# See what Plexii read: the trace and citations

> The trace above each answer shows what Plexii searched and read. Numbered citations link each claim to its source, which opens with one click.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-sources-and-trace
Section: Plexii assistant > Ask and get answers
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

Plexii shows its working. Above each answer, the trace lists what Plexii did to produce it: the items you pointed it at, the search of your workspace and the web, every source that came back, and any changes it prepared. Inside the answer, small numbers mark which source each statement rests on. Click a number, or any source in the trace, to open it and check for yourself.

Use the trace and citations before you rely on an answer, when an answer surprises you, or when you want to find the document Plexii quoted.

## Before you start

- **Every plan** includes the trace and citations.
- **Plexii needs AI to run.** See [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-credits).
- **Web results need live web search,** included in the Pro and Team plans. See [Turn live web search on or off](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-web-search).

## While Plexii works

As soon as you send a message, a line appears where the answer will be. The Plexii mark breathes beside it to show Plexii is working, and the words change as it goes, for example **Searching your workspace…**, **Reading** and the name of a source, then **Writing the answer…**. After two seconds a running count of seconds appears.

Each step that finishes gets a green tick and stays on screen, so you can watch the sources land before the answer starts.

## The trace, line by line

When the answer is ready, the trace stays open for a moment and then folds into one line above the answer. Only steps that really happened are listed:

| Line | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| **Read 2 items you referenced** | Plexii read the items you mentioned with `@`. If one could not be read, the line says so, such as **Read 1 of 2 items you referenced**, and the item shows why. |
| **Searched your workspace · 6 sources · 840ms** | How many sources the search of your workspace returned, and how long it took. If nothing matched, it says **nothing relevant**. |
| **· keyword match** | Added to the line above when Plexii matched your exact words rather than their meaning. See below. |
| **Searched the web · 3 results** | Live web search ran and returned these results. Shown only when there were web results. |
| **Wrote the answer** | The answer is complete. |
| **Prepared 2 tools** | Plexii proposed changes for you to review, listed by name. See [Review and apply Plexii's changes](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-proposals). |

If Plexii found no sources, read no mentions and prepared nothing, the trace is removed once the answer is ready, so an answer that used nothing never carries an empty trace.

### The folded line

The folded line sums the trace up, such as **2 mentioned · 6 sources · 1 tool · 4.2s**. The time is shown when the answer took a second or more.

- Click the folded line to open the trace again. Its tooltip reads **Show what the assistant did**.
- Click the line at the top of the open trace to fold it away. Its tooltip reads **Hide what the assistant did**.

Each trace stays open or folded as you left it while you move around PlexiDesk. When you reopen a conversation later, its traces start folded.

### When something goes wrong

If the request fails, the trace stays open and ends in a red line that says what went wrong. Steps that finished before the failure keep their green tick, and nothing after it is shown as done. The folded line starts with **Failed**. See [If Plexii can't answer or act](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-troubleshooting).

## The sources in the trace

Under each search line is the list of sources it returned, numbered in order. Each row shows:

- **The number** that the answer uses to cite it.
- **An icon** for the kind of thing it is, coloured like the area of PlexiDesk it lives in.
- **Its title.**
- **Where it lives**, on the right: **PlexiBrain**, **Documents**, **Desks**, **Tables**, **Desk notes**, **Files**, **Plexii chats** or **PlexiMeet**. A web result shows the site's icon and its domain instead.

Rest the pointer on a source to see a short extract. Click it to open it.

The trace lists everything the search returned, not only what the answer cited. It is the only place to find a source that came back but was not used, so it is worth a look when an answer seems to have missed something.

## Citations in the answer

Where a statement rests on a source, a small number follows it, such as **[2]**. The number matches the source with the same number in the trace.

- **Click the number** to open that source. Its tooltip reads **Open** and the source's title.
- **Under the answer**, a row of chips lists only the sources the answer actually cites, each with its number and title. A small arrow shows that a chip opens. Click a chip to open its source.

Workspace sources come first and web results carry on the same numbering, so **[4]** can point at a document or at a web page. An answer that cites nothing has no row of chips.

## Open a source

What happens depends on what the source is:

- **A widget or note on a desk, or an email,** opens in a window over what you are doing, so you keep your place in the conversation. You can work in it there. Click **Open where it lives** at the top of the window to go to it, or press `Esc` or click outside the window to close it.
- **A document** opens in its editor.
- **A desk** opens on the canvas.
- **A Brain entry** opens in Brain.
- **A file** opens in Files, with its folder open and the file selected.
- **A past Plexii conversation** opens in the Plexii panel.
- **A meeting** opens in your meetings.
- **A web page** opens in Plexii's browser panel beside your work.

Calendar entries and recorded decisions can appear as sources too. They show in the trace but do not open from there.

If the window says **This no longer exists, or has not loaded**, the item may have been deleted since Plexii read it.

## About "keyword match"

When the workspace line ends in **keyword match**, Plexii found sources by the exact words in your question, so a question about "churn" will not find a document that only says "attrition". To let Plexii match by meaning as well, add an OpenAI key, or run a local AI model on your computer. See [Add your own API keys](https://plexiidesk.com/help/api-keys) and [Enrich documents with a local AI model](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-local-ai).

## Tips

- **Check the number, not just the answer.** A statement with no number after it is not tied to a source you can open, so weigh it accordingly.
- **Name the source you mean.** If the trace shows Plexii found the wrong document, ask again with an `@` mention of the right one. See [Point Plexii at specific things with @](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-mentions).
- **Use more specific words.** When an answer has no sources from your workspace, try the words that appear in the document itself.

## Common questions

**Why is there no trace on some answers?** When Plexii found no sources, read no mentions and prepared nothing, there is nothing to report, so the trace is left out. In Discovery mode, replies to Plexii's questions skip the search too. See [Explore an idea with Discovery mode](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-discovery-mode).

**Why does the trace list more sources than the answer cites?** The trace shows everything the search returned. The chips under the answer show only what the answer used.

**A citation number does nothing when I click it.** Some sources, such as calendar entries and decisions, cannot be opened from the answer. The trace still names them.

**Can I see what Plexii read in an older answer?** Yes. Every answer keeps its trace. Scroll up and click its folded line.

## Related tasks

- [Ask Plexii a question](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-ask)
- [What Plexii can read and search](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-what-plexii-reads)
- [Point Plexii at specific things with @](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-mentions)
- [Turn live web search on or off](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-web-search)
- [If Plexii can't answer or act](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-troubleshooting)