dev-trace

name	dev-trace
description	Evidence-driven causal tracing with competing hypotheses. Use when an observation has multiple plausible explanations and you need to systematically rank them with evidence FOR and AGAINST each. Pairs with @trail-tracer.

Dev Trace

Derived from oh-my-claudecode (MIT, Yeachan Heo). Adapted for the EvoNexus Engineering Layer.

Causal investigation with multi-hypothesis discipline. Generate at least 2 explanations, collect evidence FOR and AGAINST, rank by strength, end with a discriminating probe.

Use When

• Observation has multiple plausible causes
• "Why did this happen?" — and you don't want to jump to the first answer
• Multi-causal problem (intermittent bugs, regional anomalies, performance puzzles)
• Need to preserve uncertainty rather than collapse to one answer prematurely

Do Not Use When

• Cause is obvious → just fix it via @hawk-debugger
• Single-cause bug with clear stack trace → @hawk-debugger
• Just needs codebase search → @scout-explorer

Workflow

Delegate to @trail-tracer:

1. OBSERVE — restate the observation precisely, no interpretation
2. FRAME — define the exact "why" question
3. HYPOTHESIZE — generate 2+ competing explanations
4. GATHER EVIDENCE — for each, collect evidence FOR and AGAINST in parallel
5. APPLY LENSES — systems / premortem / science
6. REBUT — strongest alternative challenges the leader
7. RANK — down-rank contradicted, weak-assumption, failed-prediction explanations
8. SYNTHESIZE — best explanation, explicitly provisional if needed
9. PROBE — name the critical unknown and the discriminating next experiment

Output

Saved to workspace/development/debug/[C]trace-{topic}-{date}.md using the dev-trace-report.md template.

Pairs With

• @trail-tracer (the executor)
• @hawk-debugger (when trace converges to a clear bug)
• @apex-architect (when trace reveals architectural issues)