> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.buildwithtrace.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Changelog
> Release history for Trace — what's new, what's fixed, and what's coming.
This is the changelog for the Trace **desktop app**. Looking for the CLI,
SDKs, converter, or agent plugin? See the
[CLI & SDK Release Notes](/resources/cli-changelog).
## Trace 1.4.0 — June 2026
Reliability release: independent desktop sessions, resumable AI streaming, and major quality-of-life fixes for imported designs.
### Improvements
* **Independent desktop and web sessions** — Signing in on buildwithtrace.com no longer signs the desktop app out. Each surface now keeps its own session, ending the spurious daily re-logins some users hit.
* **Resumable AI streaming** — If your network drops mid-response, the AI keeps working server-side and the app reconnects automatically, continuing where it left off. If reconnection fails, a **Resume** banner lets you continue without re-running your prompt.
* **Smarter Stop** — Stop now halts generation on the server too. Stopping before anything streamed restores your prompt to the input box; stopping after partial output keeps the partial response in the conversation.
* **Autoroute track width** — Ask for a specific width — *"autoroute with 0.5mm tracks"* — and quick routing uses it instead of the board's net class defaults.
* **Imported designs just work** — The AI now resolves net and pin references on imported designs with non-standard naming (case differences, separator variants, hierarchical prefixes) instead of failing or inventing new nets, and asks when a reference is ambiguous. Projects imported with older versions of Trace are upgraded automatically on first edit.
* **Automatic context condensation** — Long conversations are condensed in the background, and hard requirements you stated (board dimensions, constraints) are preserved verbatim. The context meter is now tracked per conversation tab.
* **Persistence across restart** — Todo lists, question/answer cards, plan approval state, and component preview outcomes now survive an app restart.
* **Smoother first launch on low-memory machines** — First-launch library indexing now runs at background priority, so 8 GB machines no longer freeze while the stock libraries index.
* **Quieter crash prompts** — The crash-report dialog only appears for confirmed crashes; ordinary unclean shutdowns no longer trigger it.
***
## Trace 1.4.0-beta — June 2026
Interactive length matching — Matched Length Groups for high-speed buses.
### New Features
* **Matched Length Groups** — A first-class, persisted PCB object that ties a set of nets together and length-matches them to a shared target (the longest member, an explicit length, or a matched-length DRC constraint), with configurable tolerance and optional time-domain (delay) matching. Handles signals split by series termination resistors (the group sums across the nets), shows a live per-signal status overlay, is editable in the Properties panel, and is flagged by DRC when out of tolerance. Create it from **Route → Create Matched Length Group**, the track-tuning toolbar, or the Net Inspector. Tuning any member with the length tuner (`7`) automatically matches it to the group's target. See [Length Tuning & Matched Length Groups](/concepts/pcb-layout#matched-length-groups).
* **AI length matching** — Ask the assistant to *"length-match the DDR data lines"* via the new `match_lengths` tool, including nets split across series resistors.
## Trace 1.4.0-beta — May 2026
Design Review, DRC Import, TraceRules, team workspaces, and security hardening.
### New Features
* **Design Review** — AI-powered pre-flight check in the Send to Manufacturer dialog. Uses a streaming agent session to run DRC violations analysis and signal path tracing. Shows an "Issues Found — Send to Chat" button when problems are identified.
* **DRC Import** — Upload any `.kicad_dru` file, name the manufacturer, and constraints are auto-written to TraceRules for AI awareness.
* **Custom DRC Handling** — AI uses custom constraints from `rules.md` directly, skipping preset lookup when a custom manufacturer is configured.
* **TraceRules** (`.trace/rules.md`) — Project-specific AI preferences that persist across sessions. Set placement strategy, preferred manufacturer, passive sizes, naming conventions, and more.
* **Workspace Context** (`.trace/context.md`) — AI-maintained design notebook that persists learnings across conversations.
* **In-app TraceRules Editor** — Edit your project rules directly in the chat panel. Open in Finder/Explorer for manual editing.
* **Team Workspace Selector** — Switch between personal and team workspaces in the desktop app. Each workspace has its own AI context and conversation history.
