diff --git a/open-sse/services/combo.ts b/open-sse/services/combo.ts
index c9ccae9a97..982775f69b 100644
--- a/open-sse/services/combo.ts
+++ b/open-sse/services/combo.ts
@@ -235,6 +235,14 @@ import {
   resolveComboTargets,
 } from "./combo/comboStructure.ts";
 import { getKnownContextOverflow } from "./combo/knownContextOverflow.ts";
+import {
+  createInvocationId,
+  finalizeComboTrace,
+  finishComboTrace,
+  getComboTrace,
+  recordComboDecision,
+  startComboTrace,
+} from "./combo/decisionTrace.ts";
 import {
   QUOTA_SOFT_DEPRIORITIZE_FACTOR,
   setCandidateQuotaSoftPenalty,
@@ -607,7 +615,25 @@ export { pinIsDurablyUnhealthy };
 /** @param {string} errorText */
 
 /** @param {object} options */
-export async function handleComboChat({
+/**
+ * #10681 egress: every combo response carries the opaque trace id in an
+ * `X-OmniRoute-Combo-Trace` header so a post-incident lookup of the ordered
+ * per-target decisions is possible; the finalized summary is also emitted as
+ * one metadata-only log line for durability across restarts.
+ */
+export async function handleComboChat(options: HandleComboChatOptions): Promise<Response> {
+  const traceInvocationId = options.invocationId ?? createInvocationId();
+  const response = await handleComboChatInner({ ...options, invocationId: traceInvocationId });
+  response.headers.set("X-OmniRoute-Combo-Trace", traceInvocationId);
+  const trace = getComboTrace(traceInvocationId);
+  options.log.info(
+    "COMBO",
+    `combo trace ${traceInvocationId} terminal=${JSON.stringify(trace?.terminal ?? null)} decisions=${trace?.decisions.length ?? 0}`
+  );
+  return response;
+}
+
+async function handleComboChatInner({
   body,
   combo,
   handleSingleModel,
@@ -627,6 +653,7 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
   sourceFormat = null,
   endpointPath = null,
   requestHeaders = null,
+  invocationId,
 }: HandleComboChatOptions): Promise<Response> {
   const comboCtx = createComboContext({ body, combo, settings, relayOptions, log });
   const {
@@ -643,6 +670,10 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
   } = phaseComboSetup(comboCtx);
   body = comboCtx.body;
 
+  // #10681: opaque per-invocation decision trace (safe routing metadata only).
+  const traceInvocationId = invocationId ?? createInvocationId();
+  startComboTrace(traceInvocationId, { strategy, comboName: combo.name });
+
   const handleSingleModelWithTimeout = buildTargetTimeoutRunner({
     handleSingleModel,
     comboTargetTimeoutMs,
@@ -1019,6 +1050,9 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
       });
       const runningTasks = new Set<Promise<void>>();
       let anySuccess = false;
+      // #10681: steps already recorded as dispatched (so per-target retries do not
+      // duplicate the decision).
