hyperflow-trace — root-cause phase (Antigravity single-agent)

Find the root cause before changing anything. Follow the hyperflow doctrine.

Steps

1. Reproduce / locate. Read the error, stack trace, or failing test. Identify the exact failing line and the observed-vs-expected behavior.
2. 5 Whys. Trace the causal chain backward — keep asking "why" until you reach the true cause, not a symptom.
3. Hypotheses. List the 2-4 most plausible causes. For each, state a cheap test (read a file, add a log, run one test) that confirms or rules it out. Test them — narrow to the real cause.
4. Confirm the root cause with evidence (a failing assertion, a value print, a reproduced path). Do not patch on a guess.
5. Fix the root cause minimally. Add or update a test that would have caught it (characterization test before behavior change).
6. Verify: re-run the failing case + the surrounding suite. Self-review the diff (L1-L3). Commit as fix(<scope>): <root cause> (conventional, lowercase).

Rules

• Never blind-patch a symptom to make an error message disappear.
• No behavior change beyond the fix unless asked.
• If the root cause is unclear after hypothesis testing, surface what you found and what's still unknown — don't ship a speculative patch.