why-broke Causal Debugger

why-broke is a command-line utility designed for causal debugging of build failures in JavaScript/TypeScript projects. It tackles the common problem of "it worked yesterday, but not today" by detecting subtle environmental and dependency changes that conventional version control systems like Git might miss. The tool operates by taking a "good state" snapshot of the system, which includes critical factors like Node.js version, operating system, lockfile hashes, package manifest versions, key configuration files (e.g., `tsconfig`, `webpack`), and essential environment variable keys. When a build subsequently fails, why-broke compares the current "bad state" against the last known good state to pinpoint the root cause, such as silent dependency updates, missing environment variables, or unexpected Node.js version discrepancies. As of version 1.4.2, it incorporates a causal inference engine with specialized detectors for runtime, dependencies, configuration, environment, and Git status. The package is actively maintained and appears to follow a typical semantic versioning release cadence based on its version history. Its primary differentiator is its focus on diagnosing *why* a build failed rather than merely *where* it failed, offering actionable fixes.