+      const dispatchedTargets = new Set<string>();
       const abortControllers = new Map<number, AbortController>();
       const zeroLatencyOptimizationsEnabled = config.zeroLatencyOptimizationsEnabled === true;
       const hasProtectedPriorityTarget =
@@ -1044,6 +1078,12 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
         const cb = getCircuitBreaker(provider);
         if (cb.getStatus().state === "OPEN") {
           log.info("COMBO", `Skipping ${modelStr} — circuit breaker OPEN for ${provider}`);
+          recordComboDecision(traceInvocationId, {
+            step: target.executionKey,
+            target: modelStr,
+            decision: "skipped_before_dispatch",
+            reason: "circuit_open",
+          });
           if (i > 0) fallbackCount++;
           return stopProtectedPriorityTarget(`Provider ${provider} circuit breaker is open`);
         }
@@ -1054,6 +1094,12 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
           isProviderInCooldown(provider, target.connectionId ?? undefined, resilienceSettings)
         ) {
           log.info("COMBO", `Skipping ${modelStr} — provider ${provider} in global cooldown`);
+          recordComboDecision(traceInvocationId, {
+            step: target.executionKey,
+            target: modelStr,
+            decision: "skipped_before_dispatch",
+            reason: "provider_cooldown",
+          });
           if (i > 0) fallbackCount++;
           return stopProtectedPriorityTarget(`Provider ${provider} is in cooldown`);
         }
@@ -1081,6 +1127,12 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
         );
         if (exhaustedSkip) {
           log.info("COMBO", exhaustedSkip);
+          recordComboDecision(traceInvocationId, {
+            step: target.executionKey,
+            target: modelStr,
+            decision: "skipped_before_dispatch",
+            reason: "request_exhaustion",
+          });
           if (i > 0) fallbackCount++;
           return stopProtectedPriorityTarget(`Target ${modelStr} is unavailable`);
         }
@@ -1088,6 +1140,12 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
         // Pre-check: skip models locked by the resilience system (model-level lockout)
         if (provider && rawModel && isModelLocked(provider, target.connectionId || "", rawModel)) {
           log.info("COMBO", `Skipping ${modelStr} — model locked by resilience (cooldown active)`);
+          recordComboDecision(traceInvocationId, {
+            step: target.executionKey,
+            target: modelStr,
+            decision: "skipped_before_dispatch",
+            reason: "model_lockout",
+          });
           if (i > 0) fallbackCount++;
           return stopProtectedPriorityTarget(`Model ${modelStr} is locked`);
         }
@@ -1114,6 +1172,12 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
               "COMBO",
               `Skipping ${modelStr} — quota exhaustion cutoff (${quotaCutoff.reason || "quota_exhausted"})`
             );
+            recordComboDecision(traceInvocationId, {
+              step: target.executionKey,
+              target: modelStr,
+              decision: "skipped_before_dispatch",
+              reason: "quota_cutoff",
+            });
             if (i > 0) fallbackCount++;
             observeFailure(true, target.executionKey);
             if (protectedPriorityTarget) {
@@ -1162,6 +1226,12 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
               "COMBO",
               `Skipping ${modelStr} — no credentials available or model excluded`
             );
+            recordComboDecision(traceInvocationId, {
+              step: target.executionKey,
+              target: modelStr,
+              decision: "skipped_before_dispatch",
+              reason: "availability",
+            });
             if (i > 0) fallbackCount++;
             return stopProtectedPriorityTarget(`Model ${modelStr} is unavailable`);
           }
@@ -1173,6 +1243,12 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
           const gateResult = checkCredentialGate(connectionId, provider, modelStr);
           if (gateResult.allowed === false) {
             logCredentialSkip(log, modelStr, gateResult.reason || "Credential gate blocked");
+            recordComboDecision(traceInvocationId, {
+              step: target.executionKey,
+              target: modelStr,
+              decision: "skipped_before_dispatch",
+              reason: "credential_gate",
+            });
             if (i > 0) fallbackCount++;
             return stopProtectedPriorityTarget(`Credential gate blocked ${modelStr}`);
           }
@@ -1187,6 +1263,12 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
               "COMBO",
               `Skipping ${modelStr} — connection ${connectionId} is at max concurrency cap (${maxConcurrentCap})`
             );
+            recordComboDecision(traceInvocationId, {
+              step: target.executionKey,
+              target: modelStr,
+              decision: "skipped_before_dispatch",
+              reason: "concurrency_cap",
+            });
             if (i > 0) fallbackCount++;
             return stopProtectedPriorityTarget(`Connection capacity reached for ${modelStr}`);
           }
@@ -1202,6 +1284,12 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
           !(await perTargetAdmission({ modelStr, executionKey: target.executionKey, body }))
         ) {
           log.info("COMBO", `Skipping ${modelStr} — admission lane full (#9654)`);
+          recordComboDecision(traceInvocationId, {
+            step: target.executionKey,
+            target: modelStr,
+            decision: "skipped_before_dispatch",
+            reason: "admission_lane",
+          });
           if (i > 0) fallbackCount++;
           return null;
         }
@@ -1257,6 +1345,12 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
                   "COMBO",
                   `Predictive TTFT Circuit Breaker: skipping ${modelStr} (avg ${m.avgLatencyMs}ms > max ${config.predictiveTtftMs}ms)`
                 );
+                recordComboDecision(traceInvocationId, {
+                  step: target.executionKey,
+                  target: modelStr,
+                  decision: "skipped_before_dispatch",
+                  reason: "predictive_ttft",
+                });
                 return stopProtectedPriorityTarget(`Predictive latency check rejected ${modelStr}`);
               }
             }
@@ -1386,6 +1480,15 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
                 : "",
             fingerprint: resolveTargetFingerprint(target) ?? "",
           });
+          // #10681: record dispatch once per target (retries keep the first decision).
