Categories: No-Code&Low-Code
Trace for SwiftUI: A Cautious Look at a Faded Gem
As anyone who’s spent time in the trenches of iOS development knows, the cycle can be… a grind. You fire up Xcode, wait for it to load its grand, imposing self, and then begin the painstaking process of wrestling with SwiftUI previews. You tweak a line of code, wait for the canvas to update, and repeat. It’s powerful, sure, but sometimes I just want to sketch out a UI idea without all the ceremony. I want to play with components like they’re digital LEGOs.
Every so often, a tool comes along that feels like it’s been pulled directly from my brain. A few years back, that tool for me was Trace. The pitch was just perfect: build native iOS interfaces, with real SwiftUI components, right in your web browser. A Canva for iOS UIs. It sounded like a dream.
But here’s the thing about dreams. Sometimes you wake up. When you land on Trace’s homepage today, you’re greeted by a big, yellow, unmissable banner: ⚠️ This project is no longer being maintained by the team, use it at your own risk ⚠️.
So, is that it? Case closed? Not so fast. I think there’s still something fascinating here. Let’s explore this brilliant, abandoned ghost ship and see if there’s any treasure left to plunder.
So What Exactly Was Trace?
At its heart, Trace is (or was) a visual UI builder for SwiftUI. Instead of writing code from scratch in Xcode, you could drag, drop, and configure components from a massive library directly in Chrome or Firefox. Think layouts, buttons, cards, forms, charts—the whole shebang. It was designed to bridge the gap between idea and implementation, letting you rapidly prototype an interface and then—and this is the killer feature—export it as a ready-to-use Xcode project or a simple Swift file.
It was a way to see your app come to life in minutes, not hours. For a solo dev or a small team trying to move fast, this is gold. You could even run your creation directly on your device. The friction was almost zero.
Visit Trace
The Good Stuff: Why Trace Still Catches My Eye
Even with the warning label, I can’t help but admire the core of what was built. It’s like finding a classic car rusting in a barn; the design is still beautiful, even if you’re not sure the engine will turn over.
A Playground in Your Browser
The sheer convenience is undeniable. I can pop open a tab and start fiddling with a login screen or a user profile layout without committing to a full Xcode session. It’s a fantastic tool for visual thinking. How should this list animate? What’s the right padding for this card? Trace provides an immediate, interactive canvas for these questions. It lowers the barrier to experimentation, and that’s always a good thing in my book.
The Component Library is a Treasure Trove
Honestly, just browsing the library is a learning experience. The team behind Trace assembled a really comprehensive set of common (and not-so-common) UI elements. We’re talking navigation bars, modals, text fields, switches, and even more complex stuff like chat interfaces and audio players. For a developer new to SwiftUI, it’s a living cookbook of recipes you can look at and learn from.
From Browser to Code in a Snap
This was always the magic trick. A pretty picture in a browser is one thing, but Trace spat out clean, usable SwiftUI code. This means it wasn’t just a mockup tool. It was a genuine accelerator. You could build the skeleton of your UI visually, export the code, and then drop it into your main project to wire up the logic. This workflow, in theory, saves a ton of boilerplate time.
The Big, Blinking Warning Sign: A Ghost in the Machine?
Okay, let’s get back to that banner. “No longer maintained” are three of the scariest words in software. It means no bug fixes. No security patches. And crucially, no updates for new versions of iOS or SwiftUI. The code you export today might work fine, but it will almost certainly break or become outdated as Apple continues its yearly update cycle.
What makes it even weirder is the conflicting message on their pricing page. It cheerfully states, “We’re a small team dilligently working to make this product great.” This, combined with the banner, paints a confusing picture. Was the pricing page just never updated? Did a small part of the project live on? My gut tells me to trust the big, scary banner. It’s more prominent and more direct. For all intents and purposes, this project is frozen in time.
So, using Trace for a production app you plan to support for years? Absolutely not. It’s a gamble you just shouldn’t take.
A Look at the Pricing (Handle With Care)
It’s a bit strange to analyze the pricing for a defunct product, but it tells a story. They had a pretty standard SaaS model which, surprisingly, is still active.
| Plan | Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 / month | Thousands of Components, AI Component Generator, 100 Credits/month, Up to 3 drafts |
| Builder | $20 / month | All free features, unlimited drafts, 1000 credits/month, source code access |
| Pro | $99 / month | All builder features, unlimited drafts, unlimited credits, priority support |
The free tier is actually quite generous and perfect for the use cases I’ll get to below. You can play around, create a few things, and get a feel for it without spending a dime.
Would I recommend paying for the Builder or Pro plan? Probably not, with one exception. If you are a “code scavenger” and you want to quickly grab the source code for their entire library of complex components, maybe a single month of the Builder plan could be worth the $20. Think of it as buying a SwiftUI component pack. But I wouldn’t stay subscribed.
So, Who Is Trace Actually For Today?
Given the big caveat, the audience for Trace has shifted. It’s not for the professional team building the next big app anymore. Instead, I see a few perfect users for this tool in its current state:
- Students and Learners: Are you just getting your feet wet with SwiftUI? Trace is an incredible, low-friction environment to see how different components are built and how they look without getting bogged down in Xcode’s complexities. It’s a safe, free sandbox.
- Prototypers and Designers: If you just need to create a high-fidelity, native-looking mockup to show a client or a team, Trace is fantastic. Since it uses real components, your mockups will look much more authentic than something made in a generic design tool.
- The Code Scavenger: This is me. You can use Trace as a visual library of code snippets. Build a component you like, export the code, and then adapt it for your own, actively maintained project. It’s a great way to find inspiration and avoid reinventing the wheel for common UI patterns.
It’s not a production tool. It’s a learning aid, a prototyping platform, and a code library with a fancy GUI.
A Faded Gem Worth A Look
Trace is a bittersweet story. It’s a glimpse of a future for app development that could be faster, more visual, and more collaborative. For whatever reason, the project stalled, leaving behind this incredibly useful, if slightly perilous, artifact.
I wouldn’t build my company’s next app on it, but will I keep the bookmark in my toolbar for a rainy day when I need to quickly mock up an idea or see a clean implementation of a SwiftUI TabView? You bet I will. It’s a tool that deserves to be remembered, not just for what it is now, but for the brilliant idea it represents.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Trace?
Trace is a web-based platform that allows you to visually build user interfaces for iOS apps using SwiftUI components. You can then export your work as an Xcode project or a Swift file.
Is Trace still being developed or maintained?
No. According to a prominent banner on their website, the project is no longer being maintained by the team. This means there will be no future updates, bug fixes, or support.
Can I use Trace to build a real, production app?
I would strongly advise against it. Because the tool is not maintained, the code it generates will not be updated for new versions of iOS or SwiftUI, and it may contain bugs that will never be fixed. It’s best used for learning, prototyping, or as a source of code inspiration.
Is Trace free to use?
Yes, Trace has a generous free tier that allows you to create up to 3 drafts and use its AI component generator with a monthly credit allowance. There are paid plans, but given the project’s status, you should be cautious about subscribing.
How does the AI Component Generator work?
The AI generator uses credits (you get some on the free plan) to generate SwiftUI components from a text prompt. For example, you could describe a login form, and it would attempt to generate the code for you. Each generation costs 10 credits.
What’s the main benefit of using Trace today?
The main benefits are for learning and rapid prototyping. It’s an excellent way for newcomers to explore SwiftUI components visually, and for experienced developers to quickly mock up an interface or find code examples for specific UI patterns.
