Quick start guide

Get capturing in a few minutes. This guide follows the actual Trace flow: VPN permission, optional CA trust, and your first request.

Prerequisites

• iOS 16.0 or later
• Trace installed on a physical iPhone or iPad

Step 1: Grant VPN permission

When Trace first launches, iOS prompts to add a VPN configuration. This is required for capture.

1. Tap Allow on the system dialog.
2. Authenticate with Face ID/Touch ID or passcode.
3. When capture is active, you will see the VPN indicator in the status bar.

Step 2: Install and trust the root CA (optional)

To decrypt HTTPS bodies, install and trust the Trace root certificate.

Step 3: Start capture

1. Open Trace and go to Network.
2. Tap Start Capture.
3. Use any app and return to Trace to see live requests.

Step 4: Verify HTTPS inspection (optional)

1. Open any HTTPS page in Safari.
2. Inspect a request body.
3. If the body is empty, confirm the root CA is trusted in Settings.

Step 4: Inspect a request

1. Tap a request in the list.
2. Review Overview, Headers, Body, Timing, and Certificate (HTTPS).

Step 5: Filter traffic

Open Filters to narrow results. You can:

• Filter by domains (supports wildcards)
• Filter by method or status code
• Filter by content type
• Toggle quick filters (errors, favorites, duplicates)
• Save filter presets for reuse

Step 6: Save and share a session

1. Open the session menu in Network.
2. Export as HAR or copy a request as cURL.
3. Share using the iOS Share Sheet.

Next steps