+          if (!dispatchedTargets.has(target.executionKey)) {
+            dispatchedTargets.add(target.executionKey);
+            recordComboDecision(traceInvocationId, {
+              step: target.executionKey,
+              target: modelStr,
+              decision: "dispatched",
+            });
+          }
           const result = await handleSingleModelWithTimeout(attemptBody, modelStr, {
             ...targetForAttempt,
             effectiveComboStrategy: strategy,
@@ -2297,10 +2400,16 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
         await Promise.race([globalPromise, Promise.all([...runningTasks])]);
       }
 
+      // #10681: finalize the decision trace (success).
+      finalizeComboTrace(traceInvocationId, orderedTargets);
+      finishComboTrace(traceInvocationId, { status: 200 });
       if (anySuccess) {
         return await globalPromise;
       }
 
+      // #10681: finalize the decision trace (global timeout).
+      finalizeComboTrace(traceInvocationId, orderedTargets);
+      finishComboTrace(traceInvocationId, { status: 504 });
       // Global combo timeout: return aggregated error immediately, skipping set retries.
       if (comboExpired) {
         const summary = buildRedactedSummary(comboErrors);
@@ -2343,6 +2452,9 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
       if (setTry < maxSetRetries) continue;
 
       // All set retries exhausted — return the final error
+      // #10681: finalize the decision trace (all targets failed or skipped).
+      finalizeComboTrace(traceInvocationId, orderedTargets);
+      finishComboTrace(traceInvocationId, { status: 503 });
       if (!lastStatus) {
         if (recordedAttempts === 0) {
           notifyWebhookEvent("request.failed", {
@@ -2443,6 +2555,9 @@ export async function handleComboChat({
         }
       }
 
+      // #10681: finalize the decision trace with the aggregated terminal status.
+      finalizeComboTrace(traceInvocationId, orderedTargets);
+      finishComboTrace(traceInvocationId, { status });
       // Retry-after decoration is separate from the wait decision above: only
       // rate-limit-class final statuses may carry a `(reset after ...)` suffix
       // (see unavailableRetryGate.ts — do not stitch a peer target's window onto
diff --git a/open-sse/services/combo/decisionTrace.ts b/open-sse/services/combo/decisionTrace.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7660af7ea0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/open-sse/services/combo/decisionTrace.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,175 @@
+/**
+ * #10681: opaque per-invocation combo decision trace.
+ *
+ * Priority combos can be impossible to audit after a mixed fallback: dispatched
+ * attempts are persisted in call_logs, but candidates excluded before dispatch
+ * (circuit open, provider cooldown, model lockout, quota cutoff, availability,
+ * credential gate, concurrency cap, admission lane, predictive TTFT) leave no
+ * correlated decision record. This module records one ordered, allowlisted
+ * decision per target per invocation so operators can reconstruct what the
+ * chain actually did.
+ *
+ * SAFETY CONTRACT: the trace contains ONLY routing metadata — invocation id,
+ * strategy, combo name, per-target provider/model, decision, allowlisted skip
+ * reason, timestamps, terminal status. Never prompts, request/response bodies,
+ * headers, credentials, account ids, or raw upstream error strings.
+ *
+ * Retention: bounded in-memory (TTL + LRU cap) — see TRACE_TTL_MS/MAX_TRACES.
