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Pva Debug

NVIDIAOfficialCreated by Venkat BalanDistributed by NVIDIA

  • Skill
  • Workflow
  • Software development
  • Apache-2.0
  • Medium risk

From the author

Diagnose and narrowly repair one reproduced NVIDIA PVA operator failure. Use from OpGen or manually for compile, link, cuPVA lifecycle, dataflow, DMA, numerical, EMU-versus-hardware, runtime, or performance failures. Preserve the original evidence and return the repaired source to the caller for a fresh Build-Test.
— the description by Venkat Balan

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

The pva-debug skill provides a structured, evidence-based approach to diagnosing and resolving failures in NVIDIA PVA operators. It requires a comprehensive Doctor report as input to ensure the environment, SDK version, and failure context are verified before proceeding. The skill follows a rigorous process: reproducing the failure, isolating the root cause through falsifiable hypotheses, applying a minimal code repair, and verifying the fix against the original failing case and relevant test matrices. It is designed to integrate into larger workflows like OpGen or function as a standalone diagnostic tool, ensuring that repairs are narrow, safe, and documented without modifying public APIs or performance test requirements.

What it does

  • Verifies failure evidence against SDK references and lock files.
  • Reproduces the exact failure signature without initial code changes.
  • Systematically tests falsifiable hypotheses for compile, runtime, or numerical errors.
  • Applies the smallest possible code repair to address the proven cause.
  • Validates the repair by running the original failing case and affected test matrices.
  • Generates a detailed debug report documenting the findings and the repair.

When to use it

  • When a PVA operator fails during build, link, or runtime execution.
  • When numerical discrepancies are detected between EMU and hardware results.
  • When performance regressions occur in a PVA operator.
  • When you need a structured, repeatable process to isolate and fix a specific operator bug.

Advantages

  • Ensures repairs are evidence-based and minimal, reducing the risk of side effects.
  • Maintains strict traceability by preserving original failure evidence.
  • Integrates seamlessly with existing build and test workflows.
  • Provides a standardized reporting format for debugging outcomes.

Usage examples

“Debug the failure in the conv2d_pva operator reported in doctor-report.md.”
The agent validates the report, reproduces the failure, identifies a numerical error in the DMA synchronization, applies a fix, and returns a report confirming the fix.
“Investigate why the pva_pool_op is failing on hardware but passing in EMU.”
The agent isolates the hardware-specific failure, tests hypotheses related to device integration, repairs the code, and verifies the fix on hardware.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/nvidia/pva-debug/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip pva-debug.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Venkat Balan

<!-- SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved. -->

Debug a PVA operator

Find one demonstrated cause. Make the smallest safe repair. Do not declare the complete operator passed.

Resolve paths

SKILL_ROOT is the absolute directory containing this skill's SKILL.md, after resolving symlinks. Bundled files are relative to that directory. Resolve supplied relative paths against the invocation directory before changing directories. Reuse OpGen's WORK_DIR for its reports. For a direct call, use the supplied absolute report path, or resolve the caller's report work directory as WORK_DIR.

Get the inputs

Require:

  • A Doctor report that covers the failed capability.

  • Absolute source and artifact paths, plus a report path or work directory.

  • Caller identity: OpGen or a user with the same complete failure evidence.

  • Failed stage, exact command, return code, full log, and source identity.

  • Smallest known failing input, expected result, and tolerance.

  • SDK version, PVA generation, compiler backend, build mode, and target identity when relevant.

  • EMU and hardware results that already exist.

  • One-based attempt number and maximum attempts for an OpGen call.

Return BLOCKED before a source change when required evidence is absent or the attempt number is greater than the maximum.

Load the technical basis

Require Doctor's public-reference-corpus check to be PASS. Set SDK_REFERENCES to the report's absolute sdk_reference_root. Require a readable index.md and reference-lock.json, a lock SHA-256 matching the report's sdk_reference_lock_sha256, and the reported SDK version matching this task. If these fields are absent or no longer match, return BLOCKED and request a fresh Doctor report. Do not fall back to an installed package or CWD path. Read the pva-debug route in $SDK_REFERENCES/index.md. Before reading Markdown, check its SHA-256 against the lock outputs entry; return BLOCKED on a mismatch. Resolve links relative to each generated file. Use rg to find the narrow Markdown that matches the first failed stage.

For each product fact, record the SDK documentation root, local Markdown path, packaged source path, source SHA-256, version, and section or PDF page.

Use supplied or public implementations within the user's authorized scope and their license terms.

Preserve and reproduce the failure

  1. Save the original source identity, uncommitted changes, command, return code, log, input, actual output, and expected output.

  2. Reproduce the failure without a source change.

  3. Reduce the input only when the failure signature stays the same.

  4. Identify the first failed command, operation, or output.

Return NOT_REPRODUCED if the supplied source and command do not reproduce the failure. Do not make a speculative repair.

Diagnose one cause

Classify the first failure as:

  • Compile.

  • Link or device integration.

  • cuPVA API or lifecycle.

  • Dataflow, DMA, memory, or synchronization.

  • Numerical or output correctness.

  • EMU-pass but hardware-fail.

  • Target runtime.

  • Performance regression.

For each hypothesis:

  1. State one falsifiable cause.

  2. Name the supporting evidence.

  3. Run the smallest diagnostic that can prove or reject it.

  4. Save the command and result.

  5. Reject an unsupported hypothesis before you test another.

Use the independent CPU reference and first wrong element for numerical work. Use hardware evidence for a hardware-only failure. Use target compiler listings and hardware profiles for a performance regression. Do not use EMU timing as PVA performance evidence.

Repair and check

Change only the code that the proved cause requires. Do not change the public API, required result, tolerance, or performance test to hide the failure.

Record each changed file and reason. Keep the original evidence unchanged. Write diagnostics and repair evidence to new files.

Then:

  1. Rebuild the failed target.

  2. Run the original failing case.

  3. Run nearby affected cases.

  4. Run the EMU matrix when source changed and EMU support is available or required. Missing optional EMU support is not a failure. Record SKIPPED_OPTIONAL when optional EMU support is absent.

  5. Run the original hardware case for a hardware-only or performance failure.

  6. Confirm that the original signature is absent.

  7. Record commands, return codes, logs, outputs, and repaired source identity.

These checks prove only the narrow repair. Build-Test owns final verification.

Return control

Write the report with the debug report template. For an OpGen workflow, use $WORK_DIR/reports/debug-attempt-<number>.md. For a direct call, use the supplied absolute report path or $WORK_DIR/reports/debug-report.md.

Return one result:

  • REPAIRED: The original case and affected checks pass.

  • NOT_REPRODUCED: The supplied source and command do not reproduce the failure.

  • BLOCKED: Required evidence, source, toolchain, target, contract, or attempt budget is unavailable.

Return the report to the caller. Direct the caller to invoke $pva-build-test with the complete original matrix and repaired source. For an OpGen call, resume the existing OpGen workflow: REPAIRED requires fresh Build-Test, and other results require OpGen's final report. Do not reinvoke OpGen or end the overall run with only the Debug response.

Check public release notes before you identify an SDK limitation. Do not claim an SDK defect without direct evidence.

Files

LICENSE

Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.


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Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Security

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Attribution and licence

Created by
Venkat Balan
Publisher
NVIDIA (Official)
Distributed by
NVIDIA
Source
NVIDIA/skills · skills/pva-debug · commit fce3cca
Licence
Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE-APACHE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced

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Download ZIP

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