A method to generate a formatted trace for a second device embedded in a first device. The method provides source code comprising a trace entry, compiles that source code to form an embedded device code image comprising a trace description string and a trace description string address, and assigns the trace description string address as the traceId. The method creates a database comprising the trace description string and the trace description string address. The method uploads to the second device the embedded device code image, and generates trace data using that stripped code. The method then downloads that trace data to the first device, merges that trace data with the database, and forms a formatted trace.