Memory Debugger

Debug and inspect TraitorSim's file-system-based agent memory architecture. Each agent maintains a private directory with structured memory files that influence their decision-making. This skill helps troubleshoot memory-related issues and validate agent behaviors.

Quick Start

# Inspect an agent's complete memory state
ls -la data/memories/player_03/

# Read agent profile
cat data/memories/player_03/profile.md

# Check trust matrix
cat data/memories/player_03/suspects.csv

# View recent diary entries
ls -t data/memories/player_03/diary/ | head -5
cat data/memories/player_03/diary/day_05_roundtable.md

Memory Architecture

Each agent has a private directory structure:

data/memories/player_03/
├── profile.md              # Self-concept, role, personality, backstory
├── suspects.csv            # Trust Matrix (suspicion scores)
├── diary/                  # Daily event logs
│   ├── day_01_morning.md
│   ├── day_01_mission.md
│   ├── day_01_social.md
│   ├── day_01_roundtable.md
│   ├── day_01_night.md
│   └── ...
└── skills/                 # Behavioral modules (SKILL.md files)
    ├── skill-traitor-defense.md       # How to defend when accused (if Traitor)
    ├── skill-faithful-hunting.md      # How to identify Traitors (if Faithful)
    ├── skill-shield-logic.md          # When to use Shield
    ├── skill-murder-targeting.md      # Who to murder (Traitors only)
    └── skill-recruitment-decision.md  # Accept/decline recruitment

What to Debug

1. Profile.md - Agent Self-Concept

Contents:

• Agent name and role (FAITHFUL or TRAITOR)
• Archetype and personality traits (OCEAN)
• Demographics and backstory
• Stats (intellect, dexterity, social_influence)
• Strategic approach

Common issues:

Issue: Profile doesn't reflect persona backstory

# Check if profile.md includes persona backstory
grep -A 10 "## Backstory" data/memories/player_03/profile.md

# Expected: Should include full backstory from persona card
# If missing: Memory manager isn't injecting backstory correctly

Issue: Role is visible in profile (breaks immersion)

# Check role section
grep "## Role" data/memories/player_03/profile.md

# Expected: Should clearly state FAITHFUL or TRAITOR
# This is correct - agents know their own role

Issue: OCEAN traits not in profile

# Check personality section
grep -A 10 "## Personality" data/memories/player_03/profile.md

# Expected: Should list all 5 OCEAN traits with values
# If missing: Player initialization didn't create profile correctly

2. Suspects.csv - Trust Matrix

Format:

target_id,suspicion_score,last_updated,evidence_summary
player_01,0.35,day_05,"Voted for revealed Traitor player_07"
player_02,0.72,day_05,"Failed mission despite high intellect - likely sabotage"
player_04,0.15,day_03,"Consistently votes with me, seems trustworthy"

Fields:

• target_id: Player being evaluated
• suspicion_score: 0.0 (complete trust) to 1.0 (certain Traitor)
• last_updated: Last day this suspicion was updated
• evidence_summary: Brief justification for current score

Common issues:

Issue: Trust matrix not updating

# Check if suspicion scores change over time
cat data/memories/player_03/suspects.csv

# Look for `last_updated` - should have recent days
# If all entries are "day_01", trust matrix isn't updating

Issue: All suspicions are 0.5 (no differentiation)

# Check score distribution
awk -F, '{print $2}' data/memories/player_03/suspects.csv | sort | uniq -c

# Expected: Range of scores (0.1 to 0.9)
# If all ~0.5: Agent not processing evidence

Issue: Traitor has high suspicion of self

# A Traitor shouldn't suspect fellow Traitors (knows they're allies)
grep "player_03" data/memories/player_03/suspects.csv

# Expected: Traitors should have low suspicion of each other
# If high: Traitor logic broken

Issue: No evidence summaries

# Check if evidence column is populated
awk -F, '{print $4}' data/memories/player_03/suspects.csv

# Expected: Each row should have justification
# If empty: Memory updates not recording evidence

3. Diary Entries - Event Logs

File naming pattern: day_{N}_{phase}.md

Phases:

• morning: Breakfast, murder reveal, initial reactions
• mission: Mission participation and observations
• social: Pre-Round Table conversations
• roundtable: Accusations, defenses, voting
• night: Traitor meeting, murder selection (Traitors only)

Contents:

• What happened this phase
• Who said/did what
• Agent's reactions and thoughts
• Updated suspicions

Common issues:

Issue: Diary entries missing

# Check if entries exist for each day/phase
ls data/memories/player_03/diary/

# Expected: 5 files per day (morning, mission, social, roundtable, night)
# If missing: Memory manager not creating entries

