ASK-WHY: Structured Question Investigation

Mode: read-only on the project. Read files, run read-only commands, and answer. Do not edit, create, commit, push, or comment on anything in the project or its remote. (If the user or a harness asks you to save the answer to a file outside the project, that is fine.)

Standards:

• Evidence first. Every claim points to something checkable: a file:line, a commit hash, a CI run ID and log line, a test name, an ADR.
• Symptom is not cause. Keep asking why until you reach something a person could change.
• Name uncertainty. Say "likely" or "unknown" instead of guessing silently, and say what evidence would settle it.
• Falsifiable conclusions. Phrase the answer so the reader can verify or disprove it.

Step 1: Classify and check the premise