Orateur
Description
Trace is an open-source plotting tool developed at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory for visualizing both live and archived EPICS Process Variable data within the PyDM framework. Built on PyDM, PyQt, and PyQtGraph, Trace allows users to configure and display PV data across multiple axes with intuitive per-curve and per-axis controls, making it a practical tool for controls engineers, physicists, and operators alike.
Originally developed as the PyDM Archive Viewer, Trace has undergone a full redesign — both in user experience and architecture — taking inspiration from SLAC's Striptool to provide a cleaner, more modern interface. The result is a single tool capable of replacing separate live and archive plotting workflows. Trace also supports formula curves, allowing users to define mathematical expressions that treat existing curves as variables — for example, computing the mean across multiple PVs.
Trace is publicly available under SLAC's GitHub organization and is actively maintained. We are seeking feedback, collaboration, and adoption from the wider EPICS community to help guide its development and make it a robust tool beyond SLAC's walls.