Journey Traces is a powerful debugging and event tracking tool within the Zeotap CDP Orchestrate module. It provides granular, per-user visibility into how individual events flow through a journey workflow — from the initial input event, through each node in the journey canvas, to the final output event sent to each destination.Unlike aggregate execution views that show summary counts (e.g., “500 succeeded, 12 failed”), Journey Traces lets you drill down to a single user’s journey and inspect the exact data that was received, how it was transformed, which nodes the user qualified for, and what was ultimately delivered to each destination. This level of detail is essential for diagnosing data transformation issues, conditional routing problems, and destination-specific failures.
Why This MattersIn complex multi-branch workflows with multiple destinations, understanding exactly what happened to a specific user is often the difference between a 5-minute fix and a multi-hour investigation. Journey Traces transforms debugging from guesswork into a precise, data-driven process.
Per-User Event Tracing — Search for any user by UUID and see their complete journey path, including which nodes they qualified for.
Input Event Inspection — View the raw JSON payload of the event that triggered the journey for a specific user, including all customer attributes and event metadata.
Output Event Inspection — View the transformed output event sent to each destination, with a dropdown to switch between destination nodes.
Visual Path Highlighting — On the journey canvas, green checkmarks appear on every node the user qualified for, providing an instant visual map of the user’s journey path.
Customer 360 Integration — A “View Profile” link connects directly from a trace record to the user’s full Customer 360 profile in the Protect module.
JSON & Raw Toggle — Switch between formatted JSON and raw data views for both input and output events, making it easy to copy data for debugging.
Time-Range Filtering — Filter traces by date range (e.g., “Last 7 Days”) to focus on recent executions.
The starting point for Journey Traces is the Journeys Dashboard within the Orchestrate module. From here, you select the specific journey workflow you want to debug.
1
Navigate to Orchestrate > Journeys
From the Zeotap CDP main navigation, select Orchestrate from the left sidebar, then click the Journeys tab. The dashboard displays all workflows with their status, creation date, and destination information.
Figure 2.1 — Journeys Dashboard showing all workflows with Published/Draft status, creators, and destination icons
2
Select a Journey to Debug
Click on the journey name you want to investigate. In this example, we select “testMultiBranchNodeWorkflow” — a complex multi-branch journey with multiple destination nodes. This opens the journey canvas where the Traces panel can be accessed.
Figure 2.2 — Journey canvas for testMultiBranchNodeWorkflow showing the full workflow with View Executions button
The Workflow Traces panel is accessible directly from the journey canvas. It provides a searchable list of individual user traces for the selected journey.
From the Journeys Dashboard, click on the workflow name to open the visual canvas. The canvas shows all nodes and their connections.
2
Open Workflow Traces
In the journey canvas view, look for the Workflow Traces option. This opens a right-side panel that overlays the journey canvas, providing a search interface and a list of recent trace records.
Figure 3.1 — Workflow Traces panel showing search bar, time filter (Last 7 Days), and trace result list
The Workflow Traces panel contains the following key elements:
Element
Description
Search Bar
Search by UUID to find traces for a specific user. Accepts partial or full UUID strings.
Time Filter
Dropdown to filter traces by date range (e.g., “Last 7 Days”). Limits results to recent executions.
Trace List
A table showing matching traces with columns: UUID, Name/Identifier, and Timestamp.
UUID Column
The unique identifier for each trace record, linking to the specific user execution.
Timestamp Column
The exact date and time when the trace was recorded (e.g., 2026-03-04 09:08:12).
Trace RetentionTraces are retained based on your account’s data retention policy. By default, the “Last 7 Days” filter is applied, but you can adjust this range to search for older traces. For long-running investigations, note the trace UUID for future reference.
Enter a user’s UUID (or partial UUID) into the search bar at the top of the Traces panel. The system performs a real-time search and returns matching trace records. Each result shows the full UUID, the user’s name or identifier, and the timestamp of the trace.
Figure 4.1 — Searching for traces by UUID with results showing matching entries and timestamps
Clicking on a trace result opens the full trace detail view — the core of the Journey Traces debugging experience. This view provides comprehensive information about the selected user’s journey execution.
Below the header, the trace detail view is divided into two primary sections:
Input Event — The raw event data that entered the journey for this user. Shows the complete JSON payload with all customer attributes, event metadata, and identifiers.
