# Agent Debugger Investigation Summary

**Date**: 2026-03-24
**Repository**: acailic/agent_debugger (Peaky Peek)
**Current State**: Strong technical foundation, comprehensive features
**Goal**: Transform into top 0.1% open-source project

---

## Executive Summary

Your repository has excellent technical foundations:
- ✅ 365+ tests passing
- ✅ Clean architecture (SDK, API, Storage, Frontend)
- ✅ Research-backed features (MSSR, causal analysis)
- ✅ Multi-framework support (LangChain, PydanticAI)
- ✅ Cloud-ready infrastructure
- ✅ Comprehensive documentation

**However**, to reach top 0.1%, you need to focus on:
1. **Sharper positioning** - Make value proposition instantly clear
2. **Zero-friction onboarding** - Working demo in < 5 minutes
3. **Viral growth mechanics** - Easy to discover and share
4. **Community building** - Active contributor base

---

## What Makes a Repo Top 0.1%

Based on analysis of highly successful projects (Pydantic, FastAPI, LangChain):

### 1. Immediate "Aha!" Moment (5-10 seconds)
- Crystal clear value proposition
- One-sentence positioning that creates urgency
- Hero demo showing magic in < 30 seconds

### 2. Frictionless First Experience (5 minutes)
- `pip install && one-command start`
- Working demo with zero config
- Immediate visual payoff

### 3. Exceptional Developer Experience
- Intuitive API with clear mental model
- Great error messages
- Comprehensive but readable docs

### 4. Viral Growth Mechanics
- Easy to share (great screenshots/GIFs)
- Active community presence
- Conference talks, blog posts, tutorials

### 5. Production Quality
- Rock-solid reliability
- Great performance
- Excellent test coverage

---

## Current Gaps

| Gap | Impact | Solution |
|-----|--------|----------|
| Positioning too abstract | Low conversion | Sharpen to "See WHY your agent did that" |
| No instant demo | High bounce rate | Add `peaky-peek demo` command |
| No demo GIF | Low engagement | Create 30-second screen recording |
| Landing page not live | Low discovery | Deploy to GitHub Pages |
| No social proof | Low trust | Get early adopter testimonials |
| Community not started | Slow growth | Launch Discord + GitHub Discussions |

---

## Top 5 Recommendations (Priority Order)

### 1. Create 30-Second Demo GIF (CRITICAL) 🎬

**Why**: This is the #1 thing that converts visitors to users.

**What to show**:
- Session list → Click failure
- See decision tree with reasoning
- Click replay → Time-travel to failure
- Show failure clustering

**Where to put it**:
- Top of README (after headline)
- Landing page hero section
- Blog posts
- Social media

**Time**: 2-3 hours
**Impact**: VERY HIGH

---

### 2. Deploy Landing Page to GitHub Pages (HIGH) 🚀

**Why**: Enables discovery and provides professional presence.

**Status**: Implementation plan already complete at `docs/superpowers/plans/2026-03-23-landing-page.md`

**Steps**:
1. Create `docs/.nojekyll`
2. Verify `docs/index.html` and `docs/style.css` exist
3. Commit and push
4. Enable GitHub Pages in repo settings

**Time**: 3-4 hours
**Impact**: HIGH

---

### 3. Improve README Positioning (HIGH) 📝

**Why**: First impression determines whether people stay.

**Current opening**:
```
Debug AI agents like distributed systems — not black boxes.
```

**Better opening**:
```
# Peaky Peek — See WHY Your AI Agent Did That

The debugger built for AI agents. Capture decisions, tool calls, and reasoning chains. Replay failures from checkpoints. Search across sessions.
```

**Add**:
- Demo GIF immediately after headline
- Comparison table vs LangSmith/Arize
- "Questions this answers" format
- Simplified quick start

**Time**: 1-2 hours
**Impact**: HIGH

---

### 4. Add `peaky-peek demo` Command (MEDIUM-HIGH) 🎮

**Why**: Eliminates friction between install and value.

**What it does**:
```bash
pip install peaky-peek-server
peaky-peek demo  # Seeds demo data, starts server, opens browser
```

