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In AppSignal, performance and tracing describe the same core flow from two sides. A trace shows what happened during a request, job, or script run. Performance views help you understand where that trace spent time and where it slowed down. When a trace is slow, you can use AppSignal to inspect the spans and events inside it. When a trace ends with an exception, that same trace becomes the context you use to debug the error.

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Follow the trace

The Performance trace page list shows the stored traces. Select one to open its details, which shows that trace in full: its span timeline, tags, related logs, request data, and the triggers that alert you when the action gets slow. Use these guides when you want to investigate performance in more detail:

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Add more instrumentation

When the default instrumentation is not enough, add more detail to your traces with: