Keyboard shortcuts
Note:
Keyboard shortcuts are available on app.molar.it/trace and the local standalone Trace runtime. On trace.molar.it/traces/{id}, use the Events and Video panels with mouse or touch.
Trace detail is designed for keyboard-first forensic triage. Shortcuts are active when focus is not in an input or textarea.
Press ? to open the shortcut overlay on app.molar.it/trace.
Navigation
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
J | Previous step |
K | Next step |
N | Jump to next failed step |
D | Open Debugger inspector tab |
Step changes sync the playhead to the step start (capped at 1000ms into the step for visibility).
Scrubber playback
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Space | Play / pause timeline |
[ | Scrub back 100ms |
] | Scrub forward 100ms |
Playback speed is set via UI buttons: 0.5×, 1×, 2×, 4× (not keyboard-bound in v1).
Click any ribbon track to jump the playhead to that time. The scrubber exposes role="slider" for screen readers.
Trace actions
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
F | Pin / unpin trace (blocks tier-down) |
R | Open Replay from step modal (Layer 2) |
Pin state shows in header and list; pinned failures retain hot storage indefinitely until archived.
Inspector tabs
No dedicated keys for Network / Console / Clones tabs in GA v1 — use D for Debugger only. Tab through inspector tablist with standard Tab / arrow keys per WAI-ARIA tablist pattern.
Accessibility alternatives
| Need | Alternative |
|---|---|
| Step navigation | Click step rows in left panel |
| Scrub | Drag playhead; click ribbon ticks |
| Play/pause | Scrubber control buttons |
| Debugger | Click Debugger tab |
| Pin | Header pin button |
Screen reader
- Scrubber announces
aria-valuetextas elapsed seconds - Step list uses
role="listbox"witharia-activedescendant - Status badge includes
aria-labelwith status + tier - Debugger citations
(seq:N)are focusable links — "Jump to event N"
Reduced motion
When prefers-reduced-motion: reduce is set, rrweb playback speed is reduced automatically.
Shortcut hints in UI
The scrubber control bar displays a hint line:
[J/K] step · [SPACE] play · [ / ] ±100ms · [F] pin · [D] debugger · [R] replay
Steps panel header shows: j/k to nav.
List page shortcuts
Trace list (/traces) has no global shortcuts in v1. Use / focus search when search box is focused (browser default).
Compare / diff view
No dedicated shortcuts — use tab navigation.
Customization
Keyboard bindings are not user-configurable in v1. Enterprise feature request: vim-style bindings (h/l for ±100ms) — not shipped.
Quick reference card
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ J/K prev / next step │
│ N next failure │
│ Space play / pause │
│ [ ] scrub ±100ms │
│ F pin / unpin │
│ D Debugger tab │
│ R Layer 2 replay modal │
│ ? shortcut overlay │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘
See Trace detail for where these actions apply in the layout.