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Nexttrace

DevOps & Security
nexttrace

Nexttrace is an Agent Skill for devops & security published in the nxtrace/NTrace-core repository on GitHub: a SKILL.md instruction file an AI agent can load to do this task.

Use NextTrace through its deploy MCP endpoint for traceroute, MTR, MTU discovery, speed tests, IP annotation, GeoIP lookup, and Globalping multi-location traceroute. Trigger when an agent needs network path diagnostics or needs to call NextTrace MCP tools.

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QUICK START

How to use this skill

Bring this guide into your coding agent with a prompt tailored to the tool you use.

  1. Open your project in Codex.
  2. Copy and paste the prompt below.
  3. Review files and risks before approving any action.
Prompt to paste
Inspect the Agent Skill at https://github.com/nxtrace/NTrace-core/blob/HEAD/skills/nexttrace/SKILL.md and all supporting files. Report provenance, permissions, scripts, dependencies, and security risks. Propose an exact installation into .agents/skills/nexttrace, but wait for my approval before writing files or running scripts.

Copying this prompt does not install or run the skill. Review third-party files before use.

NextTrace MCP

Use this skill when the user wants route diagnostics through NextTrace or asks how an Agent should call NextTrace.

Start MCP

NextTrace exposes MCP only as a deploy submode over HTTP. There is no stdio MCP mode.

nexttrace --deploy --mcp
nexttrace --deploy --mcp --listen 0.0.0.0:1080 --deploy-token "$TOKEN"

Endpoint:

http://127.0.0.1:1080/mcp

Auth:

  • Loopback listen addresses are tokenless by default unless a token is set.
  • External listen addresses require a token. If none is provided, NextTrace prints a generated token to stdout.
  • MCP/API clients authenticate with Authorization: Bearer <token> or X-NextTrace-Token: <token>.
  • Browser WebUI uses /auth/login and an HttpOnly cookie.
  • Do not put tokens in URL query strings.

Workflow

  1. Call nexttrace_capabilities first when available.
  2. Pick the narrowest common tool for the job:
    • Local route: nexttrace_traceroute
    • Repeated loss/latency stats: nexttrace_mtr_report
    • Probe-level stream records: nexttrace_mtr_raw
    • Path MTU: nexttrace_mtu_trace
    • Global vantage points: nexttrace_globalping_trace
    • Other tools: nexttrace_speed_test, nexttrace_annotate_ips, nexttrace_geo_lookup, nexttrace_globalping_limits, nexttrace_globalping_get_measurement
  3. Prefer structuredContent; use text content only as a fallback.
  4. Preserve explicit user inputs: target, protocol, port, source_address, source_device, ASN, location, and ip_version. Do not substitute them unless the user asks for a fallback.
  5. On errors or missing results, report the exact failure and suggested next step. Do not automatically switch protocol, port, location, ASN, tool, or local/Globalping mode.
  6. For full tool schemas and boundaries, read references/mcp-tools.md and references/capability-matrix.md.
  7. For Globalping, read references/globalping.md. For local source/device/TOS behavior, read references/platform-notes.md. Use references/cli-fallback.md only when MCP is unavailable, unsupported, or the user asks for CLI output.
  8. Before writing the final answer, use references/output-templates.md for a concise Markdown shape.
  9. Keep this skill and its references synced with server/mcp.go whenever MCP tools or parameters change.

References