development · Command reference

`qzx traceEnvVar`

What it does

Traces usage of an environment variable across code files, .env, and .env.example templates

Command maturity: Alpha

Available for real use and feedback while its interface and behavior can still evolve. This is the current development-checkout assessment. Every future immutable release tag preserves the exact assessment shipped by that version. Available in PyPI 0.2.2.0.8. This page documents the 0.2.2.0.8 alpha development checkout.

Behavior and built-in protections

Inspects without changing state

Direct execution for this operation

Works without invoking native programs

Works without network access

No elevation required by design

This safety classification was reviewed by OpenAI GPT-5.6 Pro against implementation digest sha256:fc7ecc1c0059d2bed127b6d8c45cf91a3a008e6d28b19ee50e56b930243d582d on 2026-08-25.

Exact syntax

qzx traceEnvVar <var_name> [project_path] [recursive] --json

Parameters

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Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
var_name	str	Yes	Not declared	Name of the environment variable to search for (e.g. DATABASE_URL, PORT)
project_path	str	No	"."	Path to the project root directory (defaults to current directory)
recursive	bool	No	true	Whether to search directories recursively (defaults to True)

Input examples

qzx traceEnvVar "PORT"

Trace usage of the PORT environment variable in the current directory

qzx traceEnvVar "STRIPE_API_KEY" "C:/my-project"

Trace usage of STRIPE_API_KEY in C:/my-project

For the complete structured payload, add --json: qzx traceEnvVar <var_name> [project_path] [recursive] --json

Representative output example

This illustrative JSON is derived from the current implementation-backed result contract. It shows what the command can return without claiming a recorded execution; values vary with inputs, host, permissions, and optional tools.

Example command: qzx traceEnvVar "PORT" --json

{
    "success": true,
    "message": "Traces usage of an environment variable across code files, .env, and .env.example templates. In this illustrative example, the command completed successfully.",
    "meta": {
        "command": "traceEnvVar",
        "command_maturity": {
            "stage": "alpha",
            "label": "Alpha",
            "sequence": 2,
            "public_executable": true,
            "stability": "interface_may_change",
            "summary": "Available for real use and feedback while its interface and behavior can still evolve.",
            "promotion_review_required": false,
            "assessment_scope": "development_checkout"
        },
        "duration_ms": 0,
        "schema_version": 1
    },
    "env_files_diagnostics": "C:\\project\\example.txt",
    "project_path": "C:\\project\\example.txt",
    "references": [
        {
            "path": "src/settings.py",
            "line": 12,
            "context": "API_URL = os.getenv(\"API_URL\")"
        }
    ],
    "references_count": 3,
    "var_name": "Example value"
}

View the JSON result contract

{
    "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
    "type": "object",
    "required": [
        "success",
        "message",
        "meta"
    ],
    "properties": {
        "success": {
            "type": "boolean"
        },
        "message": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "meta": {
            "type": "object",
            "required": [
                "command",
                "command_maturity",
                "duration_ms",
                "schema_version"
            ],
            "properties": {
                "command": {
                    "type": "string"
                },
                "command_maturity": {
                    "type": "object",
                    "required": [
                        "stage",
                        "label",
                        "sequence",
                        "public_executable",
                        "stability",
                        "summary",
                        "promotion_review_required",
                        "assessment_scope"
                    ],
                    "properties": {
                        "stage": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "label": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "sequence": {
                            "type": "integer"
                        },
                        "public_executable": {
                            "type": "boolean"
                        },
                        "stability": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "summary": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "promotion_review_required": {
                            "type": "boolean"
                        },
                        "assessment_scope": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "note": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "review": {
                            "type": "object",
                            "required": [
                                "reviewed_on",
                                "rationale",
                                "evidence"
                            ],
                            "properties": {
                                "reviewed_on": {
                                    "type": "string",
                                    "format": "date"
                                },
                                "rationale": {
                                    "type": "string"
                                },
                                "evidence": {
                                    "type": "array",
                                    "minItems": 1,
                                    "items": {
                                        "type": "string"
                                    }
                                },
                                "replacement": {
                                    "type": "string"
                                }
                            },
                            "additionalProperties": false
                        }
                    },
                    "additionalProperties": true
                },
                "duration_ms": {
                    "type": "number"
                },
                "schema_version": {
                    "type": "integer"
                }
            },
            "additionalProperties": true
        },
        "env_files_diagnostics": [],
        "error": {
            "type": "string"
        },
        "project_path": [],
        "references": [],
        "references_count": [],
        "var_name": []
    },
    "additionalProperties": true
}

Errors and limits

The public contract requires success=false and a descriptive message on failure. This catalog does not yet declare a command-specific error taxonomy; inspect the result and do not invent error codes.

QZX is alpha software. Optional dependencies, permissions, and host capabilities can change the result.

Evidence workflow: ready for deterministic automated capture.

Evidence and provenance

Implementation: src/qzx/commands/development/trace_env_var.py
Tests: tests/test_development_commands/test_trace_env_var.py
Documentation channel: Development documentation 0.2.2.0.8 · main · sha256:9aa902dfb6b006017e52972bf7871fef49b03ec24ff80741231d743d0354bfc2
Availability: 0.2.2.0.8 or earlier

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