+ */
+import { randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
+
+export const COMBO_SKIP_REASONS = [
+  "circuit_open",
+  "provider_cooldown",
+  "request_exhaustion",
+  "model_lockout",
+  "quota_cutoff",
+  "availability",
+  "credential_gate",
+  "concurrency_cap",
+  "admission_lane",
+  "predictive_ttft",
+] as const;
+
+export type ComboSkipReason = (typeof COMBO_SKIP_REASONS)[number];
+
+export type ComboDecision = "dispatched" | "skipped_before_dispatch" | "not_reached";
+
+export interface ComboTraceEntry {
+  /** Safe internal identifier of the combo step (execution key). */
+  step: string;
+  /** Safe routing metadata: "<provider>/<model>". */
+  target: string;
+  decision: ComboDecision;
+  reason?: ComboSkipReason;
+  ts: number;
+}
+
+export interface ComboTrace {
+  invocationId: string;
+  createdAt: number;
+  strategy: string | null;
+  comboName: string | null;
+  decisions: ComboTraceEntry[];
+  terminal: { status: number | null; errorClass: string | null } | null;
+}
+
+const TRACE_TTL_MS = 30 * 60 * 1000;
+const MAX_TRACES = 2000;
+const traces = new Map<string, ComboTrace>();
+
+export function createInvocationId(): string {
+  return `combo-${randomUUID()}`;
+}
+
+function isComboSkipReason(value: unknown): value is ComboSkipReason {
+  return typeof value === "string" && (COMBO_SKIP_REASONS as readonly string[]).includes(value);
+}
+
+/** Test hook: clear the in-memory store. */
+export function resetComboTraceStore(): void {
+  traces.clear();
+}
+
+export function startComboTrace(
+  invocationId: string,
+  meta: { strategy?: string | null; comboName?: string | null }
+): void {
+  pruneExpired();
+  if (traces.size >= MAX_TRACES) {
+    // Prefer evicting a FINALIZED trace so in-flight (unfinalized) invocations
+    // survive a burst; fall back to the oldest trace overall.
+    let victim: ComboTrace | null = null;
+    for (const trace of traces.values()) {
+      if (trace.terminal !== null && (!victim || trace.createdAt < victim.createdAt)) {
+        victim = trace;
+      }
+    }
+    if (!victim) {
+      for (const trace of traces.values()) {
+        if (!victim || trace.createdAt < victim.createdAt) victim = trace;
+      }
+    }
+    if (victim) traces.delete(victim.invocationId);
+  }
+  if (!traces.has(invocationId)) {
+    traces.set(invocationId, {
+      invocationId,
+      createdAt: Date.now(),
+      strategy: meta.strategy ?? null,
+      comboName: meta.comboName ?? null,
+      decisions: [],
+      terminal: null,
+    });
+  }
+}
+
+export function recordComboDecision(
+  invocationId: string,
+  entry: Omit<ComboTraceEntry, "ts"> & { reason?: unknown }
+): void {
+  const trace = traces.get(invocationId);
+  if (!trace) return;
+  if (entry.reason !== undefined && !isComboSkipReason(entry.reason)) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `invalid combo skip reason: ${String(entry.reason)} (allowlist: ${COMBO_SKIP_REASONS.join(", ")})`
+    );
+  }
+  trace.decisions.push({
+    step: entry.step,
+    target: entry.target,
+    decision: entry.decision,
+    reason: entry.reason as ComboSkipReason | undefined,
+    ts: Date.now(),
+  });
+}
+
+export function finishComboTrace(
+  invocationId: string,
+  terminal: { status: number | null; errorClass?: string | null }
+): void {
+  const trace = traces.get(invocationId);
+  if (!trace) return;
+  trace.terminal = { status: terminal.status, errorClass: terminal.errorClass ?? null };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Mark every target that received no decision as not_reached and return the
+ * trace. Safe to call on success and failure paths; idempotent.
