Common mistake — retrying the same failing command or API call without understanding why it failed. Always diagnose the root cause before retrying anything.
name do-not-retry-without-diagnosis description Common mistake — retrying the same failing command or API call without understanding why it failed. Always diagnose the root cause before retrying anything. category common_mistakes Do Not Retry Without Diagnosis Mistake pattern: Tool call fails → retry the same call → fails again → repeat. Fix: After the first failure, read the error message carefully and diagnose the root cause before retrying. Questions to ask: Is this a transient error (network timeout, rate limit)? Retry with backoff. Is this a permanent error (wrong input, missing resource, permission denied)? Fix the cause. Anti-pattern: Blindly retrying or escalating without examining the error output.