Root Trace — VS Code Extension

Root Trace is a one-stop solution for root cause analysis of Elvis tickets. It combines AI agents, an MCP server for Elvis ticket access, and a powerful log extraction & processing engine — all configured from a single sidebar panel.

Overview

Root Trace brings three capabilities together:

• AI Agents — Copilot agents that automate end-to-end log analysis and root cause analysis directly from Elvis tickets.
• MCP Server & Tools — exposes Elvis ticket management to LLMs through the Model Context Protocol (MCP) via a stdio-based server with 7 tools usable by any MCP client (VS Code Copilot, Claude Desktop, Cursor, …).
• Log Extraction & Processing — downloads ticket attachments, extracts archives, decodes multiple log formats, and merges logcat files automatically.

The extension itself handles configuration only — it does not manage the MCP server lifecycle (start / stop / restart), which is handled by VS Code's built-in MCP support. It provides:

• Automatic environment detection — local Windows vs. remote Linux (SSH / WSL)
• Global MCP configuration — generates the user-level mcp.json so the server is available across all workspaces
• Secure credential storage — credentials piped via stdin to the bundled binary which stores them in the OS Credential Manager
• Bundled AI agents — installs ready-to-use Copilot agents (see below)
• Sidebar panel — a dedicated activity bar panel for configuration and status

AI Agents

The extension bundles ready-to-use Copilot agents that build on the MCP tools and the log extraction engine to automate root cause analysis directly from Elvis tickets.

Usage

Invoke an agent from the Copilot chat agent picker, then provide input:

Installation & updates

• Install or update the agents from the sidebar panel using the Install / Update Agents action. They are copied to ~/.copilot/agents/, making them available across all workspaces.
• Each agent file carries a version in its frontmatter. The sidebar panel shows whether the installed agents are up-to-date, outdated, or missing, so you can re-run the action to update them.

Log Extraction & Processing

When an attachment is downloaded, Root Trace automatically detects its type, extracts archives (recursively), decodes supported log formats, and merges logcat files into a single chronological timeline.

Supported archive formats

Archives are extracted recursively — archives nested inside archives are unpacked automatically.

Supported log types

DLT multi-extractor outputs

A single pass over a .dlt file produces multiple categorized artifacts:

• logcat.txt — Android logcat messages
• btsnoop_decoded.tsv — Bluetooth HCI traffic
• network_trace_decoded.tsv — NW_TRACE (SOME/IP, CAN, …)
• errors_warnings.tsv — Fatal / Error / Warning messages
• system_monitor.tsv — CPU / memory / thread stats
• dlt_full.tsv — complete log timeline
• embedded file transfers — files carried inside the DLT stream

Merging multiple files

When a download or archive contains several logcat files, they are combined into a single chronologically ordered log so the full timeline can be analyzed at once.

MCP Tools

The MCP server provides 7 tools that any MCP-compatible client can invoke. The server authenticates using credentials stored in the OS Credential Manager (Windows Credential Manager / Linux keyring) — no credentials are passed via environment variables or command-line arguments.

Error Codes

All tools return structured error responses with the following codes:

Activity Window (Sidebar Panel)

The extension adds an Elvis MCP icon to the VS Code activity bar (left sidebar). Clicking it opens the configuration panel.

Layout

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Elvis MCP Server                   [📋 log] │
│──────────────────────────────────────────────│
│  Status:       ● Configured / Not Configured │
│  Environment:  Local Windows / Remote Linux  │
│                                              │
│  [ Configure MCP ]                           │
│──────────────────────────────────────────────│
│  UPDATE ELVIS CREDENTIALS                    │
│──────────────────────────────────────────────│
│  Username                                    │
│  [ domain_username                       ]   │
│                                              │
│  Password                                    │
│  [ ********                          ] [👁]  │
│                                              │
│  Log Path                                    │
│  [ C:\Users\...\elvis-mcp\logs   ] [📁]     │
│                                              │
│  [ Update configuration ]                    │
│                                              │
│  HINTS                                       │
│  1. If not configured → Configure MCP        │
│  2. If creds need update → Update config     │
│  3. If both done → start from MCP panel      │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Sections

Title Bar

• Elvis MCP Server — extension title
• Log icon (top-right) — opens the Elvis MCP output channel showing extension diagnostic messages

Status & Environment

• Status — shows Configured (green dot) or Not Configured (red dot). Configuration is detected by checking:
  1. The global mcp.json contains a roottrace server entry
  2. The bundled binary exists at the resolved path
• Environment — auto-detected:
  • Local Windows — when running on a local Windows workspace
  • Remote Linux (SSH) — when connected via Remote-SSH or WSL

Configure MCP Button

• Enabled when status is Not Configured
• Disabled (greyed out, shows "Configured") when already configured
• Action: generates the global mcp.json at the VS Code user-level config path and opens the file for review

The generated entry contains only command + args — no credentials, no environment variables:

{
  "servers": {
    "roottrace": {
      "command": "<path-to-bundled-binary>",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Update Elvis Credentials

Three form fields:

• Eye icon — toggles password visibility
• Folder icon — opens a folder browser for Log Path
• Update configuration button — validates all fields, then pipes credentials to the bundled binary via stdin (JSON). The binary stores them in the OS Credential Manager using Python keyring.

Hints

Contextual guidance displayed at the bottom of the panel:

1. If not configured — click Configure MCP to generate the configuration.
2. If credentials need updating — edit the fields and click Update configuration.
3. If both are done — go to the MCP extension panel and start the server, or restart VS Code.

Commands

Available via Ctrl+Shift+P:

Status Bar

A status bar item appears at the bottom-left of VS Code:

The environment label shows Local or Remote: ssh-remote depending on the detected workspace.

Troubleshooting

Extension not activating

• Ensure the VSIX is installed (check Extensions sidebar)
• The extension activates on startup (onStartupFinished) — reload VS Code

"Configure MCP" button disabled

• Status shows "Configured" — the global mcp.json already has the entry
• If you need to regenerate, use Ctrl+Shift+P → Elvis MCP: Configure

Credentials not working

• Open the sidebar, update credentials, and click Update configuration
• Check the extension log (Ctrl+Shift+P → Elvis MCP: Show Extension Log)
• Verify the binary exists at the expected path

Binary not found

• Check that bin/win32/elvis-mcp-server.exe or bin/linux/elvis-mcp-server exists in the extension directory
• For Remote-SSH, ensure the extension is installed on the remote host

License

See LICENSE file for details.