Open a boardview, attach its schematic and PDFs, search everything, jump between board and schematic, and keep repair notes. Portable on Windows, experimental on macOS and Linux. Board files stay local; network features are optional.
A boardviewer shows where every part, pin and net sits on a printed circuit board, so you can go from a fault on the schematic to the exact pad to probe. TRACE is a free, open-source boardviewer that keeps the board, its schematic and its PDF datasheets in one window and searches all of them at once. It opens .brd files (EAGLE, selected TestLink/Landrex and TOPTEST exports, and native Allegro layouts), EAGLE boards and schematics, .bvr boardviews, GenCAD .cad/.gcd and KiCad boards and schematics. New to it? The getting started guide walks through a first repair session. Coming from OpenBoardView or FlexBV? See the honest comparison.
The video uses a real, openly licensed design: Pico 2 C from the project-piCo repository (KiCad PCB, KiCad schematics and a plotted PDF, WTFPL). The screenshots also show the Antmicro Jetson Nano baseboard (KiCad, Apache-2.0), the SparkFun RedBoard (EAGLE, CC BY-SA 4.0) and the KiCad 9 demo board. Open the demo page with a transcript.
Generated from docs/SUPPORT.md: real-file statuses cover the selected exports named in the table; "validated with open tool-written files" covers open-source tool exports, with vendor writers still unverified; "draft" covers synthetic fixtures only. "Recognized, not readable" is identified and refused with an explanation.
New readers include native Allegro BRD, Jet BV, BV2, Unisoft F2B, Mentor Neutral, Tebo ICT pairs and Fabmaster FARC/FAZ. Real-export checks cover selected layouts; estimated bodies, omitted routing and unsupported variants are listed below. Fixed extensionless companion entries can be opened with the all-files filter.
generated from docs/SUPPORT.md · 2026-10-09
| Format | Extensions | Status | Validated with | Nets | Geometry | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GenCAD 1.4 | .cad .gcd | supported | real files | yes | mixed | — |
| Landrex / TestLink BRD | .brd | validated with selected real files | selected BRD contents; canonical invariants, encoded/plain record counts and the extended Pins1 first-pin indices checked against explicit owners | yes | estimated | — |
| TOPTEST BRD2 | .brd .gr | validated with selected real files | selected BRDOUT exports; canonical geometry, sides, component links and net membership checked | yes | estimated | — |
| BRD_V1.0 encoded boardview | .brd | recognized, not readable | none | no | estimated | — |
| Honhan BDV | .bdv | validated with selected real files | selected plain, encoded and nails-first exports; finite canonical geometry, explicit sides, component links and reverse net membership checked | yes | estimated | — |
| BVR raw boardview (BVRAW_FORMAT_3) | .bvr | validated with selected real files and open designs | selected BVRAW_FORMAT_3 exports; canonical geometry, sides, component links and net membership checked, in addition to the Pico cross-checks | yes | mixed | — |
| BVR raw boardview (BVRAW_FORMAT_1) | .bvr | validated with selected real files | selected BVRAW_FORMAT_1 exports; canonical geometry, sides, component links and net membership checked | yes | estimated | — |
| ASC companion trio | .asc | validated with selected real files | selected ASC entry files with their same-directory companions; canonical geometry, sides, component links and net membership checked | yes | estimated | companion files |
| Jet BV boardview | .bv | validated with real Jet4 boardview files | 42 paths / 30 distinct contents; every Layout, Pin and Nail table cell compared with an independent MIT reader | yes | estimated | — |
| BV2 text boardview | .bv2 | validated with real text exports | two complete CSV exports checked at every Layout, Pin and Nail row | yes | estimated | — |
| Tebo ICT companion pair | .ict | validated with a selected real pair | all four entry paths, two duplicate pairs containing one distinct geometry and one distinct electrical program; every physical point joined to its explicit connection | yes | estimated | companion files |
| FZ / CAE boardview | .fz .cae | supported | real files | yes | mixed | — |
| XZZ PCB | .pcb | draft (synthetic fixtures only) | synthetic fixtures | yes | mixed | — |
| CAST CST | .cst | validated for the documented component layers | selected real CDev/CPad exports using layer 0x0C/0x01; finite canonical geometry, component links and net membership checked | yes | estimated | — |
| KiCad PCB | .kicad_pcb | validated with real files | real files: KiCad 9 demo (pic_programmer), Antmicro Jetson Nano baseboard (28 MB), Raspberry Pi Pico (open designs, KiCad 8 files), the other KiCad 5 and KiCad 9 demo boards and the MNT Reform 2 motherboard (KiCad 5, 7 and 8 files); synthetic fixtures: KiCad 4 and 6 styles | yes | real | — |
| EAGLE board XML | .brd | validated with real files | real files: SparkFun RedBoard (EAGLE 7.7 XML board; 35 MB EAGLE 7.5 production panel); synthetic fixtures: 9.x documents, through-hole pads, rotated mirrored elements | yes | real | — |
| Altium PcbDoc | .pcbdoc .cmpcbdoc .cspcbdoc | supported | real files | yes | real | — |