Output Event — The transformed event data sent to each destination. Includes a dropdown to select which destination’s output to view.
JSON vs. Raw ToggleBoth sections provide a JSON / Raw toggle in the top-right corner. The JSON view provides formatted, syntax-highlighted data. The Raw view shows the unformatted string — useful for copying payloads into external debugging tools or API testing environments.
The Input Event section displays the complete raw event that triggered the journey for the selected user. This is the data as received by the Orchestrate engine before any transformation, filtering, or routing logic was applied.
The Output Event section shows the transformed data sent to each destination — the final payload after all journey transformations, field mappings, and enrichments have been applied.
At the top of the Output Event section, a dropdown selector allows you to choose which destination’s output to inspect. Each destination node in the workflow has its own output event payload.
Figure 7.1 — Output Event section with destination dropdown selector and JSON payload showing transformed data
Comparing the Input Event with the Output Event side by side reveals:
Transformation Issues — Fields that were incorrectly mapped, truncated, or formatted.
Missing Fields — Input fields expected in the output but absent, indicating a mapping configuration gap.
Data Type Mismatches — Fields that changed type during transformation (e.g., number to string).
Enrichment Verification — Confirm computed or enriched fields are correctly derived from input values.
Figure 7.2 — Output Event JSON showing destination-level transformed data with mapped attributes
Multiple DestinationsIf your journey sends data to multiple destinations, use the destination dropdown to check each output independently. A trace may show success for one destination but a transformation issue for another. Always verify all destination outputs when debugging.
For the “testMultiBranchNodeWorkflow” example, path highlighting shows:
The user entered through the Start Workflow node
Qualified for the Participate in Event condition
Passed through the 5 Minutes Delay timer
Was routed through the Multibranch Split node
Flowed down specific split branches based on the routing logic
Reached specific Send to Destination nodes — only the ones the user qualified for
Quick Diagnosis with Path HighlightingIf a user was expected to reach a specific destination but the green checkmark is missing, look at the last node with a checkmark — the next node in the expected path is where the issue occurred (e.g., a conditional branch that didn’t match, or a split that routed elsewhere).
In the trace detail header, find the View Profile link displayed below the Profile ID. This link is available for every trace that has a resolved customer profile.
2
Navigate to Customer 360
Clicking “View Profile” opens the Protect > Customer 360 view for the traced user, displaying their complete profile including all identifiers, attributes, and event history.
Figure 9.1 — Customer 360 profile view showing identifiers including Email SHA256, Email Raw, and associated ID values
Start with the Path — Always check visual node path highlighting first. It’s the fastest way to identify where in the workflow the issue occurred.
Compare Input and Output — For data transformation issues, systematically compare the Input Event JSON with each destination’s Output Event JSON.
Use the UUID as a Correlation Key — When working with destination teams, share the trace UUID and execution timestamp for precise cross-system investigation.
Check Customer 360 for Identity Issues — If a user’s trace shows unexpected attribute values, use View Profile to verify the underlying profile data.
Trace Test Users First — Before launching a new journey, send a test user through and verify the complete trace end-to-end.
Save Important UUIDs — Note the trace UUID and timestamp for future reference and escalation.
Check All Destinations — In multi-destination workflows, always cycle through each destination in the Output Event dropdown.
Cross-Reference with Error Reporting — Combine Journey Traces (per-user debugging) with Journey Error Reporting (aggregate error analysis) for a complete picture.
Pro Tip: Traces + Error Reporting = Complete DebuggingUse Journey Error Reporting to identify which journeys and nodes are failing at scale, then use Journey Traces to drill into specific failing users and inspect the exact data that caused the failure. Together, these tools provide a comprehensive top-down and bottom-up debugging workflow.
Confirm the user has a trace record for the expected time window
2
Check path highlighting
Verify green checkmarks appear on all expected nodes
3
Inspect Input Event
All required attributes present with correct values
4
Check Output Event per destination
Transformed data matches expected payload format
5
Compare Input vs. Output
No unexpected data loss, type changes, or mapping errors
6
View Profile if needed
Confirm identity resolution and segment membership
7
Cross-reference with Error Reporting
Correlate individual trace with aggregate error patterns
This document covers Journey Traces as of Zeotap CDP version 2026.1. Features and interface elements may be updated in future releases. Always refer to the latest release notes and in-product documentation for the most current information.
Last modified on August 10, 2026
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