explaingit

nxtrace/globaltrace

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

60TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · moderate

TLDR

A web tool that runs global traceroutes via Globalping and enriches each hop with location and network ownership data from NextTrace.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((GlobalTrace))
    What it does
      Global traceroutes
      Hop enrichment
      Map visualization
    Tech stack
      React and Vite
      Cloudflare Workers
      Hono
      MapLibre
    Use cases
      Diagnose network paths
      Self hosted tracing
      Share trace results
    Audience
      Developers
      Network operators

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Run a traceroute from probes around the world to diagnose a network path.

USE CASE 2

See geographic location and network ownership for each hop in a trace.

USE CASE 3

Self-host a Cloudflare Worker based traceroute tool for a team or community.

USE CASE 4

Use a personal NextTrace API token to query enrichment data directly from the browser.

What is it built with?

TypeScriptReactViteMapLibreHonoCloudflare Workers

How does it compare?

nxtrace/globaltraceallstarswc/allstarsboona13/image-extender
Stars606060
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultymoderatehardeasy
Complexity3/54/52/5
Audiencedevelopergeneraldeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Needs a Cloudflare account for the Worker plus optional NextTrace API tokens for enrichment.

Free to use, modify, and share, but any modified or hosted version must also be released under the same GPL license with source code available.

In plain English

GlobalTrace is a web tool for tracing the route network traffic takes from various points around the world to a target destination. It combines two existing services: Globalping, which provides a network of volunteer-run probes distributed globally, and NextTrace, which offers a database of IP address geolocation and network ownership data. The result is a route-trace diagnostic tool that shows each hop on a map with geographic and network details attached. When you start a trace, the tool asks Globalping to run an MTR measurement (a form of traceroute that also measures packet loss and latency) from one or more of its globally distributed probes. The backend, a Cloudflare Worker, then takes the list of IP addresses from the measurement results and calls the NextTrace batch API to enrich each hop with location, autonomous system number, and WHOIS data. The enriched trace is cached on Cloudflare for seven days so the same result can be retrieved by sharing the measurement ID. You can optionally provide your own personal NextTrace API token in the advanced settings. When provided, new trace requests will call the NextTrace enrichment API directly from your browser rather than routing through the Worker. The token is stored only in your browser session (or in local storage if you choose to remember it) and is never sent to Globalping or the GlobalTrace backend. The frontend is built with React, Vite, TypeScript, and MapLibre for the map rendering. The backend is a single Cloudflare Worker that serves both the API routes and the static single-page application assets. The project uses no persistent server-side storage: no database, no key-value store, no durable objects. Share links depend entirely on the measurement ID and the 7-day cache. The project is released under GPL-3.0-or-later.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Walk me through deploying GlobalTrace to my own Cloudflare account using wrangler.
Prompt 2
Explain how GlobalTrace's Worker enrichment flow works for a new diagnostic request.
Prompt 3
Show me how to run GlobalTrace locally with npm run dev and test the API endpoints.
Prompt 4
Help me set up a personal NextTrace API token so enrichment runs from my browser.

Frequently asked questions

What is globaltrace?

A web tool that runs global traceroutes via Globalping and enriches each hop with location and network ownership data from NextTrace.

What language is globaltrace written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes TypeScript, React, Vite.

What license does globaltrace use?

Free to use, modify, and share, but any modified or hosted version must also be released under the same GPL license with source code available.

How hard is globaltrace to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is globaltrace for?

Mainly developer.

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