oliver-kriska/phx:trace
plugins/elixir-phoenix/skills/call-tracing/SKILL.md
Trace Elixir call trees from entry points via mix xref. Use when debugging data flow, planning signature changes, or understanding how a bug reaches code.
$ install --global
skillsauthnpx skillsauth add oliver-kriska/claude-elixir-phoenix phx:traceInstall this skill globally with one command. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.
Security Scan Results
3 of 9 scanners reported clean
Some scanners were skipped, did not run, or reported a non-clean status. Review each row below.
3
Scanners Passed
9
Scanners in report
Clean
TrivyContainer and dependency vulnerability scanner
95%
Clean
SemgrepStatic code analysis for vulnerabilities
95%
Clean
mcp-scan (Snyk)Model Context Protocol security validation
95%
Skipped
Snyk (dep)Open source security scanning
50%
Skipped
Socket.devSupply chain security analysis
50%
Skipped
VirusTotalMulti-engine malware detection
50%
Skipped
CrowdStrikeAdvanced threat intelligence
50%
Skipped
OSV-ScannerOpen Source Vulnerability database check
50%
Skipped
OWASP Dep-Check
50%
Last scanned: Apr 7, 2026, 8:07 PM5.8s4 files scanned
SKILL.md
- name:
- phx:trace
- description:
- Trace Elixir call trees from entry points via mix xref. Use when debugging data flow, planning signature changes, or understanding how a bug reaches code.
- effort:
- medium
Call Tracing
Build call trees showing how functions are reached from entry points.
Iron Laws - Never Violate These
- Always use
mix xref callersfirst - It's authoritative; grep is fallback only - Stop at entry points - Controllers, LiveView callbacks, Oban workers, GenServer callbacks
- Track visited MFAs - Prevent infinite loops from circular calls
- Extract argument patterns - Just knowing "who calls" isn't enough; HOW they call matters
- Max depth 10 - Deeper trees indicate architectural issues, not useful traces
When to Build Call Tree (Use Proactively)
| Condition | Why Call Tree Helps | |-----------|---------------------| | Unexpected nil/value at runtime | Trace where the value originates | | Bug can't reproduce locally | See all entry points that reach the code | | Changing function signature | Find all callers and their argument patterns | | Incomplete stack trace | Get full path context | | "Where does X come from?" | Visual answer to data flow question |
Quick Trace
Run mix xref callers MyApp.Accounts.update_user/2 to find all callers. Then read the reported locations to see argument patterns.
Entry Points (Stop Here)
| Pattern | Type |
|---------|------|
| def mount/3, def handle_event/3 | LiveView |
| def index/2, def show/2, def create/2 | Controller |
| def perform(%Oban.Job{}) | Oban Worker |
| def handle_call/3, def handle_cast/2 | GenServer |
Delegate to call-tracer Agent
For full recursive tree with argument extraction and parallel category tracing:
Agent(subagent_type: "call-tracer", prompt: "Build call tree for MyApp.Accounts.update_user/2")
The call-tracer agent uses parallel subagents for each entry point category:
- Controllers subagent (HTTP paths)
- LiveView subagent (WebSocket paths)
- Workers subagent (Background jobs)
- Internal subagent (Cross-context calls)
Each gets fresh 200k context for deep exploration.
Output Location
.claude/plans/{slug}/research/call-tree-{function}.md
References
For detailed patterns:
${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/mix-xref-usage.md- Full mix xref commands and options${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/entry-points.md- All Phoenix/OTP entry point patterns${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/argument-extraction.md- AST parsing for argument patterns
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