0001 perf-probe(1)
0002 =============
0003
0004 NAME
0005 ----
0006 perf-probe - Define new dynamic tracepoints
0007
0008 SYNOPSIS
0009 --------
0010 [verse]
0011 'perf probe' [options] --add='PROBE' [...]
0012 or
0013 'perf probe' [options] PROBE
0014 or
0015 'perf probe' [options] --del='[GROUP:]EVENT' [...]
0016 or
0017 'perf probe' --list[=[GROUP:]EVENT]
0018 or
0019 'perf probe' [options] --line='LINE'
0020 or
0021 'perf probe' [options] --vars='PROBEPOINT'
0022 or
0023 'perf probe' [options] --funcs
0024 or
0025 'perf probe' [options] --definition='PROBE' [...]
0026
0027 DESCRIPTION
0028 -----------
0029 This command defines dynamic tracepoint events, by symbol and registers
0030 without debuginfo, or by C expressions (C line numbers, C function names,
0031 and C local variables) with debuginfo.
0032
0033
0034 OPTIONS
0035 -------
0036 -k::
0037 --vmlinux=PATH::
0038 Specify vmlinux path which has debuginfo (Dwarf binary).
0039 Only when using this with --definition, you can give an offline
0040 vmlinux file.
0041
0042 -m::
0043 --module=MODNAME|PATH::
0044 Specify module name in which perf-probe searches probe points
0045 or lines. If a path of module file is passed, perf-probe
0046 treat it as an offline module (this means you can add a probe on
0047 a module which has not been loaded yet).
0048
0049 -s::
0050 --source=PATH::
0051 Specify path to kernel source.
0052
0053 -v::
0054 --verbose::
0055 Be more verbose (show parsed arguments, etc).
0056 Can not use with -q.
0057
0058 -q::
0059 --quiet::
0060 Be quiet (do not show any messages including errors).
0061 Can not use with -v.
0062
0063 -a::
0064 --add=::
0065 Define a probe event (see PROBE SYNTAX for detail).
0066
0067 -d::
0068 --del=::
0069 Delete probe events. This accepts glob wildcards('*', '?') and character
0070 classes(e.g. [a-z], [!A-Z]).
0071
0072 -l::
0073 --list[=[GROUP:]EVENT]::
0074 List up current probe events. This can also accept filtering patterns of
0075 event names.
0076 When this is used with --cache, perf shows all cached probes instead of
0077 the live probes.
0078
0079 -L::
0080 --line=::
0081 Show source code lines which can be probed. This needs an argument
0082 which specifies a range of the source code. (see LINE SYNTAX for detail)
0083
0084 -V::
0085 --vars=::
0086 Show available local variables at given probe point. The argument
0087 syntax is same as PROBE SYNTAX, but NO ARGs.
0088
0089 --externs::
0090 (Only for --vars) Show external defined variables in addition to local
0091 variables.
0092
0093 --no-inlines::
0094 (Only for --add) Search only for non-inlined functions. The functions
0095 which do not have instances are ignored.
0096
0097 -F::
0098 --funcs[=FILTER]::
0099 Show available functions in given module or kernel. With -x/--exec,
0100 can also list functions in a user space executable / shared library.
0101 This also can accept a FILTER rule argument.
0102
0103 -D::
0104 --definition=::
0105 Show trace-event definition converted from given probe-event instead
0106 of write it into tracing/[k,u]probe_events.
0107
0108 --filter=FILTER::
0109 (Only for --vars and --funcs) Set filter. FILTER is a combination of glob
0110 pattern, see FILTER PATTERN for detail.
0111 Default FILTER is "!__k???tab_* & !__crc_*" for --vars, and "!_*"
0112 for --funcs.
0113 If several filters are specified, only the last filter is used.
0114
0115 -f::
0116 --force::
0117 Forcibly add events with existing name.
0118
0119 -n::
0120 --dry-run::
0121 Dry run. With this option, --add and --del doesn't execute actual
0122 adding and removal operations.
