Troubleshooting Application Failures
AWSOfficialPublished by AWS
- Skill
- Workflow
- Cloud and DevOps
- Apache-2.0
- No issues found
AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
This skill provides a systematic approach to troubleshooting failing applications by leveraging CloudWatch log analysis. It guides the user through discovering relevant log groups, validating their availability, and performing root cause analysis to identify errors, stack traces, and potential remediation paths. The process ensures that log-based diagnostics are conducted efficiently while accounting for common AWS service patterns and log retention constraints.
What it does
- Discovers and filters relevant CloudWatch log groups based on application names.
- Validates log group existence and checks for recent log stream activity.
- Analyzes logs to identify error patterns, exceptions, and stack traces.
- Provides prioritized remediation recommendations based on log findings.
- Handles common troubleshooting scenarios like missing log groups or query timeouts.
When to use it
- When an application is experiencing runtime failures or unexpected behavior.
- When you need to perform root cause analysis using AWS log data.
- When you need to correlate application errors with specific AWS service logs.
- When you need a repeatable, structured process for log-based diagnosis.
Advantages
- Standardizes the troubleshooting process for consistent results.
- Reduces manual effort in searching through vast amounts of log data.
- Helps identify non-obvious configuration issues related to timeouts or permissions.
- Provides actionable insights rather than just raw log output.
Usage examples
- “My user-api is failing in us-east-1. Can you help me troubleshoot?”
- The agent will prompt for the required application name, region, and time window, then proceed to discover and analyze the relevant CloudWatch log groups.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/aws/troubleshooting-application-failures/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip troubleshooting-application-failures.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by AWS
Application Failure Troubleshooting
Overview
Domain expertise for diagnosing application failures through CloudWatch log analysis. Discovers relevant log groups, searches for error patterns and stack traces, performs root cause analysis, and generates prioritized remediation recommendations.
Logs are where the investigation starts, not its boundary. When the logs point at a timeout, throttle, retry or permission problem, read the configuration that sets it, for example the API Gateway integration timeout, the queue's visibility timeout, or the function timeout and event source mapping. Read-only access normally includes these Describe and Get calls.
Troubleshoot a failing application
To diagnose and resolve application failures using CloudWatch logs, follow the procedure exactly. See Application failure troubleshooting procedure.
Troubleshooting
No log groups found
Ask the user for specific log group names. Common patterns: /aws/lambda/function-name,
/aws/apigateway/api-name, or custom application log groups.
Access denied errors
Verify AWS credentials have logs:DescribeLogGroups, logs:DescribeLogStreams,
logs:StartQuery, and logs:GetQueryResults permissions.
Query timeouts
Reduce the time window or limit results. Large log groups may require multiple smaller queries.
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer962 B
- LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer9.9 KiB
- NOTICELicence file added by AutoGineer67 B
- SKILL.md1.7 KiB
- references/application-failure-troubleshooting.md16.7 KiB
LICENSE
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Requirements and compatibility
Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta
“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.
Security
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Attribution and licence
- Published by
- AWS
- Publisher
- AWS (Official)
- Source
- aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws · skills/specialized-skills/operations-skills/troubleshooting-application-failures · commit 0a218f8
- Licence
- Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
- LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
- NOTICE (added by AutoGineer from NOTICE)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by AWS.
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