Issue: Entries too short (< 50 words)

# Check entry length
wc -w data/memories/player_03/diary/day_05_roundtable.md

# Expected: 100-300 words with specific observations
# If < 50 words: Agent not processing events thoroughly

Issue: Entries don't reference other agents

# Check if entries mention other players
grep -E "player_[0-9]{2}" data/memories/player_03/diary/day_05_roundtable.md

# Expected: Multiple player references with observations
# If none: Agent not tracking social dynamics

Issue: Traitor night entries leak to Faithfuls

# Traitors have night phase entries, Faithfuls don't
ls data/memories/player_03/diary/ | grep "night"

# If player_03 is Faithful and has night entries: BUG
# If player_03 is Traitor and NO night entries: Missing memory

4. Skills - Behavioral Modules

Common skills:

skill-traitor-defense.md (Traitors only):

# Traitor Defense Strategy

When accused at Round Table:

1. **Stay calm** (leverage low Neuroticism if you have it)
2. **Deflect to evidence**: "What actual evidence do you have?"
3. **Counter-accuse** (if low Agreeableness): Point to voting records
4. **Appeal to alliance** (if high Agreeableness): "We've worked together since day 1"
5. **Bus throw if necessary**: Sacrifice fellow Traitor if suspicion > 0.8

skill-faithful-hunting.md (Faithfuls only):

# Faithful Hunting Strategy

Identifying Traitors:

1. **Voting patterns**: Who defended revealed Traitors?
2. **Mission sabotage**: Unexplained failures with high-stat participants
3. **Breakfast tells**: Always enters last, never murdered
4. **Knowledge leaks**: Too knowledgeable about night events
5. **Shield bluffs**: Claims Shield to detect information leaks

Common issues:

Issue: Skills not loaded for archetype

# Check which skills exist
ls data/memories/player_03/skills/

# Expected: Should match archetype's strategic approach
# If missing: Skills weren't created during initialization

Issue: Skills contradict personality

# Read skill and compare to personality
cat data/memories/player_03/skills/skill-traitor-defense.md
cat data/memories/player_03/profile.md | grep -A 5 "## Personality"

# Example contradiction:
# Skill says: "Stay calm under pressure"
# But agent has high Neuroticism (0.85)
# Expected: Skill should account for neuroticism

Instructions

When Debugging Agent Behavior

1. Read the agent's profile:

   cat data/memories/player_{ID}/profile.md
   

2. Check recent diary entries:

   # Find most recent entries
   ls -t data/memories/player_{ID}/diary/ | head -5
   
   # Read latest roundtable
   cat data/memories/player_{ID}/diary/day_XX_roundtable.md
   

3. Examine trust matrix:

   cat data/memories/player_{ID}/suspects.csv
   

4. Compare to expected behavior:

   • High Extraversion → Should speak often at Round Table
   • Low Agreeableness → Should make harsh accusations
   • High Openness → Trust matrix should update frequently
   • High Conscientiousness → Mission performance should be consistent

When Agent Makes Unexpected Decision

Example: Agent votes for ally

1. Check trust matrix:

   grep "player_05" data/memories/player_03/suspects.csv
   

   Expected: If voted for ally, suspicion should be > 0.6

2. Check diary for context:

   cat data/memories/player_03/diary/day_XX_roundtable.md | grep "player_05"
   

   Expected: Should explain why suspicion increased

3. Check voting history in game log:

   votes = [e for e in game_log["events"]
            if e["type"] == "round_table_vote" and e["voter_id"] == "player_03"]
   
   # Did agent vote consistently with suspicions?
   

When Trust Matrix Seems Broken

1. Check if updates are happening:

   # Look for varying last_updated days
   awk -F, '{print $3}' data/memories/player_03/suspects.csv | sort | uniq -c
   

2. Validate Bayesian updates:

   # Read trust matrix history from game log
   updates = [e for e in game_log["events"]
              if e["type"] == "trust_matrix_update" and e["player_id"] == "player_03"]
   
   # Check if updates are evidence-based
   for update in updates:
       print(f"Day {update['day']}: {update['target_id']}")
       print(f"  {update['suspicion_before']:.2f} → {update['suspicion_after']:.2f}")
       print(f"  Evidence: {update['evidence']}\n")
   

3. Check personality influence:

   player = get_player("player_03")
   openness = player["personality"]["openness"]
   
   # High Openness agents should update more frequently
   update_count = len(updates)
   expected_updates = openness * 10  # Heuristic
   
   if update_count < expected_updates:
       print("⚠️  Agent updating suspicions less than expected for Openness level")
   

