Open-source, local-first observability

Open-Source LLM Observability for Developers

Trace prompts, responses, latency, token usage, and tool calls locally. Replay sessions, inspect failures, and debug AI applications with full visibility.

$pip install tracellm-cli
Tracing
Replay
Latency
tracellm monitor
$ tracellm trace agent.py --watch
[trace]agent:start run_7c91 prompt='Explain transformers'
[tool]retrieve.docs completed in 118ms
[llm]gpt-4o-mini latency=842ms tokens=1,284
[retry]schema mismatch detected, replay checkpoint saved
[done]trace exported to ./exports/run_7c91.json
run_7c91 execution tree2.14s
agent:start
├── retrieve.docs       118ms
├── tool:web_search     401ms
├── llm.generate        842ms
└── success             2.14s
listening for spans, tools, retries, and token events

Before You Start

Requirements

Make sure your environment meets these prerequisites before installing TraceLLM.

Python 3.11+

TraceLLM requires Python 3.11 or newer.

MongoDB Atlas or Self-Hosted MongoDB

A running MongoDB instance for trace storage.

PyPI Installation

pip install tracellm-cli

Environment Configuration

Set MONGO_URL and DB_NAME in your environment.

Note: Version 1 requires MongoDB for trace storage. SQLite support is planned for a future release.

Product demo

See TraceLLM in Action

Watch TraceLLM trace, replay, and debug a real LLM workflow from the terminal.

Trace

Capture prompts, latency, token usage, retries, and tool calls.

Replay

Replay complete execution flows step-by-step.

Monitor

Watch traces arrive live through the terminal and dashboard.

$pip install tracellm-cli
$tracellm start
$tracellm trace "Explain transformers"

Installation

Get Started in Four Steps

Install TraceLLM, configure your MongoDB connection, and start tracing in minutes.

Step 11

Install

Install the TraceLLM CLI package from PyPI.

pip install tracellm-cli
Step 22

Configure

Create a .env file with your MongoDB connection string and database name.

MONGO_URL=your_mongodb_url
DB_NAME=tracellm
Step 33

Start

Launch the TraceLLM backend service and trace collector.

tracellm start
Step 44

Dashboard

Open the dashboard in your browser to view live traces.

http://localhost:3000

Why care?

Manual debugging hides the timeline. TraceLLM shows the run as it happened: prompt, tool, retry, latency, token count, output.

What breaks?

Slow calls, hidden retry loops, bad tool outputs, prompt drift, runaway token usage, and agent branches that never converge.

What changes?

You stop reconstructing behavior from print statements and start inspecting structured, replayable execution data.

Features

Everything You Need to Debug AI Applications

TraceLLM gives you full visibility into every LLM call, tool invocation, and agent decision.

Prompt Tracing

Capture full prompt inputs, model responses, parameters, and metadata for every LLM call.

Replay Sessions

Replay execution chains step-by-step to inspect inputs, outputs, retries, and intermediate state at any point.

Live Monitoring

Stream execution events in real time as your agent runs. See latency spikes, tool failures, and status changes instantly.

Tool Call Visibility

Every tool invocation — inputs, outputs, duration, and nested calls — is captured as a first-class event in the trace.

Token Usage Tracking

Track token consumption per model call, per session, and across your entire application.

Session Export

Export traces as structured JSON files for debugging, sharing, CI pipelines, or offline analysis.

Local First Architecture

All trace data stays on your machine. No external servers, no data leaving your environment.

Open Source

Fully open-source under the MIT license. Inspect, modify, and self-host without restrictions.

Architecture

How TraceLLM Works

From your application code to the dashboard — trace data flows through a simple, local pipeline.

Developer App
TraceLLM SDK
TraceLLM Backend
MongoDB
Dashboard

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about TraceLLM, its requirements, and architecture.

Do I need MongoDB?

Yes. TraceLLM Version 1 stores traces in MongoDB.

Is TraceLLM open source?

Yes. TraceLLM is fully open source under the MIT license.

Does data leave my machine?

No. TraceLLM is local-first. All trace data stays on your machine.

Do I need an API key?

No. TraceLLM does not require any API key or external service registration.

CLI

Built for the Terminal

The CLI is the primary interface. Start tracing where the bug appears, copy the command, and keep moving.

$pip install tracellm-cli
$tracellm start
$tracellm trace
$tracellm replay
$tracellm monitor
Replay tree
agent:start
├── retrieve
├── tool:web_search
├── llm.generate
└── success
Replay

Replay turns “why did it do that?” into a timeline

Instead of reading logs backwards, replay shows the execution tree in order. You can inspect the prompt, tool input, tool output, retry reason, latency, and final response at the exact point where behavior changed.

Dashboard second

A visual layer on top of TraceLLM

The dashboard is secondary by design. Use it when you want to scan runs, compare trace timelines, inspect token usage, or share a visual debugging session. The terminal remains the default workflow.

Recent traces

Dashboard placeholder for future screenshot.

Latency view

Dashboard placeholder for future screenshot.

Token usage

Dashboard placeholder for future screenshot.

Replay detail

Dashboard placeholder for future screenshot.

Mascot

Meet Tracey

A tiny dinosaur that follows every prompt, tool call, retry, and model response so you never lose track of what your AI system is doing.

PromptLatencyTokensRetriesTool CallsReplay
Terminal explorer

Never Debug Blind Again

TraceLLM records the full execution path of LLM applications and agents.

prompts
responses
token usage
retries
tool execution
latency
failures
replay timeline

All locally.

All open source.

All from the terminal.

Trace

Capture every request and response.

Replay

Step through execution history.

Monitor

Watch traces arrive in real time.