Managing Surfaces
Edit a surface, upload new versions, change the current version, and choose who can use it.
If you can manage a surface, its page at /surfaces/<key> shows an Edit button next to the title and a version manager under the preview. Trace page tabs for that surface also show Manage in their menu, which links to the same page.
Edit details and audience
Click Edit to change the surface's Icon, Title, and Description, then Save. Admins and owners also see Who can use this surface? here to switch between private and Everyone.
The surface's ID can't be changed after creation, because it's part of every link to the surface.
Upload a new version
Under Add a new version, choose a single HTML file (up to 16 MiB) and click Upload. The web app labels versions for you, bumping the patch number each time (1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, and so on).
Uploading doesn't change what anyone sees. The new version stays inactive until you make it current, so you can try it first on one of your traces:
https://traces.com/s/<trace-id>?surface=<key>&version=<version>Only members of the surface's namespace can open a version that isn't current. Everyone else always gets the current version.
Change the current version
Pick a version from Current version to make it the one everyone sees. This is also how you roll back: select an earlier version and it takes effect right away, with no re-upload. Every uploaded version stays in the Versions list.
Versions are immutable. To change a surface's HTML, upload a new version.
Who can see a surface
A surface appears in the marketplace and to people outside its namespace only when all of these are true:
- Its audience is Everyone
- It has a current version, and that version hasn't been rejected
- It isn't archived
Private surfaces (Just for me or Just for my team) are visible only to members of the owning namespace. The page's badge shows whether the surface is currently public or private.
The Traces team can reject a public version that breaks the surface rules. A rejected version is hidden immediately and marked Rejected in the version list. Make a different version current to bring the surface back.
Your namespace's surfaces
Namespace profiles have a Surfaces tab at /<namespace>/surfaces that lists every surface the namespace owns, private ones included, with a Create button. The tab is only shown to members who can manage surfaces in that namespace.
Who can do what
Surfaces use your namespace role. Anyone who can manage a surface must be a member of the namespace that owns it.
| Action | Surface creator | Admin / owner | Other members |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create a private surface | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Edit icon, title, and description | Yes | Yes | No |
| Upload versions and change the current version | Yes | Yes | No |
| Make a surface public or private | No | Yes | No |
| Open a version that isn't current | Yes | Yes | Yes |
In a personal namespace you are the owner, so you can do all of these.
Surface management is switched on per namespace. If it isn't on for yours, the Surfaces tab and Edit button don't appear. Ask the Traces team to turn it on for your namespace.
Archive a surface
Surfaces can't be deleted, so their version history is never lost. To take a surface out of menus and the marketplace, archive it through Traces MCP or the API. Archived surfaces can be restored at any time.