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About
Launched in early 2025 by ByteDance (the company behind TikTok), Trae is an AI-powered IDE forked from Visual Studio Code, compatible with most VS Code extensions. Its flagship Builder Mode lets users describe a project in natural language; Trae generates a plan and then scaffolds the complete frontend, backend, and configuration. The free tier provides access to frontier models including Claude 4, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, GPT-4o, and DeepSeek R1. The Pro plan at $10/month removes queue waiting, increases fast-request limits, and unlocks enhanced agentic workflows. Trae supports MCP (Model Context Protocol) for connecting external tools and data sources. Available on macOS, Windows, and Linux. However, Trae has attracted serious privacy scrutiny: security researchers documented extensive telemetry to ByteDance-controlled endpoints that persists even when telemetry is disabled in settings, raising concerns for developers working on sensitive codebases.
Key Features
- Builder Mode: generates full project scaffolding from natural language
- Free access to Claude 4, Claude 3.7, GPT-4o, and DeepSeek R1
- MCP (Model Context Protocol) support for external tool integration
- Multi-file edits and cross-file refactoring with AI
- AI chat for code explanation, debugging, and bug fixing
- VS Code extension compatibility
- Cross-platform: macOS, Windows, Linux
- Integrated webview for web development
Pros
- Very affordable — Pro at $10/month with free tier available
- Free access to frontier models (Claude 4, GPT-4o) even on free tier
- Builder Mode creates complete project scaffolding before writing code
- Strong Linux support, unlike many AI IDEs
- 1.6M+ monthly active users — large and growing community
Cons
- Extensive telemetry to ByteDance servers persists even when disabled in settings — documented by security researchers
- Personal data retained for 5 years after account deletion; non-personal data retained indefinitely
- ByteDance affiliation raises geopolitical and corporate espionage concerns for enterprise use
- No offline mode; no local-only operation
- Free tier subject to queuing during peak hours
Pricing
Freemium- · Access to Claude 4, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, GPT-4o, DeepSeek R1
- · Standard queue access (subject to wait times during peak hours)
- · Builder Mode, multi-file edits, MCP support
- · VS Code extension compatibility
- · 600 fast-queue requests per month to premium models
- · Unlimited standard queue requests
- · No waiting in line — priority access to frontier models
- · Enhanced agentic workflow
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