| Samsung CAD | .cad | validated with a selected real file | checked by the maintainer on a real export; components, component pins and test vias counted independently | yes | estimated | — |
| Mentor Neutral | .neu .cad | validated with selected real files | selected neutral CAD contents, including designs first encountered in archives; declared units, explicit sides and absolute component/pin fields checked | yes | estimated | — |
| VS2 assembly listing | .lst | recognized, not readable | none | no | estimated | — |
| Cadence Allegro BRD (native) | .brd | supported | real files | yes | mixed | — |
| PADS native SDB | .pcb | recognized, not readable | none | no | estimated | — |
| Unisoft F2B (native) | .f2b | supported | real files | yes | estimated | — |
| TVW boardview | .tvw | validated with selected real files | checked by the maintainer on real exports: complete component tables and every pin UID link checked against the declared layer pads | yes | mixed | — |
| EasyEDA Standard PCB | .json | draft (synthetic fixtures only) | synthetic fixtures | yes | mixed | — |
| Gerber RS-274X | .gbr | recognized, not readable | none | no | real | — |
| EasyEDA Pro PCB | .epro .epcb .zip | supported | real files | yes | mixed | — |
| ODB++ archive | .tgz .gz .tar .zip .z | validated with open tool-written files | open tool-written files: kicad-cli 9.0.9 (pcb export odb) exports of thirty-nine open designs: KiCad 5 and 9 demo boards, Antmicro Jetson Nano baseboard, MNT Reform 2 motherboard, Raspberry Pi Pico boards | yes | mixed | — |
| HyperLynx (.hyp) | .hyp | draft (synthetic fixtures only) | synthetic fixtures | yes | mixed | — |
| Fabmaster (FATF) | .fab .fatf | draft (synthetic fixtures only) | synthetic fixtures | yes | mixed | — |
| Fabmaster FARC / FAZ | .far .farc .faz | validated with selected real job exports | 69 FAZ paths / 49 distinct jobs; source counts, all pin positions, identities, nets, sides and placement positions/angles checked independently | yes | estimated | — |
| IPC-D-356 | .ipc .356 .d356 .ipc356 | validated with open tool-written files | open tool-written files: kicad-cli 9 exports of 39 open designs | yes | estimated | — |
| Pin list (CSV/TSV) | .csv .tsv .txt | draft (synthetic fixtures only) | synthetic fixtures | yes | estimated | — |
| IPC-2581 | .xml .cvg | validated with open tool-written files | open tool-written files: kicad-cli 9 exports of 27 open designs | yes | mixed | — |
| Container | Extensions | Status | Validated with |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZIP archive (a board with its companion files) | .zip | draft (synthetic fixtures only) | synthetic fixtures |
| Format | Extensions | Connectivity | Validated with | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altium schematic | .schdoc | computed from geometry | 113 openly licensed SchDocs; LimeSDR nets agree with the Altium-written netlist (627/627) | sibling .SchDoc and .PrjPcb files for hierarchy and project scope |
| KiCad schematic | .kicad_sch | computed from geometry | real files: KiCad 9 demo (2 sheets), Antmicro Jetson Nano baseboard (8 sheets), Raspberry Pi Pico (open designs, KiCad 8 files) | sub-sheet files in the same directory (otherwise the sheet is shown unresolved with a diagnostic) |
| KiCad legacy schematic | .sch | computed from geometry | synthetic fixtures only (no real legacy file was available) | <project>-cache.lib or other .lib files in the same directory for symbol pins and bodies; sub-sheet .sch files in the same directory |
| EAGLE schematic | .sch | declared by the file | real files: SparkFun RedBoard (EAGLE 7.7 XML) | — |
| Kind | Extensions | What TRACE does | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|---|
.pdf | Offline pdf.js viewer: multi-page, thumbnails, zoom/fit/rotate, page jump, selectable text, text search with next/previous, bookmarks, page notes; exact board references found in the text can be linked to board parts | A scanned or raster page has no text until you choose Recognize text: the built-in OCR (Tesseract, English, on this computer, nothing downloaded or uploaded) reads it, marks every recognized word with its confidence, makes it searchable and links only exact board names read with at least 60 % confidence; misread names are misses, never wrong links. A PDF is a document, never a boardview or a netlist. No document JavaScript, no XFA, no remote resources. | |
| Images | .png .jpg .jpeg .webp .svg | Viewer with zoom, pan, rotation, bookmarks, point notes; physical measurement only after the user calibrates two points with a known distance | No board registration/overlay yet. SVG is sanitized and shown only as an inert image (no scripts, no remote assets; removals are disclosed). Raster images are limited to 80 megapixels. |
| Schematics | .kicad_sch .sch .schdoc (.lib and .prjpcb as companions) | See the schematic table above | See the schematic limits above |
Test version. These downloads are 1.3.1, a prerelease for testing. An installed TRACE never offers it as an update, and it may still change. If something goes wrong, please use the bug report form and do not attach proprietary board files. See the full release history on GitHub.
