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Agent Tracing

Reviewed 19 July 2026Canonical definitionPart of: Agent Observability Terms →

Agent tracing is the collection of distributed trace data across every step an AI agent takes, including reasoning steps, tool calls, API requests, and sub-agent invocations. Traces give engineers and governance teams a detailed, chronological view of exactly what an agent did and how long each step took, enabling both debugging and compliance review.

Looking for the applied side? Read Agent tracing: how to see what your agent actually did.

§01 / QUESTIONSterm: Agent Tracing
Questions

Common questions.

What is Agent Tracing?

Agent tracing is the collection of distributed trace data across every step an AI agent takes, including reasoning steps, tool calls, API requests, and sub-agent invocations.

Why does Agent Tracing matter for AI agents?

Traces give engineers and governance teams a detailed, chronological view of exactly what an agent did and how long each step took, enabling both debugging and compliance review.

Which terms are related to Agent Tracing?

Closely related concepts include Distributed Tracing (Agent), Trace Context, Trace (Agent), OpenTelemetry (AI Agents). Each is defined in the Prefactor glossary.

Where can I read more about Agent Tracing in practice?

The guide "Agent tracing: how to see what your agent actually did" covers the applied side in depth.

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Where this fits.

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