Runtime Debug

SkillCloud & infra

Debug and verification workflow for runtime-bundle and module-resolution regressions. Use when diagnosing unexpected module inclusions, bundle size regressions, or CI failures related to NEXT_SKIP_ISOLATE, nft.json traces, or runtime bundle selection (module.compiled.js). Covers CI env mirroring, full stack traces via __NEXT_SHOW_IGNORE_LISTED, route trace inspection, and webpack stats diffing.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the Runtime Debug skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by vercel/next.js in .agents/skills/runtime-debug/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Use this skill when reproducing runtime-bundle, module-resolution, or user-bundle inclusion regressions.

Local Repro Discipline

  • Mirror CI env vars when reproducing CI failures.
  • Key variables: IS_WEBPACK_TEST=1 forces webpack (turbopack is default), NEXT_SKIP_ISOLATE=1 skips packing next.js.
  • For module-resolution validation, always rerun without NEXT_SKIP_ISOLATE=1.

Stack Trace Visibility

Set __NEXT_SHOW_IGNORE_LISTED=true to disable the ignore-list filtering in dev server error output. By default, Next.js collapses internal frames to at ignore-listed frames, which hides useful context when debugging framework internals. Defined in packages/next/src/server/patch-error-inspect.ts.

User-Bundle Regression Guardrail

When user next build starts bundling internal Node-only helpers unexpectedly:

  1. Inspect route trace artifacts (.next/server/.../page.js.nft.json).
  2. Inspect traced server chunks for forbidden internals (e.g. next/dist/server/stream-utils/node-stream-helpers.js, node:stream/promises).
  3. Add a test-start-webpack assertion that reads the route trace and traced server chunks, and fails on forbidden internals. This validates user-project bundling (not publish-time runtime bundling).

Bundle Tracing / Inclusion Proof

To prove what user bundling includes, emit webpack stats from the app's next.config.js:

// next.config.js
module.exports = {
  webpack(config) {
    config.profile = true
    return config
  },
}

Then use stats.toJson({ modules: true, chunks: true, reasons: true }) and diff webpack-stats-server.json between modes. This gives concrete inclusion reasons (e.g. which module required node:stream/promises) and is more reliable than analyzer HTML alone.

Related Skills

  • $flags - flag wiring (config/schema/define-env/runtime env)
  • $dce-edge - DCE-safe require patterns and edge constraints
  • $react-vendoring - entry-base boundaries and vendored React

Signals

GitHub stars
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Forks
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Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
runtime-debug-vercel
Source
github.com/vercel/next.js