Debugging When the Script Breaks

The Scenario

Your config backup script was working perfectly for two weeks. Today it crashes with a NetmikoTimeoutException on one device and a ValueError: could not convert string to float on another. You do not need to understand Python debugging — you need AI to fix it.

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The Pattern: Copy, Paste, Fix

When a script fails:

1. Copy the entire error traceback
2. Paste it into ChatGPT/Claude with the context
3. Apply the fix

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The Prompt

My Python script is crashing with this error. Fix it and explain what went wrong:

[paste the full traceback here]

The script is supposed to: [one sentence about what it does]
Here is the relevant code section: [paste the function that is failing]

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Common Network Automation Errors and Fixes

NetmikoTimeoutException: Device is unreachable or SSH is not enabled

• AI fix: Add timeout parameter, wrap in try/except, skip to next device

NetmikoAuthenticationException: Wrong username/password

• AI fix: Verify credentials, check if device requires enable password

ValueError during parsing: Show command output format changed between IOS versions

• AI fix: Make the regex/parser more flexible, handle edge cases

ConnectionResetError: Device closed the SSH session (often rate limiting)

• AI fix: Add delay between connections, reduce parallel sessions

UnicodeDecodeError: Device output contains special characters

• AI fix: Add encoding=utf-8 or handle encoding errors

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Pro Tip: Prevent Before Debug

Ask AI to add error handling before you need it:

Review this script and add proper error handling:
- Handle connection timeouts per device (do not crash the whole script)
- Log errors to a file with the device name and timestamp
- Add a retry mechanism: try each device 3 times with 10 second delay
- Send a summary at the end: X succeeded, Y failed

[paste your script]

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Try It Yourself

Take any script from a previous chapter. Intentionally break something (wrong IP, wrong credential, wrong command). Run it, copy the error, paste into AI, and apply the fix.