// the find
nxtrace/NTrace-core
NextTrace, an open source visual route tracking CLI tool
NextTrace is a traceroute CLI tool written in Go that enriches hop output with ASN, geolocation, and owner data — think mtr meets a GeoIP enrichment layer. It targets network engineers and sysadmins who want more context than standard traceroute gives without standing up a full observability stack. The three build flavors (full, tiny, MTR-only) let you ship it to embedded or minimal environments without dragging in gin and a web server.
The build-tag approach to flavors is clean — not a runtime switch, so unused dependencies are genuinely absent from the binary, verified with `go version -m`. MTR mode is well-thought-out with a proper TUI using the alternate screen buffer, keyboard controls, and a rolling 3-minute history display. The MCP server integration in the full flavor is a practical addition for AI tooling pipelines that need network diagnostics. Cross-platform coverage is real — loong64, riscv64, s390x in the APT repo — not just a checkbox.
Windows support is described as 'experimental' with a separate WinDivert dependency for TCP/UDP mode, firewall rules required for ICMP, and source-interface binding that doesn't actually bind — it just picks a source IP, so Windows routing may ignore it entirely. The split between NTrace-core (stable) and NTrace-dev (beta) with an 'undetermined' promotion timeline means you can't predict when fixes land in the version most package managers ship. The LeoMoeAPI default depends on an external proprietary service with a PoW anti-abuse layer; if that service degrades or rate-limits you, the geolocation output silently degrades. The advanced probe tuning flags (--queries, --parallel-requests, etc.) are CLI-only with no nt_config.yaml support, so teams can't standardize profiles without shell aliases.