qmstrace¶
TL;DR
qmstrace keeps the traceability of a software project — from the agreement, through requirements and design, to code and tests — in the repositories where that work is already done, so that an auditor's questions are answered by a query instead of by assembly. It is a command-line tool. It reads a repo, follows its threads, checks it, and shows the impact of changing several items. It also attributes pytest report results to requirements.
What it does¶
People and coding agents already write requirements, design notes, code and tests. qmstrace asks for a little more precision in the same places — an ID in a requirement's heading, a line under a design section, a marker on a test — and then:
flowchart LR
write["markers, where the work is written"] --> read["qmstrace reads them"]
read --> judge["judges them against the project's rules"]
judge --> answer["answers: what was read, what is wrong, what is missing"]The rules are data, declared by the project in one file and printed on request — never hidden in the tool. The standard is data too: ISO/IEC 29110 comes first.
Where to start¶
| To… | Read |
|---|---|
| set up an existing product repo | Set up a repo |
| explore links and findings interactively | Explore a trace |
| see it work, in five minutes | A first look |
| prepare a change request's impact analysis | Write an impact list |
| interpret a pytest report against requirements | Read test results |
| change or retire a frozen item | Change a frozen item |
| review dependants of changed frozen text | Review downstream suspects |
| look up a command, a finding, an exit code or a configuration key | Reference |
| understand what not pinned and not verified here mean | Around the repo |
This manual follows Diátaxis: tutorials teach, how-to guides reach a goal, reference states facts, explanation gives the reasons. Every page opens with a TL;DR.
Where it stands¶
Built: qmstrace init, status, thread, impact, results, check, rules and graph,
including baseline/change-request guards and downstream suspects. Ledger import, signatures
and project-wide traversal at pins remain future work.