+ */
+export function finalizeComboTrace(
+  invocationId: string,
+  orderedTargets: Array<{ executionKey: string; modelStr: string }>
+): ComboTrace | null {
+  const trace = traces.get(invocationId);
+  if (!trace) return null;
+  const decided = new Set(trace.decisions.map((d) => d.step));
+  for (const t of orderedTargets) {
+    if (!decided.has(t.executionKey)) {
+      trace.decisions.push({
+        step: t.executionKey,
+        target: t.modelStr,
+        decision: "not_reached",
+        ts: Date.now(),
+      });
+    }
+  }
+  return trace;
+}
+
+export function getComboTrace(invocationId: string): ComboTrace | null {
+  const trace = traces.get(invocationId);
+  if (!trace) return null;
+  if (Date.now() - trace.createdAt > TRACE_TTL_MS) {
+    traces.delete(invocationId);
+    return null;
+  }
+  return trace;
+}
+
+function pruneExpired(): void {
+  const now = Date.now();
+  for (const [id, trace] of traces) {
+    if (now - trace.createdAt > TRACE_TTL_MS) traces.delete(id);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/open-sse/services/combo/dispatchPrelude.ts b/open-sse/services/combo/dispatchPrelude.ts
index 2f5361a4cf..8fbaff5c82 100644
--- a/open-sse/services/combo/dispatchPrelude.ts
+++ b/open-sse/services/combo/dispatchPrelude.ts
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ type RunCombo = (options: HandleComboChatOptions) => Promise<Response>;
  * hand back to it when it dispatches a nested combo-ref.
  */
 type PreludeBaseOptionArgs = {
+  invocationId?: string;
   body: Record<string, unknown>;
   combo: ComboLike;
   handleSingleModel: HandleSingleModel;
@@ -103,6 +104,7 @@ function buildBaseOptions(a: PreludeBaseOptionArgs): HandleComboChatOptions {
     signal: a.signal,
     apiKeyAllowedConnections: a.apiKeyAllowedConnections,
     hiddenModelsByProvider: a.hiddenModelsByProvider,
+    invocationId: a.invocationId,
     clientManagedResponsesContext: a.clientManagedResponsesContext,
     perTargetAdmission: a.perTargetAdmission,
     deferContextOverflowWhenCompressible: a.deferContextOverflowWhenCompressible,
diff --git a/open-sse/services/combo/types.ts b/open-sse/services/combo/types.ts
index 03349e43c7..83a7f26693 100644
--- a/open-sse/services/combo/types.ts
+++ b/open-sse/services/combo/types.ts
@@ -100,6 +100,8 @@ export type ComboNestingContext = {
 export type HiddenModelsByProvider = ReadonlyMap<string, ReadonlySet<string>>;
 
 export type HandleComboChatOptions = {
+  /** #10681: optional opaque parent invocation id for the decision trace. */
+  invocationId?: string;
   body: Record<string, unknown>;
   combo: ComboLike;
   handleSingleModel: HandleSingleModel;
diff --git a/src/app/api/usage/combo-trace/[id]/route.ts b/src/app/api/usage/combo-trace/[id]/route.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0615daf309
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/api/usage/combo-trace/[id]/route.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+import { NextResponse } from "next/server";
+import { requireManagementAuth } from "@/lib/api/requireManagementAuth";
+import { getComboTrace } from "@omniroute/open-sse/services/combo/decisionTrace.ts";
+
+/**
+ * #10681: read the ordered per-target decision trace for one combo invocation.
+ * Safe by construction: the trace holds routing metadata only (provider/model,
+ * decision, allowlisted skip reason, terminal status) — never prompts, request
+ * or response bodies, headers, credentials, account ids, or raw upstream
+ * errors. Retention is bounded in-memory (30min TTL, 2000 invocations).
+ */
+export async function GET(request: Request, { params }: { params: Promise<{ id: string }> }) {
+  const authError = await requireManagementAuth(request);
+  if (authError) return authError;
+
+  const { id } = await params;
+  if (!id || !id.startsWith("combo-")) {
+    return NextResponse.json({ error: "Invalid invocation id" }, { status: 400 });
+  }
+  const trace = getComboTrace(id);
+  if (!trace) {
+    return NextResponse.json({ error: "Combo trace not found or expired" }, { status: 404 });
+  }
+  return NextResponse.json(trace);
+}
diff --git a/tests/unit/combo/combo-decision-trace.test.ts b/tests/unit/combo/combo-decision-trace.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0da363ad34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/combo/combo-decision-trace.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,311 @@
+// #10681: combo decision trace — unit + integration (public handleComboChat).
