convex-self-heal — Claude Code skill: fix prod errors safely
The skill takes a production error through triage, root cause and repair, certifies the fix on a preview, then opens a PR. A human merges.
npx skills add convex/agent-skills --skill convex-self-heal -a claude-codeWhat convex-self-heal does
This skill closes the loop from a production failure to proof that it stopped recurring. It starts by requiring sentinel, which captures errors inside your own deployment. Without capture there is nothing to heal, so the skill offers to install sentinel first and stops there.
Every error gets triaged. A one-off network blip is retried or ignored, a config problem goes to env (the skill will not guess a secret), and only a real code or schema defect enters repair. Root cause runs on the findings bus: convex-insights supplies the failing requests and stacks, convex-advisor joins in for read-limit and OCC causes, convex-reviewer and convex-authz handle logic and authz defects. If the cause stays unclear, the skill stops and reports — a wrong fix is worse than a visible open error.
Repair happens on a branch, never on prod. Before proposing, the skill certifies the change: a clean tsc --noEmit, a migrate-rehearse run on a preview seeded with a prod snapshot when schema or data is touched, a replay of the triggering input against the fixed code, and a check that no new finding appeared. A fix that fails certification is reported as attempted but uncertified, not proposed. Nothing auto-merges. After deploy the skill re-checks the sentinel table and logs to confirm the error signature is gone.
What it helps with
- trace a failing production request back to its cause
- prepare a fix on a branch instead of editing prod
- rehearse a schema change against a prod snapshot
- filter out transient blips so no PR is opened for them
- confirm after deploy that the error signature stopped recurring
Example prompts for the agent
- triage the sentinel error and prepare a fix PR
- root-cause this failing function and certify the repair
- the error came back after deploy — reopen the loop with the new evidence
How to install convex-self-heal
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add convex/agent-skills --skill convex-self-heal -a claude-code2Manually: put the files in place
~/.claude/skills/convex-self-heal/SKILL.mdCopy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/convex-self-heal/
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add convex/agent-skills --skill convex-self-heal -a codex2Manually: put the files in place
.agents/skills/convex-self-heal/SKILL.mdFor all projects use ~/.agents/skills/
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add convex/agent-skills --skill convex-self-heal -a cursor2Manually: put the files in place
.cursor/skills/convex-self-heal/SKILL.mdCursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/
1GitHub CLI
gh skill install convex/agent-skills convex-self-heal2Manually: put the files in place
.github/skills/convex-self-heal/SKILL.md1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add convex/agent-skills --skill convex-self-heal -a gemini-cli2Platform CLI
gemini skills install https://github.com/convex/agent-skills --path skills/convex-self-healManually: put the files in place
.devin/skills/convex-self-heal/SKILL.mdThe legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works
Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add convex/agent-skills --skill convex-self-heal -a opencodeClaude.ai
Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to install skills in Claude Code: five ways
Questions about convex-self-heal
How do I install convex-self-heal in Claude?
Run npx skills add convex/agent-skills --skill convex-self-heal -a claude-code. The skill lands at ~/.claude/skills/convex-self-heal/SKILL.md.
What does convex-self-heal do?
It triages a production error, finds the root cause, repairs it on a branch and certifies the fix before opening a PR. It never auto-merges.
What does the skill need to run?
Sentinel has to be in place, since it captures errors in your own deployment and redacts them at write time. Without capture the loop cannot start, and the skill will offer to install sentinel.
