# Stack trace

**Stack trace**: The report a program prints when it crashes: the error, plus the chain of function calls that led to it, usually with a file name and line number for each step.

Also called: stack trace, stack traces, traceback.

## Not the same as the error message

The error message says what went wrong. The stack trace says where: every call that was in progress when it failed, which is what lets you, or an agent, open the exact line instead of guessing.

## Where it bites

The call that crashed is often inside a library, not in your code. The useful line is usually the first one that points into a file of your own project, so paste the whole trace rather than the one line you happened to notice.

Checked: 2026-10-22

## Covered in these lessons

- [Give it the right context, not all of it](https://zero2vibecode.com/learn/claude-code/1-2-giving-context)

Source: https://zero2vibecode.com/glossary/stack-trace