+import { test, beforeEach } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+
+const TEST_DATA_DIR = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "omniroute-combo-trace-"));
+process.env.DATA_DIR = TEST_DATA_DIR;
+process.env.API_KEY_SECRET = process.env.API_KEY_SECRET || "combo-decision-trace-secret";
+
+const {
+  COMBO_SKIP_REASONS,
+  createInvocationId,
+  finalizeComboTrace,
+  getComboTrace,
+  recordComboDecision,
+  resetComboTraceStore,
+  startComboTrace,
+} = await import("../../../open-sse/services/combo/decisionTrace.ts");
+const { handleComboChat } = await import("../../../open-sse/services/combo.ts");
+const { recordComboRequest, resetComboMetrics } =
+  await import("../../../open-sse/services/comboMetrics.ts");
+
+const noop = () => {};
+const log = { info: noop, warn: noop, debug: noop, error: noop };
+
+function okResponse(content: string) {
+  return new Response(JSON.stringify({ choices: [{ message: { role: "assistant", content } }] }), {
+    status: 200,
+    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+  });
+}
+function rateLimitedResponse() {
+  return new Response(
+    JSON.stringify({
+      error: { message: "rate limited", type: "rate_limit_error", code: "rate_limit" },
+    }),
+    { status: 429, headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" } }
+  );
+}
+
+beforeEach(() => resetComboTraceStore());
+
+test("createInvocationId yields unique opaque ids", () => {
+  const a = createInvocationId();
+  const b = createInvocationId();
+  assert.ok(a.startsWith("combo-"));
+  assert.notEqual(a, b);
+});
+
+test("skip reasons are allowlisted (unknown reason is rejected)", () => {
+  startComboTrace("combo-t", { strategy: "priority", comboName: "x" });
+  for (const reason of COMBO_SKIP_REASONS) {
+    recordComboDecision("combo-t", {
+      step: "s",
+      target: "p/m",
+      decision: "skipped_before_dispatch",
+      reason,
+    });
+  }
+  assert.throws(() =>
+    recordComboDecision("combo-t", {
+      step: "s",
+      target: "p/m",
+      decision: "skipped_before_dispatch",
+      reason: "freeform upstream error",
+    })
+  );
+  assert.equal(getComboTrace("combo-t")!.decisions.length, COMBO_SKIP_REASONS.length);
+});
+
+test("finalize marks never-iterated targets as not_reached", () => {
+  startComboTrace("combo-t", { strategy: "priority", comboName: "x" });
+  recordComboDecision("combo-t", { step: "s1", target: "p/a", decision: "dispatched" });
+  recordComboDecision("combo-t", {
+    step: "s2",
+    target: "p/b",
+    decision: "skipped_before_dispatch",
+    reason: "provider_cooldown",
+  });
+  const trace = finalizeComboTrace("combo-t", [
+    { executionKey: "s1", modelStr: "p/a" },
+    { executionKey: "s2", modelStr: "p/b" },
+    { executionKey: "s3", modelStr: "p/c" },
+  ])!;
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    trace.decisions.map((d) => d.decision),
+    ["dispatched", "skipped_before_dispatch", "not_reached"]
+  );
+});
+
+test("handleComboChat: mixed fallback produces an ordered decision trace", async () => {
+  const invocationId = createInvocationId();
+  const calls: string[] = [];
+  const res = await handleComboChat({
+    invocationId,
+    body: { messages: [{ role: "user", content: "ping" }] },
+    combo: {
+      name: "trace-std",
+      strategy: "priority",
+      models: ["openai/a", "openai/b", "openai/c"],
+      config: { maxRetries: 0, retryDelayMs: 0, fallbackDelayMs: 0 },
+    },
+    handleSingleModel: async (_b: Record<string, unknown>, modelStr: string) => {
+      calls.push(modelStr);
+      if (modelStr === "openai/a") return rateLimitedResponse();
+      return okResponse("recovered");
+    },
