Changelog

October 11, 2026 — Prepared Trace 3.1 Workflows

Standalone source includes prepared 3.1.0 notes for the following workflows. Check the official download or updater for the actual build available to you:

• Basic routing: a reviewable settings card, routing/tidying progress, supported live board updates, Stop and a reviewed switch to advanced routing. A partial result still needs remaining-connection and DRC checks.
• Schematic drawing: circuit-aware layouts, scoped redraw and held placements, with drawing/connectivity review after changes.
• Component Studio: source-grounded generated-part review, auto-approval only for eligible checked parts, and manual acceptance when review remains necessary.
• Simulation: saved-design analog and supported digital experiments, built-in and user-supplied models, interactive results and explicit model/operating-condition warnings.
• Firmware notes and datasheets: a separate implementation handoff workflow and supported local datasheet fetching when server retrieval fails.
• Interrupted chat runs: original-run readback and offered recovery, without treating Stop or a restored reply as CAD rollback.

Follow routing, schematic drawing, components, simulation, firmware notes and chat recovery for procedures and limits.

October 11, 2026 — Companion and Staging-Service Updates

Trace Plugin main source now includes Library Remediation, a separate Simulation window, updated host/library support and newer chat controls. The companion has its own installer/version; standalone 3.1.0 is not its release number.

The service staging branch includes matching library review, simulation, routing and chat support. This is not a production-deployment announcement. Dictation, steering and next-message suggestions are newer companion workflows; the corresponding standalone chat changes and Ask Trace tool finder remain separate development work in the sources reviewed here. See Feature availability.

Current workflow documentation

Newer source implementations and guides are not distribution announcements. Check Feature availability against your installed product before following a workflow:

• Workbench and working with chat.
• Model selection and billing and access.
• Component Editor and placement and routing.
• Simulation and Workspaces.

The revised Workspaces GUI flows remain under validation, including unresolved Add/Open/Pull and stash-restoration outcomes. A source change or successful developer check does not establish completion in a distributed application.

Separate product histories

• Trace desktop: the historical notes on this page.
• Trace Plugin for Altium and KiCad: the companion guide covers its own availability and updates. Desktop versions below are not companion versions; a companion installer must be identified explicitly.
• Trace app CLI: CLI version notes describe the bundled trace-cli workflow. Install Trace and sign in to the desktop first; desktop and companion version numbers are not interchangeable.

Desktop historical archive

These summaries retain the version story and useful user-facing improvements. Old controls, menu paths, file-conversion behavior and access programs may have been replaced. Any access or billing note describes that historical period, not a current offer.

Trace 1.4.0 — June 2026

The recorded reliability notes covered:

• Independent desktop and web sign-in sessions.
• Reconnection and offered Resume controls for interrupted AI responses.
• Stop handling that preserved partial output or returned an unsent prompt.
• Requested track widths in Quick routing.
• Better handling of imported net/pin names and ambiguous references.
• Conversation context, task/review-state persistence and per-tab context display improvements.
• Less disruptive initial library indexing and more selective crash prompts.

These improvements were not guarantees that every interruption could resume or that every requirement survived conversation condensation. Follow the current chat recovery guide.

Trace 1.4.0-beta — June 2026

Recorded preview notes introduced Matched Length Groups and assistant-assisted length matching, including paths split by series resistors. Group settings, tuning and tolerance checks were described for the native PCB editor.

This was a preview entry, not a promise of matching behavior in every host. See Placement and routing for current scope.

Trace 1.4.0-beta — May 2026

The May preview notes covered design-review assistance, imported manufacturer DRC rules, project preferences and a design notebook. They also recorded team workspace selection, a context meter, manufacturing-order improvements, Windows fixes and security maintenance.

Earlier account-access notices and team controls in this preview are not instructions for today's billing or Workspaces.

Trace 1.3.2 — May 2026

Recorded changes focused on project rules and notebook editing, team-scoped conversation context, manufacturer preferences and DRC integration. Manufacturing notes included order-flow, parameter assistance and BOM improvements.

Project preferences and a shared design notebook have different sharing scopes; use the current Projects guide, not an old workspace label, to decide what to share.

Trace 1.3.1 — May 2026

The recorded dashboard updates included team-scoped conversation views, usage breakdowns, orders and billing context. Personal chat sessions were described as “Projects” in that interface; they are not Workspaces design repositories.

Other notes covered sign-in/session security, dashboard loading performance, conversation viewing, opt-in crash reporting and billing changes such as upgrade proration and per-seat quantities. Historical rate limits and credit-pack terms do not determine current access.

Trace 1.3.0 — May 2026

The recorded stable notes identified the KiCad 10.0.0 foundation and included:

• A visual DRC Rule Editor and additional electrical/design rule findings.
• Design variants and improvements to variant-aware output.
• Expanded gEDA/Lepton EDA, Cadence Allegro, Mentor PADS and Altium import support.
• Project-rule guidance, signal-path inspection and research/progress presentation.
• IPC-2581, 3D rendering, board editing and graphics reliability improvements.
• Manufacturer presets, quoting, order tracking and BOM assistance.
• Dashboard chat, notifications, team invitations and account-flow improvements.
• Fixes for Windows focus, project/chat separation, streaming and order handling.

Historical notes also described beta feedback programs and plan-specific manufacturing access. Those programs and entitlements are not current offers. Import/export compatibility must be checked for the actual design; these notes do not promise lossless exchange or manufacturing certification.

Trace 1.3.0-beta — April 2026

The April preview recorded the KiCad 10.0.0 foundation, DRC editor, design variants, importer expansion, signal/research presentation, manufacturing integration and graphics updates later summarized in the 1.3.0 notes.

It also recorded beta feedback and education access programs. This entry does not establish current enrollment, eligibility or platform availability.

Trace 1.2.1 — March 2026

Recorded changes included symbol/footprint generation assistance, design-change undo/redo, Add to Chat, sheet/layer navigation and BOM review cards. Plan improvements included research summaries, structured questions, approval state and task checklists.

Additional notes covered component/datasheet research, crash reporting and fixes for streaming, per-tab state and version saves associated with the wrong conversation. Native recovery and companion chat controls are different; see Version history and Trace Plugin.

Trace 1.2 — March 2026

The recorded notes identified a KiCad 10 release-candidate foundation. They introduced Plan mode, a refreshed chat activity view, independent conversation tabs, task checklists, templates and attachments.

Other changes covered layout assistance on imported designs, multi-sheet and streaming fixes, Linux packaging and Windows upgrade handling. Future-oriented layout and unrelated design explorations in the old notes were not established product capabilities.

Trace 1.1 — February 2026

Recorded improvements covered schematic versioning, routing assistance, component availability lookups, response streaming and error reporting. Versioning was a recovery feature, not a guarantee that every edit could always be restored in one click.

Trace 1.0 — January 8, 2026

The original launch notes introduced AI-assisted circuit design alongside schematic and PCB editors, component libraries, manufacturing export and ERC/DRC assistance, built on KiCad.

The launch notes described a free Ask offering for that period. It is historical, not a current entitlement. Native project formats and hosted data handling have also changed: use Projects, Under the hood and Billing and access for current guidance.