Diagnose Why Work Stopped
Redirects to the full Paperclip stalled-work workflow, or runs a diagnosis-only pass when asked.
- Repository
- paperclipai/paperclip
- Stars
- 110,078
- Licence
- MIT
- Files
- 1 file
What it does
This is a compatibility entry point for the Paperclip project. When an AI agent is asked why Paperclip work failed, stalled, looped, or over-recovered, this skill sends it to the fuller Fix Failed Paperclip Run skill. It also explains how to classify stuck tasks as genuine waits, agent-actionable but unrouted work, or already-covered work. If the user explicitly asks for diagnosis only, the agent investigates without implementing a fix.
Great for
- Developers maintaining the Paperclip agent orchestration system who see tasks that stop making progress
- Maintainers who want a consistent way to diagnose stuck issue trees before changing code
- Anyone who wants a diagnosis-only report without code changes
Skip it if
- People outside Paperclip development, since the instructions assume Paperclip's internal docs and workflows (for example doc/execution-semantics.md) exist
- Situations where an unattended agent should change code without review, because a normal fix request continues through a workflow that ends in a pull request and does not add a separate approval gate
Try asking
- “Why did this Paperclip issue tree stop making progress? Diagnose only, don't change code.”
- “This agent run looped on recovery. Find the first causal failure.”
- “Work on this stalled Paperclip task and deliver a PR with passing checks.”
Install in 3 steps
- 1
Download the skill
The ZIP contains the 1 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.
diagnose-why-work-stopped.zip - 2
Add it to your agent
Claude Code (all projects)
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip diagnose-why-work-stopped.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)
mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip diagnose-why-work-stopped.zip -d .claude/skills/Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.
- 3
Ask for the task
No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.
Get better results
- Say explicitly 'diagnosis only' if you want investigation without code changes or a PR.
- Install the linked fix-failed-paperclip-run skill as well, since this file mostly points to it.
- Expect the agent to read repository docs and issue trees; it does not itself need credentials, though the fuller workflow may run tests and open PRs.
What's inside
- SKILL.md
Redistributed unmodified from paperclipai/paperclip under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.