+    isModelAvailable: async () => true,
+    log,
+    settings: null,
+    allCombos: null,
+  });
+  assert.equal(res.status, 200);
+  assert.deepEqual(calls, ["openai/a", "openai/b"]);
+
+  const trace = getComboTrace(invocationId)!;
+  assert.equal(trace.comboName, "trace-std");
+  assert.equal(trace.strategy, "priority");
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    trace.decisions.map((d) => ({ target: d.target, decision: d.decision })),
+    [
+      { target: "openai/a", decision: "dispatched" },
+      { target: "openai/b", decision: "dispatched" },
+      { target: "openai/c", decision: "not_reached" },
+    ]
+  );
+  assert.equal(trace.terminal?.status, 200);
+});
+
+test("handleComboChat: predictive-TTFT skip records skipped_before_dispatch/predictive_ttft", async () => {
+  const comboName = "trace-predictive-ttft";
+  resetComboMetrics(comboName);
+  // Seed enough samples (>= PREDICTIVE_TTFT_MIN_SAMPLES) with a high average
+  // latency for openai/a so the predictive-TTFT breaker trusts and trips on it.
+  for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
+    recordComboRequest(comboName, "openai/a", {
+      success: true,
+      latencyMs: 5000,
+      strategy: "priority",
+    });
+  }
+
+  const invocationId = createInvocationId();
+  const calls: string[] = [];
+  const res = await handleComboChat({
+    invocationId,
+    body: { messages: [{ role: "user", content: "ping" }] },
+    combo: {
+      name: comboName,
+      strategy: "priority",
+      models: ["openai/a", "openai/b"],
+      config: {
+        maxRetries: 0,
+        retryDelayMs: 0,
+        fallbackDelayMs: 0,
+        zeroLatencyOptimizationsEnabled: true,
+        predictiveTtftMs: 100,
+      },
+    },
+    handleSingleModel: async (_b: Record<string, unknown>, modelStr: string) => {
+      calls.push(modelStr);
+      return okResponse(`ok-${modelStr}`);
+    },
+    isModelAvailable: async () => true,
+    log,
+    settings: null,
+    allCombos: null,
+  });
+  assert.equal(res.status, 200);
+  // openai/a must never be dispatched — it is skipped pre-flight by the
+  // predictive-TTFT breaker; only openai/b is actually called.
+  assert.deepEqual(calls, ["openai/b"]);
+
+  const trace = getComboTrace(invocationId)!;
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    trace.decisions.map((d) => ({
+      target: d.target,
+      decision: d.decision,
+      reason: d.reason ?? null,
+    })),
+    [
+      { target: "openai/a", decision: "skipped_before_dispatch", reason: "predictive_ttft" },
+      { target: "openai/b", decision: "dispatched", reason: null },
+    ]
+  );
+});
+
+test("handleComboChat: pre-dispatch skip records allowlisted reason", async () => {
+  const invocationId = createInvocationId();
+  const res = await handleComboChat({
+    invocationId,
+    body: { messages: [{ role: "user", content: "ping" }] },
+    combo: {
+      name: "trace-skip",
+      strategy: "priority",
+      models: ["openai/a", "openai/b", "openai/c"],
+      config: { maxRetries: 0, retryDelayMs: 0, fallbackDelayMs: 0 },
+    },
+    handleSingleModel: async (_b, modelStr) =>
+      modelStr === "openai/a" ? rateLimitedResponse() : okResponse(`ok-${modelStr}`),
+    isModelAvailable: async (_m: string, target?: { modelStr?: string }) =>
+      target?.modelStr !== "openai/b",
+    log,
+    settings: null,
+    allCombos: null,
+  });
+  assert.equal(res.status, 200);
+  const trace = getComboTrace(invocationId)!;
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    trace.decisions.map((d) => ({
+      target: d.target,
+      decision: d.decision,
+      reason: d.reason ?? null,
+    })),
+    [
