---
name: trace-tech-brief
description: Fetches today's tech and AI news brief from Trace - the biggest stories, notable builds and open-source releases, and practitioner conversations, each with sources. Use when the user asks what is happening in tech or AI today, wants a morning or daily brief, asks about recent launches, model releases or developer tools, or wants tech news posted to a chat channel.
---

# Trace tech brief

Trace reads 100+ tech sources every morning, groups coverage of the same event into one story and ranks it. Everything here is read-only.

## Get the brief

1. **Trace MCP server connected** (tools `get_daily_tech_brief`, `get_top_tech_news`, `get_latest_builds`, `get_tech_conversations`): use it.
   - General "what's new" questions: `get_daily_tech_brief` with `limit` 5 to 8.
   - Only news: `get_top_tech_news`. Launches and open source: `get_latest_builds`. Discussions: `get_tech_conversations`.
   - If you know what the user does, pass `role` (developer, founder, designer, product manager).
2. **Not connected**: ask the user to add it once. There is no key: their client opens a Trace page, they sign in with Google and click Allow. Tell them the Allow page can also send Trace's daily brief by email (a box, ticked by default; unsubscribe any time; access continues).
   - Claude Code: `claude mcp add --transport http trace https://www.yourtrace.online/api/mcp`, then `/mcp` to sign in.
   - Any other MCP client: add the remote server URL `https://www.yourtrace.online/api/mcp`.
   - Setup for each app: https://www.yourtrace.online/agents
3. **Scripts and bots with `TRACE_AGENT_KEY` set** (a key from https://www.yourtrace.online/agents#agent-key): use HTTPS.

   ```bash
   curl -s "https://www.yourtrace.online/api/agents/brief?section=all&limit=8" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRACE_AGENT_KEY"
   ```

   `section` is `all`, `news`, `builds` or `conversations`. Never print or log the key.
4. **Neither available**: the public daily edition is readable at https://www.yourtrace.online/brief (each day at `/brief/YYYY-MM-DD`).

## Present it

- Responses have `feed_date` and lists of items with `title`, `summary`, `why_it_matters`, `key_takeaways`, `url` and `sources`.
- Lead with the 3 to 5 biggest stories: one line each on what happened and why it matters, with a source link.
- Use only stories and links from the response; never invent either. Mention `feed_date` so the user knows how fresh it is.
- If the tool says no brief is available yet, say so and try again later rather than searching the web for a substitute.