name: app-platform-troubleshooting
version: 1.0.0
min_doctl_version: "1.82.0"
description: Debug running App Platform applications by accessing containers, analyzing logs, running diagnostics, and applying fixes. Use when apps fail to deploy, crash at runtime, have connectivity issues, or need performance diagnosis.
related_skills: [deployment, networking, postgres]
deprecated: false

App Platform Troubleshooting Skill

Transform debugging from guessing to rapid diagnosis and fix.

Philosophy

Traditional: See error → Guess → Change → Push → Wait 5-7 min → Repeat
With skill:  See error → Diagnose → Fix → Verify → Commit proper fix

Quick Decision

Is the app deployed with running containers?
├── YES → Can we access the shell?
│         ├── YES → LIVE MODE (SDK shell access)
│         └── NO  → LOGS-ONLY MODE (fetch logs)
└── NO (build/deploy failed) → LOGS-ONLY MODE

Mode 1: Live Troubleshooting (Quick Start)

from do_app_sandbox import Sandbox

app = Sandbox.get_from_id(app_id="<app-id>", component="web")

# Diagnostics
app.exec("env | grep DATABASE")
app.exec("curl -v localhost:8080/health")
app.exec("ps aux | head -10")

Full guide: See live-troubleshooting.md

Mode 2: Logs-Only (Quick Start)

# Runtime logs
doctl apps logs <app_id> <component> --type run

# Build logs
doctl apps logs <app_id> <component> --type build

# Crash logs
doctl apps logs <app_id> --type=run_restarted

Full guide: See logs-analysis.md

Debug Container (Infrastructure Issues)

Deploy in ~30-45 seconds to isolate infrastructure from application:

services:
  - name: debug
    image:
      registry_type: GHCR
      registry: ghcr.io
      repository: bikramkgupta/debug-python
      tag: latest
    http_port: 8080
    envs:
      - key: DATABASE_URL
        value: ${db.DATABASE_URL}

# Run validation suite
validate-infra all
validate-infra database
validate-infra kafka

Full guide: See debug-container.md

Quick Reference: Exit Codes

Quick Reference: Common Fixes

Reference Files

• live-troubleshooting.md — SDK shell access, diagnostics, hot fixes
• logs-analysis.md — Log patterns, error codes, health check config
• debug-container.md — Infrastructure validation, validation suite
• networking-issues.md — DNS, CORS, VPC, routing
• app-maintenance.md — Archive/unarchive workflow
• diagnostic-scripts.md — Scripts, testing strategy, performance

When to Escalate

Contact DigitalOcean Support when:
- Internal error persists after redeploy
- Resource limit increases needed
- Multiple apps affected (platform issue)
- VPC/networking issues can't be diagnosed

Before escalating, gather:

doctl apps get <app_id> -o json > app_info.json
doctl apps logs <app_id> <component> --type run > runtime.log
doctl apps spec get <app_id> > app_spec.yaml

Integration with Other Skills

• → deployment: After fixing, deploy proper changes
• → devcontainers: Reproduce issues locally
• → postgres: Database-specific configuration
• → networking: Comprehensive networking docs