When Diary Entries Are Poor Quality

1. Check entry length:

   wc -w data/memories/player_03/diary/day_05_roundtable.md
   

2. Check specificity:

   # Should mention specific players and events
   grep -E "player_[0-9]{2}" data/memories/player_03/diary/day_05_roundtable.md
   

3. Check emotional tone matches personality:

   cat data/memories/player_03/diary/day_05_roundtable.md
   
   # High Neuroticism → Should express anxiety/defensiveness
   # High Extraversion → Should describe speaking up
   # Low Agreeableness → Should describe confrontations
   

Debugging Workflows

Workflow 1: Why Did Agent X Vote for Agent Y?

# 1. Check trust matrix
grep "player_Y" data/memories/player_X/suspects.csv

# 2. Check diary from that day
cat data/memories/player_X/diary/day_N_roundtable.md | grep "player_Y"

# 3. Check if personality influenced decision
cat data/memories/player_X/profile.md | grep -A 5 "## Personality"

# 4. Check if skills guided decision
cat data/memories/player_X/skills/skill-faithful-hunting.md

Workflow 2: Why Didn't Traitor X Murder Agent Y?

# 1. Check Traitor's night diary
cat data/memories/player_X/diary/day_N_night.md

# 2. Check trust matrix for murder target prioritization
cat data/memories/player_X/suspects.csv

# Traitors typically murder low-suspicion Faithfuls (strategic)
# Or high-threat Faithfuls (protective)

# 3. Check murder targeting skill
cat data/memories/player_X/skills/skill-murder-targeting.md

Workflow 3: Why Did Agent Perform Poorly in Mission?

# 1. Check stats
cat data/memories/player_X/profile.md | grep -A 3 "## Stats"

# 2. Check stress level (from game log)
# High stress reduces performance

# 3. Check if Traitor sabotaging
cat data/memories/player_X/profile.md | grep "## Role"

# If Traitor → Intentional sabotage
# If Faithful → Low stats or high stress

Common Memory Issues

Issue 1: Agent Doesn't Know Their Backstory

Symptom: Agent makes decisions that contradict their backstory

Debug:

cat data/memories/player_03/profile.md | grep -A 20 "## Backstory"

Expected: Full backstory from persona card should be present

Fix: Update memory_manager.py to inject backstory:

def _create_profile(self) -> str:
    # ... existing code ...

    if self.player.backstory:
        backstory_section = f"""
## Backstory
{self.player.backstory}

## Demographics
- Age: {self.player.demographics.get('age')}
- Location: {self.player.demographics.get('location')}
- Occupation: {self.player.demographics.get('occupation')}
"""
        base_profile += backstory_section

Issue 2: Trust Matrix Not Persisting

Symptom: Suspicion scores reset between phases

Debug:

# Check if CSV file is being written
ls -l data/memories/player_03/suspects.csv

# Check file permissions
stat data/memories/player_03/suspects.csv

Expected: File should update after each trust matrix change

Fix: Ensure memory_manager.py writes to CSV after updates:

def update_trust_matrix(self, target_id: str, new_suspicion: float, evidence: str):
    # Update in-memory matrix
    self.trust_matrix[target_id] = {
        "suspicion": new_suspicion,
        "last_updated": self.current_day,
        "evidence": evidence
    }

    # CRITICAL: Write to file immediately
    self._write_trust_matrix_to_csv()

Issue 3: Diary Entries Don't Influence Decisions

Symptom: Agent repeats mistakes, doesn't learn from past events

Debug:

# Check if agent's prompt includes diary context
# (This requires checking agent decision-making code)

Expected: Agent should query recent diary entries when making decisions

Fix: Ensure agent queries diary before major decisions:

async def make_voting_decision(self, nominees: List[str]) -> str:
    # Load recent diary entries
    recent_entries = self._load_recent_diary_entries(days=3)

    # Include in decision prompt
    prompt = f"""
Recent observations:
{recent_entries}

Current nominees: {nominees}

Based on your memories and trust matrix, who should you vote for?
"""

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Agent makes unexpected decisions
• Trust matrix appears broken
• Diary entries are missing or poor quality
• Agent doesn't use backstory in decisions
• Skills don't match archetype
• Memory files have permission issues
• Debugging personality-behavior mismatches

When NOT to Use This Skill

Don't use this skill for:

• Analyzing game outcomes (use game-analyzer skill)
• Generating personas (use persona-pipeline skill)
• Validating content (use world-bible-validator skill)
• Modifying game rules (use simulation-config skill)