Strip away complexity. Remove variables. Find the minimal case that reproduces the error.
Create controlled conditions. Change one thing at a time. Verify each hypothesis.
When state is suspect, restart systems. Fresh initialization often resolves persistent binding issues.
Confirm the fix works. Document the solution. Encode the pattern for future reference.
Each error masked the real issue: stale MCP server state
Sometimes the most sophisticated debugging reveals the simplest truth: restart first.
"When PostgreSQL reports persistent parameter binding errors that survive code changes, restart the MCP server first. The issue is often stale state, not the code."