Find why a program keeps dying on your server without changing anything
Idea + starter prompt, not run by us yet
For: Small teams running their own server who see a program crash with no clear error
Claude Code kept dying on the author's Ubuntu server. He ran Codex on his Mac with the SSH command and the symptom. Codex asked to connect, checked memory and processes, and searched the kernel log. It found the system killing the program for lack of memory, put the fixes in order and changed nothing.
Steps
- Write down the symptom: what dies, when and any message you see.
- Give the agent read-only access where you can, and require approval before it connects.
- Paste the starter prompt and ask it not to change anything.
- Read the fixes in order. The cheapest one may be enough, such as adding swap before paying for a bigger server.
Starter prompt
A program on my server keeps stopping: [describe what dies and when]. Connect with [SSH command] only after you ask me. Investigate only. Check memory, running processes, limits and system logs for clues. Do not install, restart, delete or change anything. Tell me the likely cause with the log lines that show it. Then list possible fixes in order, from cheapest and safest to most disruptive.
Original post: flaviocopes.com · found via agentusecases.ai. Written up in our own words. We haven't run it, so test it on made-up data first.