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

# pikopod why

> Replay a request against a fork of the sandbox with decision tracing, and see exactly why it answers what it answers.

```text theme={null}
pikopod why <sandbox> <METHOD> <path> [--body <json>] [--auth=false]
```

Runs the request in-process against an ephemeral fork of the sandbox's current state, with the narrator on. No real state is touched and no server is needed. Deterministic replay means the trace is the truth, not an approximation.

| Flag            | Meaning                                                                                          |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `--body <json>` | A JSON request body.                                                                             |
| `--auth`        | Send the sandbox's issued credential. Default true. Pass `--auth=false` to see the refusal path. |

```bash theme={null}
pikopod why examplepay POST /charges --body '{"amount": 1250, "currency": "NGN"}'
```

```text theme={null}
replaying POST /charges against a fork of examplepay (seed 1f41d4ff6d02c840) — no real state is touched

  auth       sending the issued credential in authorization
  faults     no armed fault fired
  route      matched createCharge
  auth       declared auth satisfied
  operation  kind=create resource=/charges

→ 201
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
  Etag: "0"
  X-Pikopod-Operation: createCharge

{"amount":1250,"currency":"NGN","id":"charges_1","status":"failed"}
```

```bash theme={null}
pikopod why examplepay GET /charges --auth=false
```

```text theme={null}
  faults     no armed fault fired
  route      matched listCharges
  auth       declared auth REFUSED the request (401) — the issued credential is in `pikopod sandbox list`

→ 401
  Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
  Www-Authenticate: Bearer
  X-Pikopod-Operation: listCharges

{"message":"Authentication required"}
```

The path must be provider-relative and start with `/`. Bodies longer than 2000 characters are truncated in the output.