---
title: "Create Trace"
method: POST
path: "/simple/traces/"
tags: ["Traces"]
---

# Create Trace

`POST /simple/traces/`

Create a single-span "simple" trace.

This endpoint is a higher-level helper for the common case of
recording one self-contained event — an evaluator output, a human
annotation, a feedback entry, a manually-logged inference. It
creates one span under a fresh `trace_id` and returns the resulting
handle.

## When to use this vs. `/tracing/spans/ingest`

- **Use this endpoint** when you have a single payload to record
  with no internal hierarchy: evaluation results, human feedback,
  manual annotations, or a standalone completion. It takes care of
  `trace_id`/`span_id` generation, attribute namespacing, and link
  wiring for you.
- **Use `POST /tracing/spans/ingest`** when you need multi-span
  traces (e.g. an agent run with nested tool calls and LLM spans),
  precise control over IDs, timings, or parent/child relationships,
  or when forwarding traces from another OTel-compatible source.

## Request body

Send a `trace` object with:

- `origin` — who produced the trace (`human`, `auto`, `custom`).
- `kind` — intent (`adhoc`, `eval`, `play`).
- `channel` — transport that produced it (`sdk`, `api`, `web`, `otlp`).
- `data` — required dict carrying the actual payload (inputs,
  outputs, or evaluator results).
- `tags`, `meta` — optional free-form dicts for filtering and
  metadata.
- `references` — optional links to Agenta entities (application,
  variant, revision, evaluator, testset, etc.).
- `links` — optional OTel-style links to other traces/spans.

Use `PATCH /preview/tracing/traces/{trace_id}` to update fields
later, `GET` to fetch, and `DELETE` to remove. See
[Tracing — References and links](/reference/api-guide/tracing#references-and-entity-linking)
for when to use `references` vs. `links`.

## Request body

- SimpleTraceCreateRequest — Request body for creating a single-span "simple" trace.
  - `trace` SimpleTraceCreate, required
    - `origin` 'custom' | 'human' | 'auto'
    - `kind` 'adhoc' | 'eval' | 'play'
    - `channel` 'otlp' | 'web' | 'sdk' | 'api'
    - `tags` object, nullable
    - `meta` object, nullable
    - `data` object, required
    - `references` SimpleTraceReferences, required
      - `query` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `query_variant` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `query_revision` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `testset` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `testset_variant` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `testset_revision` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `application` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `application_variant` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `application_revision` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `evaluator` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `evaluator_variant` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `evaluator_revision` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `environment` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `environment_variant` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `environment_revision` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `testcase` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `selector` object, nullable
    - `links` union, required
      - object
      - OTelLinkInput[]
        - `span_id` string, nullable
        - `trace_id` string, nullable
        - `attributes` object, nullable

## Response `202`

Successful Response

- SimpleTraceResponse — Response from a single-trace create/fetch/edit.
  - `count` integer — `1` if the trace was returned, `0` otherwise.
  - `trace` SimpleTrace
    - `created_at` string, date-time, nullable
    - `updated_at` string, date-time, nullable
    - `deleted_at` string, date-time, nullable
    - `created_by_id` string, uuid, nullable
    - `updated_by_id` string, uuid, nullable
    - `deleted_by_id` string, uuid, nullable
    - `span_id` string, nullable
    - `trace_id` string, nullable
    - `attributes` object, nullable
    - `origin` 'custom' | 'human' | 'auto'
    - `kind` 'adhoc' | 'eval' | 'play'
    - `channel` 'otlp' | 'web' | 'sdk' | 'api'
    - `tags` object, nullable
    - `meta` object, nullable
    - `data` object, required
    - `references` SimpleTraceReferences, required
      - `query` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `query_variant` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `query_revision` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `testset` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `testset_variant` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `testset_revision` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `application` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `application_variant` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `application_revision` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `evaluator` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `evaluator_variant` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `evaluator_revision` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `environment` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `environment_variant` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `environment_revision` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `testcase` Reference
        - `version` string, nullable
        - `slug` string, nullable
        - `id` string, uuid, nullable
      - `selector` object, nullable
    - `links` union, required
      - object
      - OTelLinkOutput[]
        - `span_id` string, nullable
        - `trace_id` string, nullable
        - `attributes` object, nullable

## Other responses

- `422` — Validation Error

---

[API](https://skmtc.net/agenta-ai/apis/agenta-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.net/agenta-ai/apis/agenta-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc-service-staging.skmtc.workers.dev/v1/apis/agenta-ai/agenta-api/versions/ea6421d829f1/schema)