# Causation ID

> A mechanism that stamps each event with the identifier of the event that caused it.

Record: `architecture:causation-id`
Kind: mechanism
Layer: [Observability](https://banes-lab.com/records/layer/observability.md)
Severity: recommended
Scope: event, message, workflow
Canonical: https://banes-lab.com/ontology#architecture-causation-id

Listed in [Architecture principles](https://banes-lab.com/api/records/architecture.md), after [Correlation ID](https://banes-lab.com/records/architecture/correlation-id.md) and before [Distributed Tracing](https://banes-lab.com/records/architecture/distributed-tracing.md).

## Repair

- Refactored by: Add Causation Metadata
- Detected by: missing causation field in event metadata
- Violated by: event chains without parent cause
- Measured by: causation coverage
- Enforced by: event schema rules

## Requires

- [Event Metadata](https://banes-lab.com/records/lexicon/event-metadata.md)

## Reinforces

- [Causality](https://banes-lab.com/records/architecture/causality.md)
- [Audit Trail](https://banes-lab.com/records/lexicon/audit-trail.md)

## Enables

- [Cause-Effect Reconstruction](https://banes-lab.com/records/lexicon/cause-effect-reconstruction.md)

## Conflicts with

- [Unlinked Events](https://banes-lab.com/records/lexicon/unlinked-events.md)

## In tension with

- [Metadata Verbosity](https://banes-lab.com/records/lexicon/metadata-verbosity.md)

## Tensions

- [Causation ID / Metadata Verbosity](https://banes-lab.com/records/tension/causation-id-metadata-verbosity.md)

## Severity

- [recommended](https://banes-lab.com/records/vocabulary/severity-recommended.md)

## Category

- [Observability / Auditability / Traceability](https://banes-lab.com/records/architecture-category/observability-auditability-traceability.md)

## Linked from

- [Causality / Ordering / Distributed Time](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/principles/architecture-category-causality-ordering-distributed-time.md)
- [Observability / Auditability / Traceability](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/lexicon/lexicon-category-observability-auditability-traceability.md)
- [Severity levels](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/schema/the-vocabulary-severity.md)
- [The resolutions](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/schema/the-resolutions.md)