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Core Concepts

The language of TraceMind

A small set of ideas runs through the entire product. Learn these once and every surface, from Reports to Causal Flow to MindBoard, becomes easy to read.

The vocabulary

Scenario

A reusable recording configuration. Think of it as a lab protocol: define it carefully, then run it whenever the same class of bug returns.

  • Includes Tracking targets, Watches, Probes, a capture Profile, and metadata
  • Mental model Scenario is how you capture

Report

The result of one recording session, and it is durable. Leave Play Mode, reopen Unity later, and continue the investigation from the same evidence.

  • Mental model Report is what you captured
  • Views Tree, Flow, and Timeline

Scope

A named runtime region in the recording. Tree, Flow, and Timeline are largely scope-centric, so you navigate hierarchy and duration without reading every low-level event at once.

When TraceMind says entered, traveling, or follow execution, it is describing movement through scopes.

Tracking

Decides which code is instrumented during recording. You configure it in the Tracking Editor by assembly, namespace, type, or member.

Tracking answers one question: which call activity should exist in this Report?

Watch

Pins a member so TraceMind can observe old and new values while recording. Start with the member that should not have changed. That single Watch often pays for the whole Scenario.

  • Unlocks Value history in Watch Studio
  • Unlocks Causal chains behind writes

Probe

Records environment activity around your code, such as scene load and unload, object lifecycle, coroutines, animator activity, and resource events.

Probes answer: what was Unity's world doing when this happened? Explore them visually in Probe Map.

Causal chain

The path TraceMind reconstructs behind a watched write. In Causal Flow you meet a small set of roles that give teams shared language for the same event.

  • Entry Where the story starts
  • Call A method invocation in the chain
  • Cause A step that contributed to the outcome
  • Getter A read that fed the write path
  • Boundary A meaningful crossing in the story
  • Watched property The value change you are explaining

Profile depth

Profiles trade detail for cost. Choose depth based on the question, then raise it only when evidence is incomplete.

  • Minimal Light footprint, enter and exit plus durations
  • Standard Balanced everyday capture
  • Deep Maximum detail, including heavier snapshot behavior

Persistence

TraceMind keeps investigation data in a per-project SQLite database under Library/TraceMind/.

  • Survives restarts Scenarios and Reports stay available
  • Board state MindBoard layout and Sketch strokes persist
  • Maintenance Reveal, compact, or reset from Preferences

Tracking versus Watches

Tracking captures execution. Watches capture value change. For causal questions about state, you usually want both.

MindBoard language

MindBoard is the investigation canvas. Two node kinds carry your thinking.

Note

Free-form investigation thinking: title, body (plain text or Markdown), tags, and styling. When a Note is selected, Markdown links, task checkboxes, and scrollable code blocks become interactive.

Reference

A live link to TraceMind evidence with a type-specific preview (Report, Watch, Scenario, Scope, Probe, Exception, Method, and more). Select a Reference to inspect chart hover details.

Relationships are your assertions, not automatic claims. Use them to make reasoning visible.

Related Caused By Triggered Supports Contradicts Depends On Suspected Confirmed Reference

Boards move through statuses, so they never become an infinite pile of open questions.

Investigating Confirmed Resolved Archived

The right Sidebar on MindBoard is a compact developer workspace. Its visibility and width persist with the board.

Notes

Sidebar scratchpad with Markdown preview. Canvas Note nodes hold structured investigation write-ups.

Tasks

Surfaces source markers such as TODO, FIXME, HACK, and NOTE.

Sketch

A lightweight freehand canvas for quick diagrams while you think.

Feature rail

The left rail is your product map: Home, Scenarios, Reports, and MindBoard. Everything else, including the Tracking Editor, Watch Studio, Probe Map, Method Flow, and Exception Flow, opens as a focused surface from those hubs.

Home Scenarios Reports MindBoard

One sentence to remember

Scenario scopes the capture, Report stores the evidence, Watches and Probes explain change, and MindBoard turns findings into a durable investigation.