Check the file before you run it (PowerShell, in the download folder):
TRACE Boardviewer
Get-FileHash .\TRACE-Boardviewer-1.3.1.exe -Algorithm SHA256
Built by GitHub Actions from the tagged source. Not code-signed yet: check the hash, then allow it once in SmartScreen ("More info → Run anyway"). Each launch extracts about 500 MB into a private temp folder and removes it on exit. Notes and settings live in %APPDATA%\TRACE Boardviewer.
The experimental 1.3.1 build is for Apple silicon Macs only (M1 or later) and is ad-hoc signed but not notarized. Native acceptance run 37974058845 reported issues; investigation is ongoing. macOS blocks a downloaded copy until you allow it once: right-click the app and choose Open, or clear the quarantine flag in Terminal:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/TRACE Boardviewer.app"
Intel Macs are not supported. See the release notes for the current validation status.
TRACE-Boardviewer-1.3.1-mac-arm64.zip
shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/TRACE-Boardviewer-1.3.1-mac-arm64.zip
Experimental, x86-64 only. Native acceptance run 37974058845 reported issues; investigation is ongoing. Both packages are unsigned.
TRACE-Boardviewer-1.3.1-linux-amd64.deb
sha256sum TRACE-Boardviewer-1.3.1-linux-amd64.deb sudo apt install ./TRACE-Boardviewer-1.3.1-linux-amd64.deb
Installs to /opt and adds an AppArmor profile, so the Chromium sandbox stays on under Ubuntu's user-namespace restriction. Start it from the application menu or with trace-boardviewer. Remove it with sudo apt remove trace-boardviewer; your settings and notes stay.
TRACE-Boardviewer-1.3.1-linux-x86_64.AppImage
sha256sum TRACE-Boardviewer-1.3.1-linux-x86_64.AppImage chmod +x TRACE-Boardviewer-1.3.1-linux-x86_64.AppImage ./TRACE-Boardviewer-1.3.1-linux-x86_64.AppImage
Nothing is installed. Where a distribution restricts unprivileged user namespaces (Ubuntu 23.10 and newer) the AppImage can only run without the Chromium sandbox: TRACE asks first, and Quit is the default. Use the .deb there.
Settings, recent boards and notes are stored in ~/.config/trace-boardviewer. More on the Linux page.
Thank you very much for testing TRACE and sharing your opinion, special thanks for that! If you find a bug, please be sure to report it.
In TRACE, use Report a bug to describe an issue, review and edit the report, save it for later or leave without sending. Nothing is sent until you choose Send. Board files and attachments are not sent with the report.
Board and schematic files are processed on your computer. Bug reports go to a separate receiver only after you review and choose Send; no GitHub account is needed. Your description may contain paths or token-like text, so check it before sending. The optional technical summary uses closed fields for version, platform, architecture, locale, surface and import type; these fields cannot contain local paths. No board files or attachments are sent. Drafts and retry records expire after seven days; expired records are removed the next time you access bug reports. A local helper flags possible paths and token-like text in your description and removes selected text only if you choose to remove it. There is no account or telemetry. Other optional network features are a stable-release check on GitHub and payment verification when you choose Verify payment. Verification sends only the app's random support reference to the receipt service. Settings lists allowed hosts and a clearable request log. Updates are never downloaded or installed automatically. Payment buttons open Stripe or Ko-fi in your browser; support and verification can both be skipped.
Check the table above; some families are still draft. Open an issue with the family, file size and the exact diagnostic — never upload a file you may not share.
Yes. Stable 1.3.1 includes experimental unsigned .deb and AppImage packages for x86-64. Native acceptance run 37974058845 reported issues; investigation is ongoing. See the Linux downloads and the Linux page.
TRACE does not include or link to board files. Use files you have the right to use: your own designs, open-hardware projects (many publish KiCad or EAGLE files), or documentation you are licensed to use.
Yes. On Windows TRACE is a portable EXE with no installer, and on Linux the AppImage installs nothing, so it does not interfere with other boardviewers. See the comparison for what each one does best.
MIT. Vendor and format names are used only to identify file formats; the project is not affiliated with any of them.