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

# Traces

> Debug and understand agent behavior with execution traces

Traces provide detailed execution logs of your agent's behavior, helping you debug issues, optimize performance, and understand how your agent processes requests.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/pointer-a6b7b4cd/vPW4n-M0vJAdiQQn/images/traces.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=vPW4n-M0vJAdiQQn&q=85&s=ce33658721016fa3588ee9419a3c6a85" alt="Traces Dashboard" width="3442" height="1808" data-path="images/traces.png" />

## What are Traces?

Traces are comprehensive execution logs that capture every step of your agent's workflow, including:

* **Agent Initialization**: When the agent starts processing a request
* **Agent Steps**: Each reasoning step the agent takes
* **Tool Usage**: When and how the agent uses tools
* **Tool Responses**: Results returned from tool executions
* **Agent Responses**: Final responses generated by the agent

Each event in the trace includes:

* Timestamp of when it occurred
* Duration of execution
* Detailed information about inputs and outputs
* Status (completed, in progress, failed)

## Accessing Traces

Navigate to the **Traces** page in your Agentbase dashboard under the **Improve** section. Here you'll find:

1. **Sessions**: A list of all agent execution sessions with unique session IDs
2. **Traces**: Individual agent runs within each session
3. **Timeline**: A chronological view of all events in a trace

## Using Traces for Debugging

Traces are invaluable for:

* **Performance Optimization**: Identify slow steps or tool calls by examining execution durations
* **Error Diagnosis**: Pinpoint where failures occur in your agent's workflow
* **Behavior Analysis**: Understand the reasoning path your agent takes
* **Tool Usage Monitoring**: See which tools are being called and how often
* **Response Quality**: Review agent responses and the context that led to them

## Trace Events

### Agent Initialization

Records when the agent begins processing a request, including the initial prompt and configuration.

### Agent Steps

Each step represents a discrete reasoning action by the agent. Steps are numbered sequentially (Step 0, Step 1, etc.) and show:

* The agent's thought process
* Decisions about which tools to use
* Planning for next actions

### Tool Events

Tool usage is captured in two events:

* **Tool: \[name]** - When a tool is invoked, showing the tool name and parameters
* **Tool Response: \[name]** - The result returned by the tool execution

### Agent Response

The final response generated by the agent after completing all necessary steps.

## Best Practices

<Tip>
  Use traces during development to validate that your agent is using tools correctly and following expected reasoning patterns.
</Tip>

* **Regular Monitoring**: Review traces periodically to catch issues early
* **Performance Tracking**: Compare execution times across different agent modes
* **Error Patterns**: Look for recurring failures to identify systemic issues
* **Tool Optimization**: Analyze tool usage patterns to optimize your tool implementations

<Note>
  Traces are automatically captured for all agent runs. You can search and filter traces by session ID, time range, or status to find specific executions.
</Note>