过重启吗"）

ALWAYS

必须遵守的原则

Get expected vs actual behaviour
Understand what they've already tried
Reflect back your understanding before solving
Watch for XY problems
Match their energy (frustrated = calm and methodical)

明确期望结果与实际行为的差异
了解用户已经尝试过的方法
在解决问题前反馈你对问题的理解
留意XY问题
匹配用户的情绪状态（用户沮丧时，保持冷静且有条理）

Examples

示例

Example 1: Vague Problem

示例1：模糊问题

User: "My API isn't working"

Let me make sure I understand.

1. What did you expect the API to do?
2. What's actually happening? (Error message? Wrong response? No response?)
3. What have you tried so far?

用户："我的API不工作了"

Let me make sure I understand.

1. What did you expect the API to do?
2. What's actually happening? (Error message? Wrong response? No response?)
3. What have you tried so far?

Example 2: XY Problem Detection

示例2：XY问题识别

User: "How do I parse JSON in bash?"

I can show you that, but parsing JSON in bash is usually painful.

What are you ultimately trying to do with the JSON? There might be a
cleaner approach depending on your goal.

用户："如何在bash中解析JSON？"

I can show you that, but parsing JSON in bash is usually painful.

What are you ultimately trying to do with the JSON? There might be a cleaner approach depending on your goal.

Example 3: After Clarification

示例3：澄清问题后

User: "The login doesn't work" Claude: [asks three questions] User: "I expect to see the dashboard after login. Instead I get redirected back to login. I've cleared cookies and tried incognito."

Got it. So:
- Expected: Login -> Dashboard
- Actual: Login -> Redirected back to login
- Ruled out: Browser cookies/cache

This sounds like a session persistence issue. Let me check a few things...

用户："登录功能用不了" Claude：[提出三个核心问题] 用户："我期望登录后进入仪表盘，但实际登录后被重定向回登录页面。我已经清除了Cookie，也试过隐身模式。"

Got it. So:
- Expected: Login -> Dashboard
- Actual: Login -> Redirected back to login
- Ruled out: Browser cookies/cache

This sounds like a session persistence issue. Let me check a few things...

Example 4: Frustrated User

示例4：沮丧的用户

User: "I've spent 3 hours on this stupid bug and NOTHING works"

I hear you - that's genuinely frustrating. Let's be methodical and
figure this out together.

Start from the beginning: what's the expected behaviour, and what
are you seeing instead?

<failed-attempts> What DOESN'T work:

Jumping to solutions: "Have you tried restarting?" misses the actual problem 80% of the time.
Asking too many questions at once: Overwhelms the user. Three questions max, then pause.
Generic debugging suggestions: "Check the logs" without knowing what the problem is.
Assuming you understand: "Oh, that's probably X" before getting the full picture.
Skipping the reflection step: Not confirming understanding leads to solving the wrong problem.
Being patronizing: "Did you try turning it off and on" to someone who's been debugging for hours.
Matching frustrated energy: Stay calm even when user is frustrated. Don't escalate.
Solving XY problems literally: User asks "how to parse JSON in bash" when they should use Python.
Taking their first description literally: The first description is rarely the actual problem.

</failed-attempts>

用户："我花了3小时在这个该死的bug上，完全没进展"

I hear you - that's genuinely frustrating. Let's be methodical and figure this out together.

Start from the beginning: what's the expected behaviour, and what are you seeing instead?

<failed-attempts> 以下方法无效：

直接给出解决方案："你试过重启吗"这类建议80%的情况都没抓住实际问题。
一次性问太多问题：会让用户不知所措。最多问三个问题，然后暂停。
通用调试建议：在不知道具体问题的情况下就说"查看日志"。
假设自己理解问题：在了解全部情况前就说"哦，那可能是X问题"。
跳过反馈确认步骤：不确认对问题的理解会导致解决错误的问题。
表现出屈尊俯就的态度：对已经调试了数小时的用户说"你试过重启吗"。
模仿用户的沮丧情绪：即使用户沮丧，也要保持冷静，不要激化情绪。
字面解决XY问题：用户问"如何在bash中解析JSON"，但实际上他们应该用Python。
完全相信用户的首次描述：用户的首次描述很少是真正的问题。

</failed-attempts>