0123
0124 --cache::
0125 (With --add) Cache the probes. Any events which successfully added
0126 are also stored in the cache file.
0127 (With --list) Show cached probes.
0128 (With --del) Remove cached probes.
0129
0130 --max-probes=NUM::
0131 Set the maximum number of probe points for an event. Default is 128.
0132
0133 --target-ns=PID:
0134 Obtain mount namespace information from the target pid. This is
0135 used when creating a uprobe for a process that resides in a
0136 different mount namespace from the perf(1) utility.
0137
0138 -x::
0139 --exec=PATH::
0140 Specify path to the executable or shared library file for user
0141 space tracing. Can also be used with --funcs option.
0142
0143 --demangle::
0144 Demangle application symbols. --no-demangle is also available
0145 for disabling demangling.
0146
0147 --demangle-kernel::
0148 Demangle kernel symbols. --no-demangle-kernel is also available
0149 for disabling kernel demangling.
0150
0151 In absence of -m/-x options, perf probe checks if the first argument after
0152 the options is an absolute path name. If its an absolute path, perf probe
0153 uses it as a target module/target user space binary to probe.
0154
0155 PROBE SYNTAX
0156 ------------
0157 Probe points are defined by following syntax.
0158
0159 1) Define event based on function name
0160 [[GROUP:]EVENT=]FUNC[@SRC][:RLN|+OFFS|%return|;PTN] [ARG ...]
0161
0162 2) Define event based on source file with line number
0163 [[GROUP:]EVENT=]SRC:ALN [ARG ...]
0164
0165 3) Define event based on source file with lazy pattern
0166 [[GROUP:]EVENT=]SRC;PTN [ARG ...]
0167
0168 4) Pre-defined SDT events or cached event with name
0169 %[sdt_PROVIDER:]SDTEVENT
0170 or,
0171 sdt_PROVIDER:SDTEVENT
0172
0173 'EVENT' specifies the name of new event, if omitted, it will be set the name of the probed function, and for return probes, a "\_\_return" suffix is automatically added to the function name. You can also specify a group name by 'GROUP', if omitted, set 'probe' is used for kprobe and 'probe_<bin>' is used for uprobe.
0174 Note that using existing group name can conflict with other events. Especially, using the group name reserved for kernel modules can hide embedded events in the
0175 modules.
0176 'FUNC' specifies a probed function name, and it may have one of the following options; '+OFFS' is the offset from function entry address in bytes, ':RLN' is the relative-line number from function entry line, and '%return' means that it probes function return. And ';PTN' means lazy matching pattern (see LAZY MATCHING). Note that ';PTN' must be the end of the probe point definition. In addition, '@SRC' specifies a source file which has that function.
0177 It is also possible to specify a probe point by the source line number or lazy matching by using 'SRC:ALN' or 'SRC;PTN' syntax, where 'SRC' is the source file path, ':ALN' is the line number and ';PTN' is the lazy matching pattern.
0178 'ARG' specifies the arguments of this probe point, (see PROBE ARGUMENT).
0179 'SDTEVENT' and 'PROVIDER' is the pre-defined event name which is defined by user SDT (Statically Defined Tracing) or the pre-cached probes with event name.
0180 Note that before using the SDT event, the target binary (on which SDT events are defined) must be scanned by linkperf:perf-buildid-cache[1] to make SDT events as cached events.
0181
0182 For details of the SDT, see below.
0183 https://sourceware.org/gdb/onlinedocs/gdb/Static-Probe-Points.html
0184
0185 ESCAPED CHARACTER
0186 -----------------
0187
0188 In the probe syntax, '=', '@', '+', ':' and ';' are treated as a special character. You can use a backslash ('\') to escape the special characters.
0189 This is useful if you need to probe on a specific versioned symbols, like @GLIBC_... suffixes, or also you need to specify a source file which includes the special characters.
0190 Note that usually single backslash is consumed by shell, so you might need to pass double backslash (\\) or wrapping with single quotes (\'AAA\@BBB').
