> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://traceroot.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Root Cause Analysis

> How the AI agent identifies the root cause of failures in your traces

When a trace contains errors, the AI agent finds the root cause by looking at trace data, prod source code and GitHub activities. Requires setting up [GitHub Integration](/ai-agent/github-integration).

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/tracerootai/eCQ8DDIAKc64lVFw/images/rca_v1.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=eCQ8DDIAKc64lVFw&q=85&s=179b1790684fb0222e6f414c4ae2ec0a" alt="TraceRoot AI agent performing root cause analysis on a failing trace" width="3442" height="1810" data-path="images/rca_v1.png" />
</Frame>

## How It Works

1. **Examine the trace** — reviews error spans, call hierarchy, input/output data, and timing
2. **Clone the repo** — clones your repository at the relevant commit into an isolated sandbox
3. **Read the prod source code** — reads the exact file and line captured in the span attributes
4. **Identify the root cause** — correlates trace data with source code and explains what went wrong

## Sandbox Isolation

The agent runs in a fully isolated sandbox — it can read trace data and clone your source code, but cannot access your production databases, APIs, or infrastructure.