- Who it helps
- Developers who need to review the reasons behind changes made by coding agents.
- Availability
- The Apache-2.0 project documents Python 3.11, Git and an existing agent CLI. It adds no required Whyline account; model-provider access and any messaging integrations have their own requirements.
Reasons need to be recorded
Mechanical hooks capture activity, while the agent must write the rationale and rejected alternatives. A configured hook is different from a hook that has actually fired. An empty decision record should produce an empty answer.
Read the confidence label
The documentation distinguishes a recorded explanation from an inference. A fresh clone may only support day-level timing; that cannot justify precise temporal attribution. Follow the linked evidence before relying on a plausible explanation.
What you can do
- Inspect one decision record and its commit, then check whether the stated reason was recorded at the time or inferred later. Open reference ↗
Where the evidence stops
No agent session or hook was run. The documentation supports the record format and intended behavior; independent reliability evidence remains missing.
Sources read. Public evidence checked October 24, 2026 UTC. No third-party software, model inference or complete product workflow was executed.
Sources & further reading
GitHub · implementation
Whyline decision records ↗
The README distinguishes recorded reasons, commit evidence and inferred explanations; no agent workflow was executed.
Anish Monci Varghese · page checked 2026-10-24
GitHub · implementation
Whyline recording semantics ↗
Recording instructions explain that hooks capture mechanics while rationale depends on agent-written decisions.
Anish Monci Varghese · page checked 2026-10-24
Coverage note: Primary material was inspected. Independent execution and matching original YouTube, X and Reddit discussion remain incomplete; unavailable engagement counts are omitted.
The record over time (1)
Dated source checks and published explanations. An observation date can differ from the original release date.
- · Added to Current
Whyline keeps decision records beside code so a reviewer can ask why a line changed and inspect the supporting commit.