> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://braintrust.dev/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # bt view > Browse logs, traces, and spans in an interactive terminal UI `bt view` is an interactive terminal UI for browsing logs, traces, and spans. Use it to inspect individual requests, drill into LLM conversation threads, and navigate span hierarchies. The `logs`, `trace`, `thread`, and `span` subcommands open the TUI by default when output is a TTY. Pass `--non-interactive` or `--json` to print without the TUI. `waterfall` always prints non-interactively. ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}} bt view logs --limit 25 bt view trace --trace-id bt view span --id bt view thread --trace-id bt view waterfall --trace-id ``` ## Keyboard shortcuts | Key | Action | | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | | `↑` / `↓` | Navigate rows | | `Enter` | Open trace | | `/` | Edit search | | `r` | Refresh | | `t` | Toggle span / thread view | | `←` / `→` | Switch detail panes | | `Ctrl+k` | Prompt for a Braintrust URL and open that location in the TUI | | `Backspace` / `Esc` | Go back | | `q` | Quit | ## bt view logs flags | Flag | Description | | --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `--project-id ` | Project ID to query. Overrides `--project` | | `--object-ref ` | Target a specific object: `project_logs:`, `experiment:`, or `dataset:`. Interactive mode supports project logs only. Experiments and datasets require `--non-interactive` or `--json` | | `--url ` | Open a specific Braintrust URL directly. Also accepted as a positional argument | | `--window ` | Relative time window, e.g. `30m` or `3d` (default: `1h`) | | `--since ` | Absolute lower bound (overrides `--window`) | | `--search ` | Free-text search | | `--filter ` | Additional BTQL filter expression | | `--list-mode ` | `summary` (default) or `spans` — one row per span | | `--limit ` | Rows to fetch (default: 50) | | `--cursor ` | Cursor returned from a previous list call | | `--preview-length ` | Preview length for list rows (default: 125) | | `--non-interactive` | Print results without the interactive interface | | `--print-queries` | Print each BTQL query and invoke payload before execution | | `--json` | Output as JSON | ## Trace and span flags Use `bt view trace`, `bt view thread`, or `bt view waterfall` to render a full trace. Use `bt view span` to fetch one span. | Command | Flag | Description | | ------------------------------ | --------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `trace`, `thread`, `waterfall` | `--trace-id ` | Root span ID for the trace | | `trace`, `thread`, `waterfall` | `--url ` | Braintrust app URL to resolve to a trace. Also accepted as a positional argument | | `trace` | `--object-ref ` | Target object: `project_logs:`, `experiment:`, or `dataset:`. Interactive mode supports project logs only. Experiments and datasets require `--non-interactive` or `--json` | | `waterfall` | `--object-ref ` | Target object: `project_logs:`, `experiment:`, or `dataset:` | | `thread` | `--object-ref ` | Target object: `project_logs:` (thread supports project logs only) | | `trace`, `thread`, `waterfall` | `--project-id ` | Project ID to query. Overrides `--project` for project logs | | `trace`, `thread`, `waterfall` | `--limit ` | Number of spans to fetch (default: 100) | | `trace`, `thread`, `waterfall` | `--preview-length ` | Preview length for span rows (default: 125) | | `trace` | `--cursor ` | Cursor returned from a previous trace fetch | | `trace`, `thread`, `waterfall` | `--print-queries` | Print each BTQL query and invoke payload before execution | | `trace`, `thread`, `waterfall` | `--non-interactive` | Force non-interactive mode | | `trace`, `thread`, `waterfall` | `--json` | Output as JSON | | `span` | `--id ` | Span row ID | | `span` | `--url ` | Braintrust app URL to resolve to a span. Also accepted as a positional argument | | `span` | `--object-ref ` | Target object: `project_logs:`, `experiment:`, or `dataset:`. Interactive mode supports project logs only. Experiments and datasets require `--non-interactive` or `--json` | | `span` | `--project-id ` | Project ID to query. Overrides `--project` for project logs | | `span` | `--print-queries` | Print each BTQL query before execution | | `span` | `--non-interactive` | Force non-interactive mode | | `span` | `--json` | Output as JSON | ## bt view thread Show a trace's LLM conversation as a single ordered transcript. In a terminal, `bt view thread` opens the TUI by default. Pass `--non-interactive` or `--json` to print the transcript directly. Braintrust's trace preprocessor collapses repeated messages across LLM spans into one thread, so you can inspect a conversation without opening each span individually. ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}} bt view thread --trace-id bt view thread --url ``` Select the trace with `--trace-id `, `--url ` (or a positional URL), or `--project-id`. Thread only supports project logs sources. ## bt view waterfall Render a trace waterfall showing each span's offset and duration within the trace, along with model, token, cost, and cache details such as prompt cache hit percentage when available. Use the `timeline` alias for parity with the Braintrust app's **Timeline** tab. ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark-dimmed"}} bt view waterfall --trace-id bt view timeline --url ``` Select the trace with the same options as `bt view trace`.