gsd-trace

Excavate GSD artifact timeline to reconstruct decision chains, requirement evolution, and phase rationale.

Sources (authority order)

1. PROJECT.md Key Decisions
2. STATE.md Session Continuity
3. ROADMAP.md phase goals/criteria
4. Phase CONTEXT.md / RESEARCH.md
5. Plan SUMMARY.md outcomes
6. Git commit messages
7. Archived milestone docs

Trace Process

1. Identify query type — decision rationale, requirement status, phase outcome, impact analysis
2. Search sources — start with highest authority, cross-reference downward
3. Build timeline — chronological events from artifacts
4. Trace causality — link decisions to requirements to implementation
5. Answer directly — cite specific sources and dates

Query Types

| Type | Primary Sources | |------|----------------| | Why decision X? | PROJECT.md Key Decisions, RESEARCH.md | | What happened to req Y? | REQUIREMENTS.md, STATE.md, milestones/ | | Phase N outcome? | ROADMAP.md, SUMMARY files, git commits | | What depends on X? | PLAN files, git history, code search | | What was tried/abandoned? | RESEARCH.md, STATE.md |

Limitations

Can only trace what GSD documented. Undocumented decisions, verbal discussions, and vague commit messages are untraceable.