* **Bring Your Own Manufacturer** — Connect your own fab partner via their API. Trace validates designs against your manufacturer's specific process capabilities.
* **Real-time DFM Validation** — AI auto-loads manufacturer constraints from TraceRules and validates during design.
* **Context Window Meter** — Shows remaining capacity during conversations.
### Manufacturing
* Payment via Stripe for PCB orders
* PCBWay and Pikkolo order tracking
* AI autofill for manufacturer parameters
* BOM enrichment improvements
* DRC Switcher for manufacturer presets
* Better error detail parsing from manufacturer responses
### Security
* Sandboxed `grep` and `list_dir` tools to project directory only
* Quota enforcement thread safety fix
* Upgraded mermaid, dompurify, lodash-es to patch CVEs
### Improvements
* Free-plan mode switch UX: uses banner instead of fake activity status
* `list_dir` tool improvements for better project navigation
* Path resolution fix for subdirectory files (e.g., `.trace/rules.md`)
* `.md` files added to allowed extensions for project context
* `team_id` sent with all AI requests for team-scoped conversations
* Windows build fixes
***
## Trace 1.3.2 — May 2026
TraceRules, workspace context, and manufacturing updates.
### New Features
* **TraceRules** (`.trace/rules.md`) — Project-specific AI preferences that persist across sessions. Set placement strategy, preferred manufacturer, passive sizes, naming conventions, and more. The AI loads these rules at the start of every conversation.
* **Workspace Context** (`.trace/context.md`) — AI-maintained design notebook that persists learnings across conversations. The AI updates this as it learns about your project.
* **In-app TraceRules Editor** — Edit your project rules directly in the chat panel. Open in Finder/Explorer for manual editing.
* **Team Workspace Selector** — Switch between personal and team workspaces in the desktop app. Each workspace has its own AI context and conversation history.
* **Bring Your Own Manufacturer** — Connect your own fab partner via their API. Trace validates designs against your manufacturer's specific process capabilities.
* **Real-time DFM Validation** — AI auto-loads manufacturer constraints from TraceRules and validates during design.
### Improvements
* Context window meter shows remaining capacity during conversations
* `list_dir` tool improvements for better project navigation
* Path resolution fix for subdirectory files (e.g., `.trace/rules.md`)
* `.md` files added to allowed extensions for project context
### Manufacturing
* PCBWay order flow refinements
* Pikkolo Assembly integration updates
* AI autofill for manufacturer parameters
* BOM enrichment improvements
***
## Trace 1.3.1 — May 2026
Incremental release focused on team workspace support, security hardening, and dashboard performance.
### Team Workspaces
Team-scoped views are now functional across the dashboard. When you switch to your team workspace:
* **Projects** show shared team conversations (all members can view)
* **Usage** shows per-member breakdown (owners/admins see who used what)
* **Orders** show all team members' manufacturing orders
* **Billing** accurately reflects team subscription context
Team data is isolated — personal workspace only shows your own projects (never team content).
### Security Improvements
* WebSocket notifications now use first-message authentication (JWT no longer exposed in URLs/logs)
* Token refresh is deduplicated — expired tokens trigger exactly one refresh instead of a thundering herd
* All team-scoped API endpoints verify membership server-side before returning data
* localStorage caches are cleared on logout (prevents data leakage between users on shared devices)
### Performance
* Profile data centralized in context (eliminates 3-5 duplicate `/user/profile` fetches per page load)
* In-flight GET request deduplication (simultaneous identical requests are coalesced)
* N+1 query fix for team member enrichment (batch profile fetch)
* Loading skeletons match exact page structure (no layout shift)
### Desktop App
* Added `team_id` parameter to chat requests (backward-compatible, defaults to personal)
* Ready for team-scoped conversations in a future release
### Web Dashboard
* Project thumbnails: AI-generated abstract art for every project card (Gemini)
* Full conversation history viewer with message timeline
* Daily rate limit for web sessions (25 requests/day, ask mode only)
* Crash reporting: opt-in dialog with batched notifications to the team
### Billing
* Stripe proration on plan upgrades (pay only the difference)
* On-demand credits: dollar-based billing ($20/$40 packs, actual token cost deducted)
* Per-seat team billing with automatic quantity sync
***
## Trace 1.3.0 — May 2026
Built on [KiCad 10 (v10.0.0)](https://www.kicad.org/blog/2026/03/Version-10.0.0-Released/). Now available to all users on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Want to see real PCBs designed and manufactured with Trace? Reach out at [hello@buildwithtrace.com](mailto:hello@buildwithtrace.com) or check the [community showcase](https://discord.gg/UNUvQxneCr) on Discord.