Source text
SKILL.md · Apache-2.0
--- name: convex-self-heal description: "Production error → triaged, root-caused, repaired, and certified (tsc + rehearsal + reproduce-then-gone) fix PR for a human to merge — then confirm the error stops recurring. Never auto-merges." --- <!-- GENERATED from convex-agents content/capabilities/self-heal.json — do not edit by hand. --> # Gated production self-healing loop Sentry/Datadog/Vercel can go error→investigate→draft-PR, but they treat the backend as opaque and stop at the human merge gate with an unverified diff. Convex can do the step they can't: because the error rows live in the user's own deployment and the fix can be rehearsed on a preview of that deployment, the platform certifies the fix against real invariants before anyone reviews it. This capability is the composition capstone — it wires sentinel (capture) → the findings bus (diagnose) → the fixers (repair) → migrate-rehearse/tsc/probe (certify) → a human PR (decide) → deploy-guard (promote). The human keeps the merge button; the machine does everything up to and including proving the fix works. ## Workflow 1. GUARD: deploy-guard — this loop reads prod and PROPOSES prod changes; classify + announce the deployment and get the standing consent for the loop's scope up front (what classes of fix it may auto-prepare vs must always defer). Never auto-merge; the human merge is the fixed boundary. 2. CAPTURE: require sentinel (prod errors in the user's own deployment, redacted at write time). If absent, offer to install it and stop — there is nothing to heal without capture. 3. TRIAGE a new/ recurring error: pull it via the official MCP (data/run-once-query over the sentinel table, or the monitor's prod_error event). Classify: transient (retry/ignore — do NOT open a PR for a one-off network blip), config (env/secret — hand to env, never guess a secret), or a code/schema defect (proceed). 4. ROOT-CAUSE on the findings bus: run the relevant audit pass on the implicated function — convex-insights (the failing requests + stacks), convex-advisor (if it's a read-limit/OCC cause), convex-reviewer/convex-authz (if it's a logic/authz defect). Produce a bus finding with evidence (the stack + the reproducing input) and a fixCapability. If root cause is unclear, STOP and report — a wrong fix is worse than an open error. 5. REPAIR via the finding's fixCapability (convex-authz, reviewer fixers, convex-expert for perf) on a branch — never on prod directly. 6. CERTIFY against the backend's own invariants BEFORE proposing (this is the differentiator — do not skip any that apply): (a) `tsc --noEmit` clean; (b) if the fix touches schema/data, run it through migrate-rehearse on a preview seeded with a prod snapshot — the schema-conformance gate must pass on real-shaped data; (c) reproduce-then-confirm-gone: replay the error's triggering input against the fixed code (a convex-test case or an MCP run on the preview) and assert the failure no longer occurs; (d) no-regression: the finding must be gone AND no new bus finding introduced on the touched function. A fix that fails any applicable certification is NOT proposed — it's reported as 'attempted, could not certify' with what failed. 7. PROPOSE, never merge: open a PR (or a diff for review) containing the fix, the certification evidence (tsc result, rehearsal outcome, the reproduced-then-gone assertion), the original error + finding, and the reversibility note. Label the change class. The human reviews and merges. 8. PROMOTE on merge via deploy-guard's prod consent; after deploy, re-check the sentinel table + `logs` (failures) to confirm that error signature stops recurring (do NOT use `insights` for this — it tracks only OCC/read-limit perf events, not arbitrary error signatures) — the loop is only closed when the error stops recurring in prod. If it recurs, reopen with the new evidence. 9. BOUND it: only classes the user pre-approved in step 1 are auto-prepared (default-safe set: validator fixes, missing-index adds, ownership-check adds, non-destructive backfills); anything destructive, security-sensitive beyond an added check, or ambiguous is always deferred to explicit human direction. Log every action to an append-only record so the loop is auditable. ## Rules - The human keeps the merge button — this loop prepares and certifies fixes, it NEVER auto-merges or auto-deploys to prod (matches the industry boundary: no credible system ships unattended prod auto-merge). - Certify before proposing: tsc + (schema→migrate-rehearse on a prod-snapshot preview) + reproduce-then-confirm-the-failure-is-gone + no new bus finding. An uncertified fix is reported as 'could not certify', never proposed as done. - Triage first: transient blips get retried/ignored, config errors go to env (never guess a secret), only real code/schema defects enter the repair loop. - Repair on a branch/preview, never on prod directly; promote only through deploy-guard's fresh prod consent. - Only pre-approved fix classes are auto-prepared (default-safe: validator/index/ownership/non-destructive backfill); destructive or ambiguous changes are always deferred to the human. - Close the loop for real: after merge+deploy, confirm the error signature stops recurring via the sentinel table + logs (not insights, which only sees perf events); reopen if it persists. - Every action is logged to an append-only, auditable record; data residency stays in the user's own deployment (sentinel discipline). - If root cause is unclear, STOP and report — an uncertain fix is worse than an open, visible error.
© convex · Apache-2.0 · convex/agent-skills