**Implementation**:
- Add demo subcommand to `cli.py`
- Seed benchmark sessions automatically
- Open browser to pre-loaded UI
- Show helpful onboarding text

**Time**: 3-4 hours
**Impact**: MEDIUM-HIGH

---

### 5. Write First Blog Post (MEDIUM) 📝

**Why**: Builds awareness and establishes thought leadership.

**Title**: "I Built a Time-Travel Debugger for AI Agents"

**Outline**:
1. The problem: Agent failed, no idea why
2. Traditional tools don't help
3. The solution: Peaky Peek approach
4. Demo walkthrough
5. Open source philosophy
6. Try it now

**Publish on**: Dev.to, Medium, Reddit r/MachineLearning

**Time**: 3 hours
**Impact**: MEDIUM

---

## Quick Wins (This Week)

See `docs/QUICK_WINS_THIS_WEEK.md` for detailed implementation plan:

| Day | Task | Time | Impact |
|-----|------|------|--------|
| 1 | Create demo GIF | 2-3h | VERY HIGH |
| 2 | Deploy landing page | 3-4h | HIGH |
| 3 | Improve README | 1-2h | HIGH |
| 4 | Add demo command | 3-4h | MEDIUM-HIGH |
| 5 | Write blog post | 3h | MEDIUM |

**Total**: ~13 hours over 5 days

---

## Long-Term Strategy

See `docs/TOP_0.1_PERCENT_STRATEGY.md` for comprehensive roadmap:

### Phase 1: Sharpen Positioning (Week 1)
- Refine hero message
- Create demo GIF
- Comparison table upgrade

### Phase 2: Zero-Friction Onboarding (Week 2)
- Interactive playground
- One-paragraph quick start
- Guided tutorial

### Phase 3: Viral Growth Mechanics (Week 3-4)
- Landing page deployment
- Social proof building
- Community infrastructure

### Phase 4: Product Excellence (Month 2)
- "Delight" features (one-click share, comparison views)
- Cloud demo
- Integration ecosystem

### Phase 5: Scale & Sustainability (Month 3+)
- Enterprise features
- Business model (if desired)
- Content engine

---

## Competitive Advantages

What makes Peaky Peek defensible:

1. **Local-First Philosophy** - Competitors are all SaaS
2. **Research-Backed Features** - MSSR, causal analysis, evidence-grounded reasoning
3. **Framework Agnostic** - Not tied to one framework
4. **Open Source** - Hard for closed-source competitors to match

---

## Success Metrics to Track

| Metric | Current | 3-Month Goal | Top 0.1% |
|--------|---------|--------------|----------|
| GitHub Stars | ~50 | 500 | 5,000+ |
| PyPI Downloads | ~100/mo | 5,000/mo | 50,000+/mo |
| Active Users | ~10 | 100 | 1,000+ |
| Contributors | 1 | 10 | 50+ |
| Blog Posts | 0 | 3 | 20+ |
| Discord Members | 0 | 50 | 500+ |

---

## Next Actions (Immediate)

1. **This hour**: Read `docs/QUICK_WINS_THIS_WEEK.md`
2. **Today**: Create demo GIF (highest impact)
3. **This week**: Deploy landing page
4. **Next week**: Add demo command, write blog post

---

## Key Insight

The gap between "good project" and "top 0.1%" is mostly **marketing and community**, not features.

You have excellent features. Focus on making them **irresistibly easy to discover and adopt**.

**The #1 thing**: Create a compelling 30-second demo GIF. This alone could 10x your adoption.

---

## Resources

- **Strategy Document**: `docs/TOP_0.1_PERCENT_STRATEGY.md`
- **Quick Wins Plan**: `docs/QUICK_WINS_THIS_WEEK.md`
- **Landing Page Plan**: `docs/superpowers/plans/2026-03-23-landing-page.md`
- **Examples**: `examples/` (8 working examples)
- **Getting Started**: `docs/getting-started.md`

---

**Questions?** Start with the Quick Wins plan and execute Day 1 (Demo GIF). It's the highest-impact action you can take right now.