### KiCad 10 Foundation
Trace 1.3 is built on the stable KiCad 10.0.0 release, bringing all upstream improvements.
### DRC Rule Editor
A new visual [DRC Rule Editor](/concepts/drc-rule-editor) for creating and managing PCB design rules. Build rules through constraint panels instead of writing custom expressions. Includes Scintilla autocomplete, dynamic unit labels, matched-length skew constraints, and courtyard bitmap references.
### Design Variants
Full [design variant](/concepts/design-variants) support for managing alternate board configurations. Variant text variables in drawing sheets, variant-aware footprint properties, CLI `--variant` flag for all PCB exports (Gerber, STEP, SVG, PDF, DXF, IPC-2581, ODB++), plot dialog variant dropdown, and Altium project variant import.
### New EDA Importers
* **gEDA / Lepton EDA** — Import schematic files with 39 built-in symbol mappings and an 11-step symbol resolution chain
* **Cadence Allegro v18+** — Binary format import with footprints, vias, padstacks, zone fills, teardrops, differential pairs, and constraint sets
* **Mentor PADS** — ASCII format import for PCB layouts and schematics
* **Altium** — Expanded file extension support and variant import
See the [Importing from Other EDA Tools](/guides/importing-formats) guide.
### .tracerules (Beta)
Define custom rules that shape how the AI designs your circuits. Create a `.tracerules` file in your project root with your preferences — component choices, layout conventions, manufacturing targets, schematic style — and the AI follows them automatically in every conversation. Like `.cursorrules` for hardware.
See the [.tracerules documentation](/concepts/tracerules) for details and examples.
### Signal Path Tracing
New signal path analysis engine that traces connectivity through hierarchical sheets and PCB nets. Improves the AI's ability to understand multi-sheet designs with complex bus routing and sheet-to-sheet connections.
### Multi-Agent Orchestrator
The AI now runs a multi-agent orchestrator that parallelizes server-side research tasks (web search, parts search, symbol search, footprint search) before handing results to the main agent. This significantly reduces latency for complex requests.
### Extended Thinking
The AI's reasoning process is now visible in real-time with a 10,000-token thinking budget per step. Collapsible thinking blocks show how the AI analyzes your design, considers tradeoffs, and plans its approach.
### IPC-2581 Improvements
* BomRef and AvlRef elements for approved vendor lists
* Board profile cutouts for internal routing
* Multi-outline geometry merging
* Pin 1 orientation inference from pin position
* Synthesized stable reference designators
* Schematic revision metadata in BOM output
### New DRC Check
* **Track endpoints not centered on via** — Detects misaligned track-to-via connections from the interactive router
### New ERC Check
* **Local labels with no local pin connections** — Flags labels on a sheet that don't connect to any pin on that sheet
### Rendering & Performance
* 3D Viewer stencil buffer for correct export FBO rendering
* Improved zone fill parallelism and indexing
* Parallelized NearestObstacle computation for routing
* Rate-limited OpenGL redraws reducing GPU utilization
* OpenGL context recovery after sleep/wake
### PCB Editor
* Backdrill sizes in Track & Via Properties dialog
* Zone merge with different priorities
* Negative outset values for insetting zone boundaries
* Negative silkscreen clearance values
* Search pane copy context menu
* Rule areas in Edit → Attributes menu
* GLAD replaces GLEW for OpenGL (runtime GLX/EGL selection on Linux)
* EGL canvas support on wxWidgets 3.3.2+ (Wayland)
### One-Click Manufacturing
Submit your design to PCB fabs and assembly houses directly from inside Trace — no distributor hopping, no manual form-filling, no leaving the editor:
* **PCBWay integration** — Fabrication and assembly (Turnkey, Kitted, Combo) up to 14 layers via the PCBWay Partner API
* **Pikkolo Assembly integration** — US-based small-batch assembly (Denver, CO) with lead-free and leaded options
* **AI-assisted autofill** — The AI analyzes your `.trace_pcb` file and pre-fills layer count, dimensions, trace/space, drill sizes, surface finish, silkscreen, via process, and copper weight
