    ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
    │  ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
    │  ║  ░█▀▀ ░█▀█ ░█▀▄ ░█▀▀ ▀█▀ ░█▀█ ░█▀█ ░█▀▀  ║ │
    │  ║  ░█   ░█░█ ░█░█ ░█▀▀ ░█  ░█▀█ ░█▀▀ ░█▀▀  ║ │
    │  ║  ░▀▀▀ ░▀▀▀ ░▀▀  ░▀▀▀ ░▀  ░▀░▀ ░▀   ░▀▀▀  ║ │
    │  ║                                              ║ │
    │  ║  the flight recorder for AI coding        ║ │
    │  ║  ───────────────────────────────        ║ │
    │  ║  ────────────────────────               ║ │
    │  ╠══════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
    │  ║                                    SIDE A   ║ │
    │  ║     ┌───────┐           ┌───────┐  ▸ REC    ║ │
    │  ║     │ ╭───╮ │░░░░░░░░░░░│ ╭───╮ │           ║ │
    │  ║     │ │ ◎ │ │░░░░░░░░░░░│ │ ◎ │ │           ║ │
    │  ║     │ ╰───╯ │░░░░░░░░░░░│ ╰───╯ │           ║ │
    │  ║     └───────┘           └───────┘           ║ │
    │  ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
    │  ◉                                            ◉  │
    └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Your code moves fast.
Your docs don't.

Codetape records what changed, why, and what it broke — every time an AI agent touches your code. Then syncs your README, CLAUDE.md, and CHANGELOG. Automatically.

$ npx codetape init [copy] copied!

        ▼ scroll to learn more ▼
  ───────────────────────────────

    ██╗    ██╗ █████╗ ██████╗ ███╗   ██╗██╗███╗   ██╗ ██████╗
    ██║    ██║██╔══██╗██╔══██╗████╗  ██║██║████╗  ██║██╔════╝
    ██║ █╗ ██║███████║██████╔╝██╔██╗ ██║██║██╔██╗ ██║██║  ███╗
    ╚██╗╚██╔╝██╔══██║██╔══██╗██║╚██╗██║██║██║╚██╗██║██║   ██║
     ╚═╝  ╚═╝╚═╝  ╚═╝╚═╝  ╚═╝╚═╝ ╚═══╝╚═╝╚═╝ ╚═══╝╚══════╝

Documentation drift is
eating your codebase

One AI session. 40 files changed. Your README is still describing last month's architecture.

DOCUMENTATION FRESHNESS MONITOR ● REC

Code

LIVE

Git log

~1d

CLAUDE.md

~2w

README

~2mo

Arch docs

???

▸ WITH CODETAPE

All docs

~1d

╳

Silent divergence

Docs say "instant charge". Code says "pre-auth". Nobody notices until a new hire reads the README and gets confused.

⟳

Decision amnesia

You chose X over Y for good reasons. Three weeks later, Claude rewrites it to Y because nobody recorded why.

⧗

CLAUDE.md goes stale

The file that tells your AI how the project works is the one file nobody updates after AI rewrites everything.

  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │  7 commands  ·  0 config  ·  0 dependencies │
  └─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

All your docs,
always fresh.

/trace

Record a session

Captures what changed, why it changed, and what it affects. Not a diff — a story your future self can read in 30 seconds.

 ┌─ trace ────────────────┐
 │ ◉ PaymentService  MOD  │
 │ ◉ StripeWebhook   NEW  │
 │ ◉ BookingFlow     MOD  │
 │ ◎ 2 decisions logged   │
 └────────────────────────┘

/trace-sync

Sync your docs

Updates README, CHANGELOG, CLAUDE.md, and AGENTS.md from your trace history. Only touches managed sections.

 README.md
 ├── Getting Started  [yours]
 ├── Architecture     [synced]
 ├── Components       [synced]
 └── License          [yours]

/trace-map

Generate architecture

Creates ARCHITECTURE.md with mermaid dependency graphs and component descriptions. One command, full system overview.

 Booking ──▸ Payment ──▸ Stripe
    │                      ▲
    ▼                      │
 WhatsApp            Webhook

/trace-review

Detect drift

Scans for docs that fell behind the code. Reports severity. Offers to fix everything with one confirmation.

 ■■ HIGH   README#payment-flow
 ■□ MED    docs/api.md
 □□ LOW    StripeWebhook (new)

/trace-commit

Smart commits

Generates conventional commit messages from traces. feat, fix, refactor — with scope and breaking change flags.

 feat(payment): migrate to
 Stripe pre-authorization flow
 BREAKING CHANGE: PaymentService
 API signature changed

/trace-log

Search history

Query change history by component, date, or keyword. "What changed in PaymentService last month?" — instant answer.

 ▸ Mar 20  pre-auth migration
 ▸ Mar 05  add refund support
 ▸ Feb 28  Stripe SDK v14

Like a tape deck
for your codebase

Pure prompt engineering. Zero runtime. Claude does all the thinking.

