Trace It

Trace It is how you read a large pull request one feature at a time instead of one file at a time.

Available on Pro. On Basic the Trace It tab stays where it is and opens an upgrade prompt.

#The problem it solves

A 5,000-line pull request across forty files is not one change — it is usually five or six of them interleaved. Reviewing it in file order means you never see any single feature end to end, and you finish having read everything and understood nothing.

#How it works

DiffGuardian breaks the pull request into the features it actually ships. Pick one, and Trace It moves across every file that feature touches, in the order the code actually runs, explaining each hop:

Routes a cart coupon through auth middleware to the commerce engine, where the discount is applied.

You get the path, not the pile. A feature that starts in a route handler, passes through middleware, and ends in a service layer is presented in that order — with the diff shown at each step, in context.

#Using it

1. Open a pull request and let the review finish.
2. Choose a feature from the feature list.
3. Step through the trace. Each stop shows the file, the changed lines, what that step contributes to the feature, why it changed, what happens next, and any finding raised there.
4. A step worth commenting on can be adopted as a comment — it becomes an ordinary draft you can edit before submitting. See Writing review comments.
5. Move to the next feature when you are satisfied you understand this one.

Because a feature is a unit you can hold in your head, you can stop between features without losing your place.

#Diagrams

Alongside the trace, DiffGuardian draws the flow as a diagram from your actual call graph — not a hand-authored picture that drifts out of date. Use it to see the blast radius of a change before you approve it.

#Next steps

• Ask and Explain
• Ask your codebase
• Code standards and review scope