* **Manufacturer DRC presets** — `pcbway_2layer_1oz`, `pcbway_4layer_1oz`, `pcbway_6plus_layer_1oz`, `pikkolo_standard` and more. Loads into `.kicad_dru` and re-runs DRC so fab-specific violations are caught before submission
* **Quote and freight** — Live pricing, PCBWay freight calculation for 7 carriers (DHL, FedEx, EMS, SF Express, and more)
* **Payment** — Partner Account (monthly settlement) or PCBWay Online Payment. Idempotent confirmation prevents duplicate orders on retry
* **Live tracking** — Fabrication stage progress (material prep → e-test → QC → shipping) pulled from the partner API on demand
* **Order management** — List, view, cancel, resume payment, and re-download submitted files for all your orders
* Loading animations during BOM enrichment and order submission
* PCBWay API fully complete (all order lifecycle endpoints)
Available on Pro, Pro Team, Ultra, Ultra Team, and On-Demand plans. See the [One-Click Manufacturing guide](/guides/one-click-manufacturing).
New AI tools:
* `get_manufacturer_capabilities` — Query a manufacturer's layer count, min trace/space, hole sizes, surface finishes, and assembly options
* `set_preferred_manufacturer` — Persist a manufacturer choice to the project, tuning DRC and sourcing
* `set_manufacturer_drc` — Swap the project's `.kicad_dru` for a manufacturer preset
* `upload_to_manufacturer` — Submit Gerber/BOM/PnP files for quoting or ordering
### Beta Program
* **In-app feedback system** — Submit bug reports, feature requests, and feedback with file attachments (images, video, audio, PDF) directly from the beta dashboard
* **Beta points** — Earn points for feedback submissions, tracked on the leaderboard
* **Linux builds** — First official Linux support as AppImage (x86\_64)
### Bug Fixes
* **Windows refocus bug** — Fixed the AI panel stealing window focus on Windows 11 while processing, which prevented working in other applications simultaneously
* **Cross-project chat bleed** — Conversations are now strictly scoped to the project they were created in. Previously, switching projects could show conversations from another project.
* **Windows build fix** — Fixed CMake chat UI header generation on Windows
* **Stencil layer bug** — Fixed stencil layer handling in manufacturer integration
* **Assembly order bug** — Fixed assembly order submission for turnkey builds
* **Subscription cancellation crash** — Fixed a crash when cancelling subscriptions through Stripe
* **Webhook race condition** — Fixed a race condition in payment webhook processing
* **Stuck streaming UI** — Fixed streaming state never clearing on quota/plan restriction errors
* **Text segment fragmentation** — Fixed assistant text splitting at activity boundaries mid-word
* **Bridge retries** — Increased webview bridge ready window to 15s with exponential backoff (fixes "stuck on Sign In" on slow machines)
* **Token efficiency** — Reduced token consumption through better context scoping and more focused AI responses
### Dashboard & Platform
* **Web chat** — Chat with Trace AI directly from the browser dashboard (full SSE streaming, conversation history)
* **Dashboard redesign** — New projects view with session cards and infinite scroll, improved orders page, confirmation modals
* **Dark mode** — Full dark mode support across the dashboard
* **Mobile improvements** — Responsive stat card sizing, plan badge in navbar, correct section ordering
* **Notification system** — In-app notifications with read/unread state
* **Project thumbnails** — Visual previews on project cards
### Teams & Enterprise
* **Team infrastructure** — Per-seat billing, team creation, invite flows
* **Magic link login** — Passwordless email login with one-click magic links
* **Email change** — Authenticated email address change flow
* **Notification guard** — Respect user email preferences before sending
### Conversations API
* List conversations with pagination and filtering
* Fetch full message history for a conversation
* Archive/unarchive conversations
### Infrastructure
* Backend API upgraded to v3 (adds `todo_write`/`todo_read` tools by default)
* Analytics cleanup and conversion tracking
* Invite-only career application system (HMAC-signed tokens)
***
## Trace 1.3.0-beta — April 2026
Built on [KiCad 10 (v10.0.0)](https://www.kicad.org/blog/2026/03/Version-10.0.0-Released/). Beta release for [beta program](/resources/beta) members. All features graduated to stable in Trace 1.3.0.
