Build Live Tools
Inspect live performance, logs, visual trees, app files, remote tools, and annotations beside the app in Ansight Studio Build.
The right-side Build rail opens compact runtime panels beside the live app. The rail stays available when the panel is collapsed, and the expanded panel can be dragged wider or reset to its default width.
Capability Matrix
| Capability | Current status | What it provides |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | Available with a live session | Telemetry chart, channel controls, analysis markers, annotations, and live app logs. |
| Visual Trees | Available when the SDK exposes visual-tree tools | Live hierarchy refresh, element selection, inspection, supported property reads/writes, and element-based annotations. |
| Network | Coming soon | Dedicated request and response inspection is planned. Until then, relevant app logs remain visible in Performance. |
| Files | Available when the SDK exposes file tools | App-sandbox browsing, previews, transfers, snapshots, and agent attachments. |
| Tools | Available when the app exposes remote tools | Search the live app-tool catalog, edit JSON arguments, invoke tools directly, inspect results, and attach results to chat. |
| Annotations | Available with a live session | Compact list and selection of annotations for the focused session. |
Performance
The Performance panel reuses the same telemetry interactions as Replay while following the live session. It supports:
- the live performance chart
- channel legend toggles such as .NET, physical footprint, FPS, annotations, and touches when present
- live logs below the chart
- telemetry-analysis toggles
- selecting an annotation, visual-tree snapshot, artifact snapshot, or analysis result from the timeline
- creating an annotation from the chart
Selecting evidence can move Build directly into the matching live tool while keeping the same focused session.
Visual Trees
Open Visual Trees to refresh the running app’s available hierarchy. Depending on the SDK and framework, Build can:
- inspect the current page, root page, or window scope
- browse and search the hierarchy
- hover or select nodes against the app screenshot
- disambiguate overlapping nodes at one point
- inspect the selected element
- read or set a supported bindable property
- copy an element ID and visual-tree path
- save a visual-tree snapshot into the session
- create an annotation for an element or a freeform screen region
The app tool guard controls whether inspection or mutation calls are allowed.
Files
The Files panel opens the connected app’s advertised sandbox roots. It supports browsing, filtering, uploads, downloads, previews, evidence snapshots, and chat attachments. See Live Files and Viewers.
Tools
The Tools panel loads the exact app-owned tool catalog exposed to CLI agents for the selected live session. Keep the flat A–Z list or switch to Groups to arrange tools by category. Select a tool, review or edit its JSON arguments, and choose Invoke tool to inspect the returned JSON. The tool list remains independently scrollable so you can switch tools after an invocation, including when the previous result is large. The app’s tool guard still controls which tools and scopes are visible and whether each call is allowed.
Results use JSON syntax highlighting and line numbers. Use the result search box and previous/next controls to navigate matches, Copy JSON to place the payload on the clipboard, or Open with… to send a temporary .json file to the default application or an installed text/code editor.
Right-click a completed result for copy, external-open, and Add to chat actions. Adding to chat saves an immutable replay-backed JSON attachment on the selected Build task. The attachment includes the tool identity, app session, invocation time, arguments, and returned payload.
If the app needs a capability that is not in its catalog, choose Build your own tool. Build starts a coding-agent task with a platform-aware prompt that requires a narrow schema and scope, developer-only registration, security review, tests, and live CLI verification.
Annotations
The Annotations panel shows the connected session’s notes in a compact layout. Selecting a note aligns the session context with that annotation. New notes can also come from the performance chart, the preview shape tools, or right-click visual-tree inspection.
Network
The Network rail entry is visible so the Build layout and capability model remain stable, but dedicated request/response capture is marked Coming soon. Do not treat it as a current network proxy or traffic inspector.
Disconnected and Missing-Capability States
Each panel explains what it needs when the selected app is not connected. If a workspace is selected, Build can start the Ansight SDK setup skill. After the app connects, the tool rail selects the matching live session before it queries app-owned capabilities.
Possible reasons a panel remains unavailable include:
- the development build is not running
- the selected device does not match the connected app session
- the relevant SDK tool package is not installed
- the app’s tool guard denies the requested scope
- the framework does not provide that capability