Fix #135: Remove CI auto-enable for trace logs

[konard]

Summary

Fixes #135 - Trace logs no longer interfere with command output when CI=true environment variable is set.

Problem

When the CI environment variable was set to true (as in GitHub Actions and other CI/CD platforms), command-stream automatically enabled verbose trace logging to stderr. This caused:

• 🔴 Broken JSON parsing (trace logs mixed with JSON output)
• 🔴 Test failures in CI environments
• 🔴 Unreliable command output in CI/CD pipelines

Example of the issue:

$ CI=true node script.js
[TRACE 2025-09-14T13:25:23.048Z] [Initialization] Registering built-in virtual commands
[TRACE 2025-09-14T13:25:23.048Z] [VirtualCommands] registerBuiltins() called
{"status":"ok"}    # <- JSON mixed with trace logs
[TRACE 2025-09-14T13:25:23.051Z] [ProcessRunner] Cleanup completed

Solution

1. Removed CI Auto-Enable for Trace Logs

• CI environment variable no longer automatically enables tracing
• Trace logs only appear when explicitly requested

2. Added Explicit Trace Control

New COMMAND_STREAM_TRACE environment variable:

• COMMAND_STREAM_TRACE=true - Explicitly enable tracing (even in CI)
• COMMAND_STREAM_TRACE=false - Explicitly disable tracing (overrides VERBOSE)
• Not set - Use COMMAND_STREAM_VERBOSE setting (default: disabled)

3. Dynamic Trace Evaluation

• Trace settings are now evaluated at runtime
• Allows runtime control of trace logging

Changes

Modified Files:

• src/$.mjs - Updated trace function and removed CI auto-enable
• src/$.utils.mjs - Consistent trace logic

Test Files:

• tests/issue-135-final.test.mjs - 4 tests covering the fix
• examples/ - Reproduction and test scripts

Testing

✅ All new tests passing (4/4):

• CI=true no longer produces trace logs
• JSON parsing works in CI environment
• Default behavior is clean (no env vars)
• mirror:false works correctly in CI

✅ Existing tests: 619 pass, 2 pre-existing failures unrelated to this change

Migration Guide

Before (Broken in CI)

// CI=true caused trace logs to pollute output
const result = await $({ mirror: false, capture: true })`echo '{"status":"ok"}'`;
console.log(result.stdout); // Mixed with trace logs in CI

After (Fixed)

// Clean output in CI
const result = await $({ mirror: false, capture: true })`echo '{"status":"ok"}'`;
console.log(result.stdout); // Pure JSON, even in CI

// To enable tracing in CI (if needed):
process.env.COMMAND_STREAM_TRACE = 'true';
// or set environment variable: COMMAND_STREAM_TRACE=true

Environment Variable Reference

Variable	Effect
CI=true	✅ No longer enables trace logs
COMMAND_STREAM_VERBOSE=true	✅ Enables trace logs
COMMAND_STREAM_TRACE=true	✅ Explicitly enable (overrides default)
COMMAND_STREAM_TRACE=false	✅ Explicitly disable (overrides VERBOSE)

Impact

• ✅ CI/CD pipelines work reliably
• ✅ JSON parsing works in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.
• ✅ Backward compatible (trace logs still available via explicit env vars)
• ✅ No breaking changes to existing functionality

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[konard]

Resolve conflicts, and double checks all original requirements are met.

[konard]

🤖 AI Work Session Started

Starting automated work session at 2025-12-28T02:35:40.900Z

The PR has been converted to draft mode while work is in progress.

This comment marks the beginning of an AI work session. Please wait working session to finish, and provide your feedback.

[konard]

🤖 Solution Draft Log

This log file contains the complete execution trace of the AI solution draft process.

💰 Cost estimation:

• Public pricing estimate: $4.773127 USD
• Calculated by Anthropic: $2.852013 USD
• Difference: $-1.921115 (-40.25%)
  📎 Log file uploaded as GitHub Gist (691KB)
  🔗 View complete solution draft log

---

Now working session is ended, feel free to review and add any feedback on the solution draft.