### KiCad 10 Foundation
Trace 1.3 is built on the stable KiCad 10.0.0 release, bringing all upstream improvements.
### DRC Rule Editor
A new visual [DRC Rule Editor](/concepts/drc-rule-editor) for creating and managing PCB design rules. Build rules through constraint panels instead of writing custom expressions. Includes Scintilla autocomplete, dynamic unit labels, matched-length skew constraints, and courtyard bitmap references.
### Design Variants
Full [design variant](/concepts/design-variants) support for managing alternate board configurations. Variant text variables in drawing sheets, variant-aware footprint properties, CLI `--variant` flag for all PCB exports (Gerber, STEP, SVG, PDF, DXF, IPC-2581, ODB++), plot dialog variant dropdown, and Altium project variant import.
### New EDA Importers
* **gEDA / Lepton EDA** — Import schematic files with 39 built-in symbol mappings and an 11-step symbol resolution chain
* **Cadence Allegro v18+** — Binary format import with footprints, vias, padstacks, zone fills, teardrops, differential pairs, and constraint sets
* **Mentor PADS** — ASCII format import for PCB layouts and schematics
* **Altium** — Expanded file extension support and variant import
See the [Importing from Other EDA Tools](/guides/importing-formats) guide.
### Multi-Agent Orchestrator
The AI now runs a multi-agent orchestrator that parallelizes server-side research tasks (web search, parts search, symbol search, footprint search) before handing results to the main agent. This significantly reduces latency for complex requests.
### Extended Thinking
The AI's reasoning process is now visible in real-time with a 10,000-token thinking budget per step. Collapsible thinking blocks show how the AI analyzes your design, considers tradeoffs, and plans its approach.
### IPC-2581 Improvements
* BomRef and AvlRef elements for approved vendor lists
* Board profile cutouts for internal routing
* Multi-outline geometry merging
* Pin 1 orientation inference from pin position
* Synthesized stable reference designators
* Schematic revision metadata in BOM output
### New DRC Check
* **Track endpoints not centered on via** — Detects misaligned track-to-via connections from the interactive router
### New ERC Check
* **Local labels with no local pin connections** — Flags labels on a sheet that don't connect to any pin on that sheet
### Rendering & Performance
* 3D Viewer stencil buffer for correct export FBO rendering
* Improved zone fill parallelism and indexing
* Parallelized NearestObstacle computation for routing
* Rate-limited OpenGL redraws reducing GPU utilization
* OpenGL context recovery after sleep/wake
### PCB Editor
* Backdrill sizes in Track & Via Properties dialog
* Zone merge with different priorities
* Negative outset values for insetting zone boundaries
* Negative silkscreen clearance values
* Search pane copy context menu
* Rule areas in Edit → Attributes menu
* GLAD replaces GLEW for OpenGL (runtime GLX/EGL selection on Linux)
* EGL canvas support on wxWidgets 3.3.2+ (Wayland)
### Beta Program
* **In-app feedback system** — Submit bug reports, feature requests, and feedback with file attachments (images, video, audio, PDF) directly from the beta dashboard
* **Beta points** — Earn points for feedback submissions, tracked on the leaderboard
* **Linux beta builds** — First official Linux support as AppImage (x86\_64)
* **Education Program** — Students and university programs can apply for free access at [buildwithtrace.com/education](https://buildwithtrace.com/education)
### One-Click Manufacturing
Submit your design to PCB fabs and assembly houses directly from inside Trace — no distributor hopping, no manual form-filling, no leaving the editor:
* **PCBWay integration** — Fabrication and assembly (Turnkey, Kitted, Combo) up to 14 layers via the PCBWay Partner API
* **Pikkolo Assembly integration** — US-based small-batch assembly + fabrication (beta) (Denver, CO) with lead-free and leaded options, ships in as little as 24 hours
* **AI-assisted autofill** — The AI analyzes your `.trace_pcb` file and pre-fills layer count, dimensions, trace/space, drill sizes, surface finish, silkscreen, via process, and copper weight
* **Manufacturer DRC presets** — `pcbway_2layer_1oz`, `pcbway_4layer_1oz`, `pcbway_6plus_layer_1oz`, `pikkolo_standard` and more. Loads into `.kicad_dru` and re-runs DRC so fab-specific violations are caught before submission
* **Quote and freight** — Live pricing, PCBWay freight calculation for 7 carriers (DHL, FedEx, EMS, SF Express, and more)
* **Payment** — Partner Account (monthly settlement) or PCBWay Online Payment. Idempotent confirmation prevents duplicate orders on retry
* **Live tracking** — Fabrication stage progress (material prep → e-test → QC → shipping) pulled from the partner API on demand
* **Order management** — List, view, cancel, resume payment, and re-download submitted files for all your orders
Available on Pro, Pro Team, Ultra, Ultra Team, and On-Demand plans. See the [One-Click Manufacturing guide](/guides/one-click-manufacturing).
