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What is Trace?
The platform delivers a centralized view of activity across supported AI interfaces by scanning known log directories at regular intervals. This approach enables developers to observe patterns in resource consumption without external dependencies or manual configuration. It handles a range of command-line and editor-based tools by interpreting various log formats such as JSON and SQLite files. Users gain per-session breakdowns that highlight both usage volume and associated costs for each interaction. Trace remains fully open source under an MIT license and emphasizes privacy by ensuring that API credentials and log contents stay confined to the local device. The application is distributed as a standalone binary for major desktop platforms.
Key features
Real-time local log monitoring for AI tools
Unified dashboard showing token usage, costs, and sessions
Privacy-focused with all data staying on device
Support for Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, and Ollama
No configuration or cloud required
Free and MIT-licensed open source
Background watcher for log directories
What you can use Trace for
Real-time Log Monitoring
Watch local log directories from AI tools in the background and parse updates every few seconds for immediate visibility.
Unified Cost and Token Tracking
Aggregate token counts, session costs, and conversation history from multiple CLI tools into one on-device dashboard.
Privacy-Focused Local Analytics
Process all logs and API keys locally with no cloud upload of usage data, while optionally syncing only account details across devices.
How to use Trace
- 1Download Trace for Mac or Windows from the official site
- 2Open the app to launch the background log watcher
- 3Allow access to your AI tool log directories
- 4View aggregated token, cost, and session data on the dashboard
- 5Customize log paths with environment variables if required
Trace pricing
Pricing model: Open Source. Plan details are indicative — check the site for current prices.
Free
Free
- MIT-licensed
- Open source
- No cloud sync for logs
Editor's verdict
Pros
- +Strong privacy with local-only processing
- +Free and open source
- +Covers multiple popular AI CLI tools in one view
Cons
- –Linux support not yet available
- –Currently limited to specific CLI log paths
Our take: Trace is a solid productivity choice. It's valued for strong privacy with local-only processing and free and open source. The main trade-off is linux support not yet available. A good pick if you want capable AI without a high upfront cost.
Frequently asked questions
No. Your API keys and AI tool logs never leave your machine — they're read and stored locally. The only thing Trace syncs to the cloud is your account data.
Summary
Trace is a solid productivity choice. It's valued for strong privacy with local-only processing and free and open source. The main trade-off is linux support not yet available. A good pick if you want capable AI without a high upfront cost.
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