Quick start
Install TRACE, point it at Assetto Corsa if automatic detection needs help, then let the recorder follow the simulator.
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Install TRACE
Download the latest Windows installer. Installed builds can offer signed updates inside the app.
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Check Settings
Open Settings and verify the detected game directory. Choose the directory manually if it is missing.
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Start Assetto Corsa
Drive normally or play an AC replay at normal speed. TRACE records while the simulator exposes live telemetry.
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Open Sessions
When the run ends, open the completed session to review laps or choose one for comparison.
Recording
TRACE watches the supported simulator adapter and records canonical telemetry without requiring a Start Recording button. A recording follows the simulator session and is finalized when the session ends or disconnects.
What is captured
Timing, sectors, pedals, gear, speed, steering input, fuel, tyre channels, world position, and other supported AC shared-memory fields.
What may be missing
Some session conditions, track-limit reasons, setup state, or replay metadata are not exposed reliably. TRACE leaves unavailable evidence explicit.
First and partial laps
An incomplete lap may be retained for context but excluded from fastest-lap comparisons. Simulator-reported invalidity is kept separately from inferred evidence.
Replay capture
Playback produces the same live telemetry path as driving. Seeking or running a replay unusually fast can create discontinuities, so normal-speed playback is recommended.
Session library
Sessions are searchable by title, driver, simulator, car, track, type, source, and tags. Rename a session, assign a driver, mark ownership, or add tags when imported telemetry would otherwise be difficult to identify.
- Open a session for its lap list, sectors, theoretical best, fuel, tyre and validity evidence.
- Click a lap row to open the lap visualizer; invalid laps are excluded from suitable reference suggestions.
- Delete a session from its actions menu when it is no longer needed.
- Use compact export actions to create a share package or specialist CSV/Arrow output.
Compare two laps
The Reference is the lap you want to learn from. The Analysed Lap is the lap being measured against it. TRACE usually suggests a faster compatible reference, prioritising imported laps.
Stay synchronized
Speed, throttle, brake, gear, steering, delta, shared cursor, playback, zoom, sectors, and track position use the same distance-aligned view.
Read the colours
Purple highlights the faster trace and green the slower trace. The Reference and Analysed labels remain the authoritative lap identity.
Save useful pairs
Name and save a comparison to return to the same drivers, sessions, and laps without rebuilding the selection.
Treat analysis as a lead
Corner observations are deterministic heuristics, not AI coaching. They can be wrong; verify them against the graphs and map.
Lap visualizer
Use the visualizer when you want to inspect one lap without choosing a reference. Play or scrub the lap, select an individual sector, zoom synchronized graphs, and move or resize the floating track map. The HUD shows the current inputs and recorded lap context.
Overlays and OBS
The Overlays page previews HUDs using demo, active, or recorded telemetry. The pedal overlay combines input history, throttle, brake, clutch, and steering. Configure it in TRACE, then open the frameless always-on-top window or copy its local OBS Browser Source URL.
- Keep TRACE running while an OBS Browser Source uses its loopback URL.
- Use the dimensions shown in TRACE; the overlay does not stretch itself to an arbitrary OBS canvas.
- The local overlay endpoint binds to this computer only and stops when TRACE exits.
Setups
The Assetto Corsa setup importer installs bounded ZIP archives into AC's setup tree and indexes compatible files locally. Compatibility means simulator, car, track, and layout identities match—it does not prove the setup was used or recommend a change.
Explicitly mark a setup as used for a session before exporting if it should travel inside the .trace package. Setup
differences are literal configuration diffs, not claims about lap-time causality.
Go Live
Stream an active capture or a completed recording to the browser pit wall. Choose Local for another display on the same computer, or Online for an unlisted spectator link through the configured TRACE service.
Local screen
TRACE starts an internal loopback server. No hosted service or account is needed, but the URL is accessible only on the same machine.
Online
Anyone with the unlisted link can spectate. Publishing can reconnect after transient failures without interrupting the local recording.
Self-host the live service
Tagged releases provide a single Linux binary with the spectator frontend embedded. Install or update it on a systemd VM with:
curl -fsSL https://simtrace.run/install-server | sudo sh
The first-install wizard asks for the listen address and public URL. Configure a TLS reverse proxy to forward HTTP and WebSocket
upgrades. Re-running the command updates the binary and preserves /etc/trace-server.env.
Data and privacy
Normal recording, storage, import, viewing, and analysis are local and work without an account. SQLite stores session metadata; compressed Arrow IPC stores high-rate telemetry. TRACE only sends telemetry to a live endpoint when you deliberately start an online stream.
TRACE uses LLMs as development tools, under human direction. The app's telemetry conclusions are deterministic and do not call an LLM.
Troubleshooting
TRACE does not detect AC
Verify the Assetto Corsa directory in Settings and start an on-track session. Restart TRACE and AC if a previous crash left the shared-memory connection stale.
A replay records strangely
Play it from the beginning at normal speed. TRACE observes what AC publishes; large seeks and accelerated playback may look like discontinuities.
A field is unknown or unverified
The simulator did not expose enough reliable evidence. TRACE deliberately avoids inventing missing conditions or track-limit reasons.
Go Live will not connect
Check the endpoint in Settings, verify the service health and reverse-proxy WebSocket configuration, then stop and restart the stream.
Still stuck? Search the FAQ or open an issue with the TRACE version and the action that failed.
Technical references
The website guide focuses on using TRACE. Architecture, schemas, protocol details, and contributor workflows remain versioned beside the code.