Claude can't debug. Pinpoint makes it actually trace.
A Claude Code plugin that runs a disciplined 6-phase root-cause methodology before any fix is suggested. Diagnosis-first, with --fix as opt-in.
Asking Claude to "fix this bug" usually pattern-matches against the symptom and proposes a plausible-looking change. The actual cause stays hidden. Pinpoint forces a 6-phase trace — Anchor → Hypotheses → Backward trace → Invariant check → Witness → Pinpoint — before any code is touched. The methodology is what vanilla AI debugging skips.
# In Claude Code:
/plugin marketplace add TarekBtw/pinpoint
/plugin install pinpoint/trace "TypeError: undefined is not a function at cart.js:47"
/trace https://github.com/owner/repo/issues/123
/trace --fix "the cart total is wrong on Fridays"
/trace --bench
You get back a structured Trace Report: anchor, ruled-out hypotheses, a Mermaid call-flow diagram, a backward trace table, a concrete witness, and the exact file:line of the root cause. Patches are not written unless you say --fix.
Try it in 30 seconds: clone pinpoint-demo, open it in Claude Code, run /trace on any of the seeded bugs.
- Anchor — convert the symptom to a precise
file:line. - Hypotheses — list ≥3 candidate causes before tracing.
- Backward trace — walk data and control flow back from the anchor.
- Invariant check — find the first place reality diverges from intent.
- Witness — produce a concrete input + path that reproduces the bad state.
- Pinpoint — name the cause; rule out every other hypothesis explicitly.
# 📍 Pinpoint Trace Report
**Symptom:** TypeError: undefined is not a function
**Anchor:** src/cart.js:47 — applyDiscount(item.promo)
**Root cause:** src/cart.js:42 — item.promo undefined for pre-migration items
**Confidence:** high
## Hypotheses considered
1. ✅ Pre-migration items lack `promo` field — confirmed
2. ❌ Race condition during cart load — ruled out, no concurrency
3. ❌ Type definition wrong — ruled out, runtime issue, not type
## Call flow
```mermaid
flowchart TD
A[checkout/handler.js:18] --> B[cart.js:35]
B --> C[cart.js:47 applyDiscount]
C -.->|item.promo undefined| X[💥 TypeError]
style X fill:#ff6b6b| Step | Location | Tracking | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | cart.js:47 | item.promo | undefined at call site |
| 2 | cart.js:42 | item | from lineItems[i] |
| 3 | cart.js:35 | lineItems | hydrated from DB row, no fallback |
For a cart row inserted before 2025-09-01, lineItems[i].promo === undefined; reaching cart.js:47 invokes undefined(...) → TypeError.
- src/cart.js:42 — guard
item.promobefore passing
## Benchmark
Reproducible accuracy harness in `bench/`. Fixtures are real-world bug patterns (off-by-one, mutable defaults, async races, type assertions, closures, etc.) across Python and TypeScript.
```bash
python bench/runner.py --all --out bench/results/latest.json
See bench/README.md for fixture format and how to add your own.
Does it modify my code? Only if you pass --fix. The default flow is diagnose → review → fix.
What languages are supported? v0.1.0 has language-specific tooling for Python and TypeScript / JavaScript. The methodology runs on every language via Read + Grep + tree-sitter.
Does it run my code? No. v0.1.0 is strictly static. The plugin reads code; it does not execute it or run tests.
Does it call the API? It runs through your existing Claude Code session — no separate API key. The benchmark runner shells out to the claude CLI.
Where do trace reports go? Saved to .pinpoint/traces/ in your repo. Add it to .gitignore if you don't want them tracked.
- v0.1.0 (this release): core trace, --fix, --bench, GitHub issue ingest, 10 fixtures, Python + TypeScript tooling
- v0.2.0: Rust + Go tooling, auto-regression-test on
--fix, expanded fixture set, before/after comparison docs
MIT — see LICENSE.