fix(e2e): traces really are always captured now (completes DEC-073)

.github/workflows/plugin-e2e.yml

@@ -30,10 +30,22 @@ on:
         type: string
         default: "tests/_testkit"
       capture-all-traces:
-        description: "Capture a Playwright trace for EVERY scenario (not just failures). Default: failing only."
+        # Kept for compatibility with existing callers (the caller template passes
+        # it from a workflow_dispatch input). It is now a no-op in the default
+        # direction: traces are ALWAYS captured (DEC-073). Setting it false no
+        # longer suppresses them — use trace-mode if you really want that.
+        description: "Deprecated — traces are always captured (DEC-073). Use trace-mode to override."
         required: false
         type: boolean
         default: false
+      trace-mode:
+        # Escape hatch for the rare case where trace capture itself is the
+        # problem (disk pressure on a huge suite). Accepts any Playwright trace
+        # mode: on | retain-on-failure | on-first-retry | off.
+        description: "Playwright trace mode. Default 'on' (DEC-073 — a green run must leave evidence too)."
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: "on"
     secrets:
       # DEC-075: all three are now OPTIONAL. They were `required: true` back when
       # the devkit was a PRIVATE repo and the submodule could only be cloned with
@@ -227,7 +239,12 @@ jobs:
           A0_IMAGE: ${{ steps.resolve.outputs.a0_image }}
           A0_POD_ENV: ${{ steps.resolve.outputs.pod_env }}
           GHCR_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GHCR_PULL_TOKEN }}
-          BDD_TRACE: ${{ inputs.capture-all-traces && 'on' || 'retain-on-failure' }}
+          # DEC-073: traces are ALWAYS captured, so a green run leaves evidence to
+          # diff a later regression against. This line used to hardcode
+          # 'retain-on-failure' unless capture-all-traces was set, which silently
+          # overrode the config default and meant every consumer's green e2e
+          # shipped 0 traces — the exact defect DEC-073 was written to fix.
+          BDD_TRACE: ${{ inputs.trace-mode }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           mkdir -p dist "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/artifacts"

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -10,6 +10,18 @@ the frozen Make target contract (SPEC Appendix E.1), the reusable workflow input
 `Makefile.devkit` / `.devkit.yml` interface, or a tightening of the enforcement gates.
 **MINOR** = new backward-compatible targets/checks/assets. **PATCH** = fixes that don't change the contract.
 
+## Unreleased
+
+- **Fix: traces still were not captured on green runs in consumers** (DEC-073, completing it).
+  v2.1.4 changed the trace default to `on` in `playwright-base.config.ts`, but two other places
+  still forced `retain-on-failure` and won: the reusable workflow hardcoded
+  `BDD_TRACE: ${{ inputs.capture-all-traces && 'on' || 'retain-on-failure' }}`, and the BDD suite
+  keeps its **own** `e2e/bdd/playwright.config.ts` whose default was also `retain-on-failure`.
+  Consumers therefore still shipped `copied 0 trace(s)` on a green run — the exact defect DEC-073
+  was written to fix, reported as fixed while two of the three settings still disagreed.
+  New `trace-mode` input (default `on`) replaces the boolean flip; `capture-all-traces` is kept for
+  caller compatibility but is now a no-op in the default direction.
+
 ## v2.1.4 — 2026-08-04
 
 - **Fix: Dependabot PRs could never go green** (DEC-075). The reusable workflow declared its

e2e/bdd/playwright.config.ts

@@ -20,12 +20,18 @@ const RED_PROOF = process.env.BDD_SKIP_INSTALL === "1";
 export default defineConfig({
   testDir, reporter: [["list"]], timeout: 120000, workers: 1, fullyParallel: false,
   // trace = the rich single-file artifact (network + DOM snapshots + console + video + timeline),
-  // viewable via `npx playwright show-trace` / trace.playwright.dev. Default: only failing scenarios
-  // (retain-on-failure); set BDD_TRACE=on (the workflow's capture-all-traces dispatch input) for every one.
+  // viewable via `npx playwright show-trace` / trace.playwright.dev.
+  //
+  // Default "on" (DEC-073): a GREEN run must leave evidence too, otherwise there
+  // is no baseline to diff a later regression against and a scenario can only be
+  // diagnosed after it has already broken. This default was "retain-on-failure",
+  // which is the same defect DEC-073 fixed in playwright-base.config.ts — the
+  // BDD suite kept its own copy of the setting and was missed. Override with
+  // BDD_TRACE / the workflow's trace-mode input.
   use: {
     baseURL: process.env.A0_BASE || "http://localhost:8099",
     video: RED_PROOF ? "off" : "on",
     screenshot: RED_PROOF ? "off" : "on",
-    trace: RED_PROOF ? "off" : ((process.env.BDD_TRACE as any) || "retain-on-failure"),
+    trace: RED_PROOF ? "off" : ((process.env.BDD_TRACE as any) || "on"),
   },
 });