baseline-restorer

# Baseline Restorer

Enforces methodical problem-solving by reverting to last known working state and
reimplementing step-by-step instead of trying to fix accumulated broken changes.

## Core Philosophy

### Reimplement, don't fix the mess

When something breaks after multiple failed fix attempts:

1. Stop trying to fix forward
2. Revert to last known working state
3. Understand what worked and why
4. Reimplement the needed change ONE step at a time
5. Verify each step before proceeding

## When to Use This Skill

### Trigger conditions

- 2+ failed fix attempts for the same issue
- "This should work but doesn't" situations
- Pipeline failures persisting across multiple commits
- User says "the old version worked fine"
- Complex accumulated changes with unclear impact

### Red flags requiring this skill

- Making assumptions about root cause without verification
- Blaming "pre-existing issues"
- Adding more changes to fix previous changes
- Not testing locally before committing

## Systematic Process

### Phase 1: Identify Working Baseline

```bash
# Find last known working state
git log --oneline -20
git show origin/beta:path/to/file.sh  # Check beta/main branch
git diff origin/beta -- path/to/file.sh  # What changed?

# Verify baseline works
git stash
git checkout origin/beta -- path/to/file.sh
# Test it - does it work?
```

### Questions to answer

- What was the last commit where this worked?
- What branch has a working version? (beta, main, prod)
- What specific files/scripts were working?

### Phase 2: Compare Current vs Baseline

```bash
# Get exact differences
git diff baseline..current -- path/to/file.sh

# Understand each change
# For EACH diff hunk, ask:
# - Why was this changed?
# - What problem was it trying to solve?
# - Did it actually solve that problem?
```

### Document findings

- List every change made
- Note which changes were necessary
- Note which changes broke things
- Identify assumptions that were wrong

### Phase 3: Revert to Baseline

```