trace_startLABSCO SUMMARY
Observability that stays on the machine.
The trade is deliberate: no account, no API key and no traces leaving the laptop, in exchange for no cross-team sharing. Where the tool outputs are sensitive, that is the right way round.
What it is
A local-first tracing layer for agent workflows. A trace is opened, steps are recorded against it as the work proceeds, and it is closed; everything lands in a SQLite database on your machine and nothing is sent anywhere.
What you get
- Every step recorded with its inputs, outputs, latency and token usage
- Traces that survive a restart, stored in local SQLite with no external dependency
- A self-contained HTML dashboard with an interactive step timeline
- Cost per trace estimated offline from a pricing table you configure, with no API traffic required
- Two traces diffed side by side, to measure what a prompt or tool change actually did
- Under 5ms added per step
- Past traces listed and reopened
Requirements
Node with npx — the package runs without installing and writes its database locally. Traces hold the inputs and outputs your tools saw, so the database file is as sensitive as the data that passed through it.
Setup effort
One command — npx -y mcp-agent-trace-inspector@latest
USE CASES
01
Finding out where an agent run spent its time
Latency per step, recorded as the run happens rather than reconstructed from a transcript.
02
Seeing whether a prompt change actually helped
Run it twice, then compare the two traces instead of arguing from impressions.
03
Putting a cost on a workflow before running it a thousand times
Token counts per step and an offline cost estimate, so the arithmetic happens before the bill.
04
Reconstructing a run that went wrong
Find the stored trace, then export it as a single-file HTML dashboard with a latency waterfall, or as OpenTelemetry spans for the tracing tool you already use.
13 tools
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
trace_steptrace_endlist_tracesget_trace_summarycompare_tracesextract_reasoning_chainexport_dashboardexport_otelexport_compliance_logconfigure_alertsset_retention_policyapply_retentionBEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
13 tools named in the project's documentation.
Requires
- npx on PATH
- Node.js v22.5.0 or later
Where it runs
All 6 documented clients run the server on your machine.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
TERMINAL
npx -y mcp-agent-trace-inspector@latestMCP Clients
Amp
AMP · JSON
{
"amp.mcpServers": {
"trace-inspector": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-agent-trace-inspector@latest"
]
}
}
}Claude Code, Cline, Cursor, Windsurf
JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"trace-inspector": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-agent-trace-inspector@latest"
]
}
}
}VS Code
VS CODE · JSON
{
"servers": {
"trace-inspector": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-agent-trace-inspector@latest"
]
}
}
}