New AI tools:
* `get_manufacturer_capabilities` — Query a manufacturer's layer count, min trace/space, hole sizes, surface finishes, and assembly options
* `set_preferred_manufacturer` — Persist a manufacturer choice to the project, tuning DRC and sourcing
* `set_manufacturer_drc` — Swap the project's `.kicad_dru` for a manufacturer preset
* `upload_to_manufacturer` — Submit Gerber/BOM/PnP files for quoting or ordering
***
## Trace 1.2.1 — March 2026
### AI Capabilities
* **Symbol creation** — AI can create new schematic symbols from descriptions with correct pins, groupings, and electrical types
* **Footprint generation** — AI can create PCB footprints from component package descriptions
* **Undo/redo for AI edits** — Full atomic undo/redo stack for AI-generated changes via the `AI_COMMIT` pipeline
* **"Add to Chat" context popup** — Right-click schematic or PCB elements to add them as AI context
* **Sheet switching** — AI navigates between hierarchical sheets with `get_hierarchy` and `switch_sheet` tools
* **PCB layer switching** — AI controls layers with `switch_layer`, `get_layers`, `apply_layer_preset`, and `set_layer_visibility` tools
* **Placeholder symbol generation** — When a library symbol is missing locally, the AI generates a placeholder with correct pins
* **`fetch_component_pins`** — AI queries local KiCad libraries for component pin data
* **Silent AI edits** — File modifications no longer trigger UI prompts or dialogs
* **BOM Preview & Approval** — Interactive BOM table with sortable columns, supplier links, pricing, and accept/modify/cancel workflow
### Plan Mode Enhancements
* **Research Summary Card** — Collapsible card streaming server-side research findings in real-time
* **Structured Questions** — Multi-choice requirement gathering via PlanQuestionsBar
* **Progressive question streaming** — Questions stream in 80-character chunks
* **Plan/implementation phase persistence** — Plan and execution state persists across tab reopens
* **Todo tracking from plans** — AI creates todo checklists from approved plan steps
### Server-Side Changes
* **Server-side vector search** — Symbol and footprint search moved from local to server-side vector database
* **DigiKey API integration** — Component search queries DigiKey for availability and pricing
* **Mouser API integration** — Component search queries Mouser for availability and pricing
* **Datasheet parsing** — PDF datasheet extraction for pinouts and recommended circuits
* **Web search** — Research phase web search for datasheets and reference designs
### Platform
* **Configurable backend URL** — Settings panel in all editors for changing the backend API URL
* **Crash reporting** — Consent-based crash log upload dialog on startup after a crash
* **API v2 endpoints** — All backend URLs migrated from `/api/v1` to `/api/v2`
### Analytics
* **Amplitude integration** — 27 tracked events across app lifecycle, auth, AI, versioning, projects, files, and editors
* **Pro-level analytics** — Autoroute outcomes, chat engagement depth, tool results, undo tracking
* **Anonymous session linking** — Proper anonymous-to-identified attribution on login
### Bug Fixes
* Fixed streaming UI stuck on quota exceeded (HTTP 402) and plan restricted (HTTP 403) errors
* Fixed tab input state bleed (Tab A streaming no longer disables input for Tab B)
* Fixed text segment fragmentation during streaming at STATUS event boundaries
* Fixed research phase text streamed as plain text then retroactively collapsed
* Fixed `switchToTab` replaying `SetStreaming(true)` which wiped the activity timeline
* Fixed version saves going to wrong conversation when user switches tabs during stream completion
***
## Trace 1.2 — March 2026
Built on [KiCad 10 (v10.0.0 RC1)](https://www.kicad.org/blog/2026/02/KiCad-Version-10.0.0-Release-Candidate-1-Available/).