  ╔═══════════╗     ╔═══════════╗     ╔═══════════╗     ╔═══════════╗
  ║  INSTALL  ║────▸║    CODE   ║────▸║  RECORD   ║────▸║   SYNC    ║
  ║ npx code- ║     ║ just vibe ║     ║  /trace   ║     ║ /trace-  ║
  ║ tape init ║     ║    ✨     ║     ║           ║     ║  sync    ║
  ╚═══════════╝     ╚═══════════╝     ╚═══════════╝     ╚═══════════╝
       │                  │                  │                  │
  Sets up skill     Codetape stays     Writes semantic     Updates README
  + .codetape/      invisible until     trace log with      CLAUDE.md and
  + commands        you need it         decisions + TODOs   CHANGELOG

30 seconds to first trace

~/projects/ride-flow — claude code

        ┌──────────────┐            ┌──────────────┐
        │    WITHOUT   │  ◀ drag ▶  │     WITH     │
        │   codetape   │            │   codetape   │
        └──────────────┘            └──────────────┘

without with

  ✓ Trace: "pre-auth for SCA"
  ✓ Decision: why pre-auth > charge
  ✓ Component map auto-updated
  ✓ README synced in one command
  ✓ CLAUDE.md knows current arch
  ✓ New dev reads ARCHITECTURE.md

  ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓

  ╳ commit: "update payment"
  ╳ commit: "fix stripe stuff"
  ╳ commit: "wip"
  ╳ README says "instant charge"
  ╳ CLAUDE.md describes old arch
  ╳ New dev: "how does this work?"

  ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░

◀▶

A complete workflow
in 3 steps

You just migrated payments from Stripe Charges to PaymentIntent. Here's what Codetape does with that.

Step 1/trace

Step 2/trace-sync

Step 3/trace-review

.codetape/traces/2026-03-20_stripe-preauth.md NEW

## Trace: stripe-preauth-flow
Date: 2026-03-20 14:32 · Impact: HIGH · Files: 12

### Summary
Migrated payment flow from Stripe Charges API to
PaymentIntent with pre-authorization. Enables SCA
compliance and delayed capture for booking confirmation.

### Components Modified
  ◉ PaymentService      refactored  → pre-auth flow
  ◉ StripeWebhook       new         → payment_intent events
  ◉ BookingFlow         modified    → two-step capture
  ◉ CheckoutPage        modified    → Stripe Elements UI

### Technical Decisions
  ▸ Chose PaymentIntent over Charges API
    Reason: SCA mandate + delayed capture for bookings
    Rejected: Charges API (no SCA), Checkout Sessions
    (too opinionated for our custom flow)

  ▸ Webhook-first confirmation over polling
    Reason: Reliable + handles async 3DS redirects
    Rejected: Client-side polling (race conditions)

### TODOs
  □ Add preauth expiry handling (72h timeout)
  □ Write webhook integration tests
  □ Update Stripe SDK to v14 in staging

What happened: Codetape analysed your git diff and generated a semantic trace — not a list of changed files, but a story that explains what changed, why, and what to do next.

Sync preview — 3 files to update SYNC

claude▸ /trace-sync

Reading 2 traces from .codetape/traces/...
Checking sync targets...

─── README.md ───────────────────────────
  + ## Architecture  (managed section)
  + Payment flow now uses Stripe
  + PaymentIntent with pre-authorization.
  + Webhook handles async confirmation.
  │ Getting Started       [yours — untouched]
  │ License               [yours — untouched]

─── CHANGELOG.md ────────────────────────
  + ## [Unreleased]
  + ### Changed
  + - Migrate payment to Stripe
  +   PaymentIntent (pre-auth flow)
  + ### Added
  + - Stripe webhook for payment events

─── CLAUDE.md ───────────────────────────
  + ## Architecture  (managed section)
  + PaymentService: pre-auth via
  + PaymentIntent API (not Charges)
  + StripeWebhook: handles payment_intent
  + events for async confirmation

Apply changes? [Y/n] Y

  ✓ README.md — architecture section updated
  ✓ CHANGELOG.md — entry prepended
  ✓ CLAUDE.md — architecture section updated

What happened: Codetape updated 3 docs from your traces. It only touched managed sections — your hand-written "Getting Started" and "License" sections are never modified. You see a diff preview before anything is written.

Documentation drift report REVIEW

claude▸ /trace-review

Comparing docs against recent traces...
Scanning 5 documentation targets...

┌─ Drift Report ───────────────────────────┐
│                                           │
│  ■■ FRESH  README.md          synced 1h ago │
│  ■■ FRESH  CHANGELOG.md       synced 1h ago │
│  ■■ FRESH  CLAUDE.md          synced 1h ago │
│  ■□ STALE  docs/api.md        2 weeks old   │
│  ■■ DRIFT  ARCHITECTURE.md    not generated │
│                                           │
│  Score: 3/5 fresh · 1 stale · 1 missing  │
│                                           │
│  Suggestions:                             │
│  ▸ /trace-sync --target docs/api.md      │
│  ▸ /trace-map  (generate architecture)   │
│                                           │
└───────────────────────────────────────────┘

Overall: 60% documentation coverage
Run /trace-sync to fix stale docs, /trace-map for architecture.

What happened: Codetape compared your documentation against recent code changes and flagged what's outdated. It tells you exactly which commands to run to fix it — no manual detective work.

            ╔════════════════════════════════════╗
            ║   ▸▸  FAST FORWARD TO BETTER DOCS  ║
            ╚════════════════════════════════════╝

Stop writing docs.
Let the tape roll.

Free and open source. Zero dependencies. Works with Claude Code today. Cursor and Codex support coming soon.

$ npx codetape init ★ View on GitHub

    ▮▮ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ▮▮

                    MIT Licensed · Made by Nelson
             Built with Claude Code · Documented by Codetape

Your code moves fast.Your docs don't.

Documentation drift iseating your codebase