# Trace the network path (instant check, not a monitor)

HostTracker does **not** have a traceroute monitor type. Traceroute is an **on-demand instant check**: it traces
the path from each selected HostTracker checkpoint to your host, hop by hop, so you can see where latency or packet
loss starts. It runs once and never alerts.

## When to use it

Run a traceroute while investigating a problem a monitor found - slow checks from one region, failures from some
locations but not others - to see whether the trouble is on your network, at an upstream provider, or at the
destination. Comparing traces from several locations quickly shows whether a problem is regional.

## Run a traceroute

- **On the website** - the traceroute tool at
  [host-tracker.com/en/ic/check-trace](https://www.host-tracker.com/en/ic/check-trace). No account needed.
- **With the API** - start an instant check (scope `check:write`) and poll `GET /check/{dbId}/{id}` for the
  per-location result; a trace usually takes up to a minute:

```bash
curl -X POST https://api2.host-tracker.com/check \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HT_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "type": "trace", "url": "example.com", "pools": ["westeurope", "northamerica"] }'
```

  Pool ids come from `GET /agent/pool` (MCP `list_locations`); an unknown one is refused with `422 unknown_pool`.
- **With MCP** - `run_instant_check(url="example.com", type="trace", pools="westeurope,northamerica")`, then
  `get_check_result(dbId, id)` if it is still running when the tool returns.

## For ongoing monitoring

To be alerted when a host stops answering, use a [Ping](/monitors/types/ping/) or
[Website / HTTPS](/monitors/types/http/) monitor; run a traceroute afterwards to see why.

## Related

- [DNS lookup check](/monitors/types/dns/)
- [Ping monitor](/monitors/types/ping/)
- [Instant checks vs monitors](/getting-started/instant-checks-vs-monitors/)