### New Features
* **KiCad 10 support** — Trace is now built on KiCad 10 (v10.0.0 RC1), bringing all upstream improvements including better schematic and PCB tooling and improved rendering
* **Plan mode** — Multi-step AI design planning with a research phase, structured plan document, and an approve/adjust/reject workflow before execution begins
* **Rewritten chat UI** — New React-based webview with an interleaved activity feed showing tool calls, thinking steps, and text responses inline in real-time
* **Multi-tab parallel streaming** — Run multiple AI conversations simultaneously in different chat tabs, each with independent context and streaming state
* **Todo tracking** — The AI creates and manages a structured todo checklist for multi-step tasks, updating progress as it works
* **Template selector** — Pick from pre-built prompt templates to get started faster
* **File uploads & context** — Attach datasheets, reference designs, spec documents, images, and other files directly in the chat for the AI to use as context
* **Larger context window** — Holds more design context at once for longer, more coherent design sessions
* **Constraints & stackup modeling** — Model your layer stackup, spacing rules, and placement constraints. Expanding toward pick-and-place constraints, enclosure fit, and EMI-aware placement
* **Linux support** — Full Linux platform support with AppImage distribution, libsecret keychain, and localhost auth callback
### AI Improvements
* **GNN + simulated annealing placement** — Graph neural network combined with simulated annealing for optimizing component placement on imported boards
* **Import and optimize** — Import existing KiCad designs and let the AI iterate on placement, routing, and design review
* **ASIC workflow prototyping** — Early exploration of standard cell placement, pin assignment, timing-driven floorplanning, differential pair routing, power grid IR drop analysis, and clock tree balancing
### Bug Fixes
* Fixed mid-stream stopping where the AI would cut off responses
* Fixed ghost schematics appearing after rapid edits
* Fixed multi-sheet schematic support for complex designs
* Fixed per-tab event routing so actions in one tab don't bleed into another
* Fixed text segment fragmentation during streaming (words splitting mid-stream)
* Fixed analytics duplicate event tracking
### Windows Installer
* In-place upgrades replace side-by-side installations — new versions upgrade cleanly instead of installing as separate applications
* Old versioned installations (1.0.0, 1.1.0, 1.2.0, 1.2.1) are automatically detected and removed during upgrade
***
## Trace 1.1 — February 2026
### New Features
* **Schematic versioning** — Every AI edit is versioned. Roll back to any previous state with one click
* **Improved autorouter** — Better trace quality with impedance-aware routing and differential pair support
* **Component availability checks** — Real-time stock and pricing from JLCPCB, LCSC, DigiKey, Mouser, Texas Instruments, and Amazon
### Improvements
* Faster streaming responses
* Better schematic generation accuracy
* Improved error messages and recovery
***
## Trace 1.0 — January 8, 2026
### Launch
* **AI-native PCB design** — Describe circuits in natural language, get component suggestions, schematic generation, and PCB layout assistance
* **Built on KiCad** — Full compatibility with KiCad project files, no vendor lock-in
* **Professional EDA tools** — Complete schematic editor and PCB layout tools
* **Component library** — Thousands of components with footprints and 3D models
* **Manufacturing export** — Gerber files, drill files, BOMs, and assembly outputs
* **DRC/ERC** — Design rule and electrical rule checking with AI-assisted fixes
* **Desktop-first** — Native macOS, Windows, and Linux application, designs stay on your machine
* **Free plan** — Unlimited Ask mode for AI Q\&A about your designs