Trace 2.1: What You Can Do Today (and Why to Upgrade Now)

Please upgrade to 2.1

A lot of you joined on Trace 1.x — thank you for being early. That line got us here, but it is not where we are investing anymore.

Trace 2.1 is the current release. Version 1 builds will be deprecated in a few weeks. After that, you will not receive updates, compatibility fixes, or support on the 1.x line. Upgrading takes a few minutes: download the latest build, install over your existing app, and open your projects as usual.

Download Trace 2.1

Walkthroughs coming soon

This article is the map. Over the next few weeks we will publish short walkthroughs — one per major capability — so you can see Plan mode, project artifacts, layout classification, IDF exchange, PCBWay ordering, and team workspaces in action. Same content will go out by email as each video lands.

Talk to your design

Trace is an AI-native PCB design app. The assistant lives inside your schematic and board — not in a separate chat window that forgot what you are building.

• Ask — questions only. Connectivity, parts, constraints, manufacturability. Nothing changes unless you want it to.
• Agent — the assistant edits for you: wiring, components, checks, BOM prep, manufacturing files.
• Plan — research first, clarifying questions, a written plan you approve, then execution. Best for anything non-trivial.
• TraceRules (.trace/rules.md) — passive sizes, fab target, layout style. The assistant follows them every session.
• Workspace context (.trace/context.md) — a design notebook that persists across conversations.
• Background tasks — long research runs out of band. Watch progress, open a sub-task in its own tab, or stop anytime.
• Expert playbooks — focused skills for ERC cleanup, wiring, multi-sheet designs, part creation, placement, routing, BOM and fab prep, power supplies, connectors, and more.
• Verified pinouts — pin tables from datasheets, validated and shared across Trace. Repeat lookups are instant.
• Fresh-eyes review — after big edits, Trace re-reads your files and flags mismatches before you find them in the lab.

Schematics and boards

• Native Trace schematic and board files — multi-sheet hierarchical designs, buses, global labels.
• Built on KiCad 10 — familiar editor, with Trace's native read/write path for day-to-day work.
• Electrical rule checks and design rule checks from the app.
• Signal tracing through schematic connectivity.
• Matched length groups — length-match whole buses (DDR, USB, PCIe), including nets split by series resistors.
• Schematic autoplacement for early layout passes.
• Undo and redo that still work after AI edits, autoroute, and layout runs.
• Local history — roll back to snapshots stored with your project.
• Project artifacts — drop datasheets, spec sheets, and reference PDFs into your project (up to 500 MB per file). The assistant reads and cites them in chat.
• In-app updates on macOS and Windows — stay current without hunting for downloads.

Import and export

Trace is native-first, not KiCad-only. Your projects live as .trace_sch and .trace_pcb with full round-trip fidelity — net classes, custom properties, groups, and board setup survive Trace ↔ KiCad moves. Use File → Import / Export when you need KiCad siblings for interop; the assistant works from Trace files in chat.

• Import existing KiCad schematics and boards into Trace projects.
• Export libraries and designs to KiCad, Altium, and other formats your team uses.
• Export Gerbers, BOM, and pick-and-place for any fab.
• Legacy Trace files from older builds are healed on load rather than rejected.

Mechanical exchange (IDF v3)

Enclosure work should not mean redrawing the board outline by hand. Trace supports IDF v3 import and export (with v2 import where needed) — the standard mechanical exchange format used with MCAD tools, not a Trace-specific format.

• Import board outlines, cutouts, keepouts, component heights, drills, and placement keep-in/keep-out zones into real board objects.
• Export your layout back to IDF for mechanical review — units, origin, and layer inclusion are configurable.
• Dedicated import/export panels with clear diagnostics when something in the file does not map cleanly.

Parts and libraries

• Search 46,000+ free symbols and footprints — copy into your design or contribute back.
• Generate a symbol or footprint from a manufacturer part number or datasheet, with live preview in the component editor.
• Link datasheets into the project so references stay local.
• Custom parametric footprints (including user-defined pad shapes) from the component editor.

Layout and routing

• Quick autoroute for straightforward boards — free.
• Advanced placement and routing for harder layouts — classify parts as protected (stay put) or unplaced (free to move), use connector presets, watch live progress, stop mid-run and keep partial results with undo.
• Layout Credits apply only to advanced layout time. Basic routing stays free.

Manufacturing

• Design Review — AI pre-flight before you order. Catch problems while they are still cheap to fix.
• Manufacturer rules — load your fab's constraint file or pick a stock preset (PCBWay, and others). Trace validates as you design.
• PCBWay — submit from inside Trace: autofill from your board, live quote, freight, payment, and fabrication progress.
• Pikkolo Assembly (US) — turnkey assembly partnership for teams that need domestic build (read more).
• Send to Manufacturer flow generates the file bundle your fab expects — Gerbers, drill, BOM, pick-and-place, stencils where applicable.

Teams

• Personal and team workspaces — browse projects without leaving Trace.
• Cloud checkout, publish, and update with revision history and per-file diffs.
• File locking so two people never edit the same file at once.
• Branches, releases, and .traceignore for local-only files.
• Shared chat history and artifacts per team project.
• Centralized billing and role-based access.

Get started

On 1.x? Download 2.1 now before version 1 is deprecated.

Already on 2.x? Open a board and try Plan mode with one sentence about what you are building — or Ask what would most improve manufacturability this week.

Walkthrough videos are on the way. We read every reply — tell us what you want to see first.

— The Trace Team