intentrace

intentrace is a CLI tool similar to strace(1) that traces a program’s system calls but also interprets their purpose.

It intercepts each system call a process makes and uses heuristics to infer the high-level action it represents, so the output shows not just raw calls but also context to aid debugging. It can attach to a running process or start a new one, supports tracing child processes (forks), allows filtering by specific calls or only failed calls, and can produce a summary report of all calls.

This tool is useful for anyone who needs insight into a program’s system-level behavior. It’s helpful for diagnosing bugs or crashes by showing what each syscall does in a more readable format than strace(1).