Platform

Traceability
from goal to code, both directions.

Every artifact carries stable IDs linking it to the task that produced it, the approval that released it, the requirement that asked for it, and the goal it serves. Click anywhere in the chain to walk the rest.

Goal → codeCode → goalApproval recordsCompliance-ready

Book a demo See orchestration

acme / lineage / goal_a19c

Goal

Reduce churn for at-risk customers

goal_a19c

Requirement

Health score on customer detail

req_8a11

Approval

alice@acme · spec

apr_c4d2

Task

pages / customers / [id]

task_91ef

Artifact

iter_4f19/pages/customers/[id].tsx

art_3b21

Commit

feat: customer detail with health score

feat/health-score

The problem

Most tool chains lose the trail somewhere: Linear has the requirement, Figma has the design, GitHub has the commit, Slack has the approval. Stitching them together is a quarter-end job. AlgorithmShift keeps the chain intact by construction — same IDs, same ledger, one query.

[01]

Goal → requirement → task → artifact → commit.

A goal decomposes into requirements. Each approved requirement fans out into tasks. Each task produces artifacts. Each artifact lands in a commit. Every step persists the upstream ID — so the chain is a query, not a reconstruction.

Stable IDs across every layer
No free-text cross-references to decay
Works for code, schema, and content artifacts alike

trace downward — goal to commitlog

goal: "Reduce churn for at-risk customers"   goal_a19c
  ↓
requirement: "Health score on customer detail"    req_8a11
  ↓
approval: alice@acme · 2026-04-18 09:03            apr_c4d2
  ↓
tasks:
  • schema / customer_health_score                 task_91ea
  • design / health badge tokens                   task_91eb
  • pages / customers / [id]                       task_91ef
  • tests / customers / [id] coverage              task_91f3
  ↓
artifacts:
  • iter_4f19/pages/customers/[id].tsx             art_3b21
  • iter_4f19/schema/customer_health_score.sql     art_3b22
  ↓
release: v2.8.0                                    rel_8f12
  ↓
commit: feat: customer detail with health score    feat/health-score

[02]

Walk it the other way — code to goal.

A reviewer asks "why does this file exist?" Open the file, click trace-up, see the agent run, the requirement, the approval, the goal. No archaeology.

One-click trace from any file in the editor
Rollup shows which tasks shaped a given commit
Useful during code review + incident postmortems

trace upward — file to goallog

file: apps/web/app/customers/[id]/page.tsx
  ↑
artifact: art_3b21 · produced by pages agent (sonnet)
  ↑
task: task_91ef · input was req_8a11
  ↑
approval: apr_c4d2 · alice@acme · 2026-04-18 09:03
  ↑
requirement: req_8a11 · "Health score on customer detail"
  ↑
goal: goal_a19c · "Reduce churn for at-risk customers"
  ↑
quarter plan: Q2 2026 · churn-reduction initiative

[03]

Approval records attach to the artifact, not the PR.

When a reviewer approves a spec, a migration, or a release, the decision is bound to the artifact's hash. If the artifact changes, the approval doesn't carry forward — you see a re-approval requirement, not a silent drift.

Reviewer + role + rationale stored on the approval record
Hash-pinned — approvals don't survive artifact mutation
Multi-reviewer requirements enforceable on prod-touching work

approval chain — req_8a11

specalice@acme· ProductLGTM, ship in next releasea91f...b303Apr 18 · 09:03
migrationbob@acme· DBArollback plan attached5c82...9e11Apr 18 · 10:32
releasebob@acme· DBAexpected rollout window 11:00–12:00 UTC12ab...e7f0Apr 18 · 10:34
spec (v2 amendment)alice@acme· Productspec edited after approval · re-approval pending—pending

[04]

Queryable from the dashboard or the API.

The lineage is a graph you can query. "Show every commit tied to goal_a19c" or "list all requirements shipped in rel_8f12" are one-liners, not data-engineering projects.

GraphQL API over the lineage graph
Pre-built dashboard widgets (goal → shipped, goal → in-flight)
Bulk export to CSV or warehouse connector

sample query — shipped requirements under a goalgraphql

query {
  goal(id: "goal_a19c") {
    title
    requirements {
      id
      title
      status
      shippedIn { releaseId version shippedAt }
      approvals { reviewer role decidedAt }
      artifacts { path commit }
    }
  }
}

[05]

Compliance-ready audit bundles.

For regulated environments, export a release's full lineage as a signed bundle: every goal, approval, agent run, migration, and commit. Signed, versioned, retained per your policy.

Signed bundle (SHA-256) per release
SOC2 + ISO27001 audit-friendly shapes
Retention configurable from 1 to 7 years

audit-bundle.yamlyaml

# compliance export bundle — release v2.8.0
release_id: rel_8f12
exported: 2026-04-18T18:00:00Z

lineage:
  goals: 1
  requirements: 3
  approvals: 5
  tasks: 17
  artifacts: 11
  commits: 4
  migrations: 3

approvals_included:
  - apr_c4d2  alice@acme  spec        2026-04-18 09:03
  - apr_c4e1  bob@acme    migration   2026-04-18 10:32
  - apr_c4e2  bob@acme    release     2026-04-18 10:34

export_formats: [json, csv, soc2-package]
retention: 7-years
signature: sha256:91fa...e820

[06]

Cross-repo linking — platform or not.

Not every commit comes from the platform. Hand-edits land in the same repo. The lineage graph accepts external commits with a trailer (`AlgoShift-Requirement: req_8a11`) so hybrid workflows stay fully traceable.

Git trailer convention for external commits
Automatic cross-link on push
Unlinked commits flagged in the release readout

git trailer — link hand-edits to the graphbash

$ git commit -m "fix: guard null health score in detail view

AlgoShift-Requirement: req_8a11
AlgoShift-Approval: apr_c4d2
Co-authored-by: alice@acme.com
"

Stable IDs

Goal → commit, no gaps

hash-pinned approvals

Both ways

Upstream + downstream walks

one-click from any file

GraphQL

Queryable lineage graph

API + SDKs

Signed

Per-release audit bundle

SOC / ISO ready

FAQ

Common questions

What if a hand-edit skips the git trailer?

Release readouts flag unlinked commits explicitly — you see a yellow badge in the release page. You can retroactively link a commit by editing the ledger record from the UI or API.

How granular is the approval record?

Each approval targets a specific artifact hash. A spec approval pins to the spec doc; a migration approval pins to the SQL file. Editing either mutates the hash, which invalidates the approval automatically.

Can external tools (Linear, Jira) show up in the lineage?

Yes — via webhook ingestion or explicit references. A requirement can carry `external_refs: { linear: ABC-123 }` and the lineage view surfaces those links where relevant.

Is the audit bundle verifiable without the platform?

Yes — the bundle is signed with a checksum chain, and the verification script is open source. Auditors can validate the bundle offline even after you cancel your subscription.

Stop rebuilding the trail every audit.

Every artifact ships with the graph that produced it — forever.

Start free Book a demo

Traceabilityfrom goal to code, both directions.