+      { target: "openai/a", decision: "dispatched", reason: null },
+      { target: "openai/b", decision: "skipped_before_dispatch", reason: "availability" },
+      { target: "openai/c", decision: "dispatched", reason: null },
+    ]
+  );
+});
+
+test("egress: every response carries X-OmniRoute-Combo-Trace (success path)", async () => {
+  const invocationId = createInvocationId();
+  const res = await handleComboChat({
+    invocationId,
+    body: { messages: [{ role: "user", content: "ping" }] },
+    combo: {
+      name: "egress-ok",
+      strategy: "priority",
+      models: ["openai/a", "openai/b"],
+      config: { maxRetries: 0, retryDelayMs: 0, fallbackDelayMs: 0 },
+    },
+    handleSingleModel: async () => okResponse("recovered"),
+    isModelAvailable: async () => true,
+    log,
+    settings: null,
+    allCombos: null,
+  });
+  assert.equal(res.status, 200);
+  assert.equal(res.headers.get("X-OmniRoute-Combo-Trace"), invocationId);
+});
+
+test("egress: header present even when every target fails", async () => {
+  const invocationId = createInvocationId();
+  const res = await handleComboChat({
+    invocationId,
+    body: { messages: [{ role: "user", content: "ping" }] },
+    combo: {
+      name: "egress-fail",
+      strategy: "priority",
+      models: ["openai/a", "openai/b"],
+      config: { maxRetries: 0, retryDelayMs: 0, fallbackDelayMs: 0 },
+    },
+    handleSingleModel: async () => rateLimitedResponse(),
+    isModelAvailable: async () => true,
+    log,
+    settings: null,
+    allCombos: null,
+  });
+  assert.notEqual(res.status, 200);
+  assert.equal(res.headers.get("X-OmniRoute-Combo-Trace"), invocationId);
+});
+
+test("egress: finalized trace is emitted as one metadata-only log line", async () => {
+  const invocationId = createInvocationId();
+  const infoCalls: string[] = [];
+  const capturingLog = {
+    info: (_cat: string, msg: string) => infoCalls.push(msg),
+    warn: noop,
+    debug: noop,
+    error: noop,
+  };
+  const res = await handleComboChat({
+    invocationId,
+    body: { messages: [{ role: "user", content: "ping" }] },
+    combo: {
+      name: "egress-log",
+      strategy: "priority",
+      models: ["openai/a", "openai/b"],
+      config: { maxRetries: 0, retryDelayMs: 0, fallbackDelayMs: 0 },
+    },
+    handleSingleModel: async () => okResponse("recovered"),
+    isModelAvailable: async () => true,
+    log: capturingLog,
+    settings: null,
+    allCombos: null,
+  });
+  assert.equal(res.status, 200);
+  const line = infoCalls.find((m) => m.includes("combo trace") && m.includes(invocationId));
+  assert.ok(line, "finalized trace log line expected");
+  assert.ok(line!.includes('"status":200'), "log line must carry the terminal status");
+  assert.ok(!line!.includes("messages"), "log line must not carry request content");
+});
+
+test("retention: in-flight traces are pinned against eviction (finalized evicted first)", () => {
+  resetComboTraceStore();
+  for (let i = 0; i < 2000; i++) {
+    startComboTrace(`combo-t-${i}`, { strategy: "priority", comboName: "x" });
+  }
+  // Only the FIRST trace is finalized; the other 1999 are still in flight.
+  finalizeComboTrace("combo-t-0", [{ executionKey: "s", modelStr: "p/m" }]);
+  // Burst beyond the cap: eviction must prefer the finalized trace.
+  startComboTrace("combo-t-2000", { strategy: "priority", comboName: "x" });
+  assert.equal(getComboTrace("combo-t-0"), null, "finalized trace is the eviction victim");
+  assert.ok(getComboTrace("combo-t-1"), "in-flight trace survives the burst");
+  assert.ok(getComboTrace("combo-t-1999"), "in-flight trace survives the burst");
+  assert.ok(getComboTrace("combo-t-2000"), "new trace is stored");
+});