0191 See EXAMPLES how it is used.
0192
0193 PROBE ARGUMENT
0194 --------------
0195 Each probe argument follows below syntax.
0196
0197 [NAME=]LOCALVAR|$retval|%REG|@SYMBOL[:TYPE][@user]
0198
0199 'NAME' specifies the name of this argument (optional). You can use the name of local variable, local data structure member (e.g. var->field, var.field2), local array with fixed index (e.g. array[1], var->array[0], var->pointer[2]), or kprobe-tracer argument format (e.g. $retval, %ax, etc). Note that the name of this argument will be set as the last member name if you specify a local data structure member (e.g. field2 for 'var->field1.field2'.)
0200 '$vars' and '$params' special arguments are also available for NAME, '$vars' is expanded to the local variables (including function parameters) which can access at given probe point. '$params' is expanded to only the function parameters.
0201 'TYPE' casts the type of this argument (optional). If omitted, perf probe automatically set the type based on debuginfo (*). Currently, basic types (u8/u16/u32/u64/s8/s16/s32/s64), hexadecimal integers (x/x8/x16/x32/x64), signedness casting (u/s), "string" and bitfield are supported. (see TYPES for detail)
0202 On x86 systems %REG is always the short form of the register: for example %AX. %RAX or %EAX is not valid.
0203 "@user" is a special attribute which means the LOCALVAR will be treated as a user-space memory. This is only valid for kprobe event.
0204
0205 TYPES
0206 -----
0207 Basic types (u8/u16/u32/u64/s8/s16/s32/s64) and hexadecimal integers (x8/x16/x32/x64) are integer types. Prefix 's' and 'u' means those types are signed and unsigned respectively, and 'x' means that is shown in hexadecimal format. Traced arguments are shown in decimal (sNN/uNN) or hex (xNN). You can also use 's' or 'u' to specify only signedness and leave its size auto-detected by perf probe. Moreover, you can use 'x' to explicitly specify to be shown in hexadecimal (the size is also auto-detected).
0208 String type is a special type, which fetches a "null-terminated" string from kernel space. This means it will fail and store NULL if the string container has been paged out. You can specify 'string' type only for the local variable or structure member which is an array of or a pointer to 'char' or 'unsigned char' type.
0209 Bitfield is another special type, which takes 3 parameters, bit-width, bit-offset, and container-size (usually 32). The syntax is;
0210
0211 b<bit-width>@<bit-offset>/<container-size>
0212
0213 LINE SYNTAX
0214 -----------
0215 Line range is described by following syntax.
0216
0217 "FUNC[@SRC][:RLN[+NUM|-RLN2]]|SRC[:ALN[+NUM|-ALN2]]"
0218
0219 FUNC specifies the function name of showing lines. 'RLN' is the start line
0220 number from function entry line, and 'RLN2' is the end line number. As same as
0221 probe syntax, 'SRC' means the source file path, 'ALN' is start line number,
0222 and 'ALN2' is end line number in the file. It is also possible to specify how
0223 many lines to show by using 'NUM'. Moreover, 'FUNC@SRC' combination is good
0224 for searching a specific function when several functions share same name.
0225 So, "source.c:100-120" shows lines between 100th to l20th in source.c file. And "func:10+20" shows 20 lines from 10th line of func function.
0226
0227 LAZY MATCHING
0228 -------------
0229 The lazy line matching is similar to glob matching but ignoring spaces in both of pattern and target. So this accepts wildcards('*', '?') and character classes(e.g. [a-z], [!A-Z]).
0230
0231 e.g.
0232 'a=*' can matches 'a=b', 'a = b', 'a == b' and so on.
0233
0234 This provides some sort of flexibility and robustness to probe point definitions against minor code changes. For example, actual 10th line of schedule() can be moved easily by modifying schedule(), but the same line matching 'rq=cpu_rq*' may still exist in the function.)
0235
0236 FILTER PATTERN
0237 --------------
0238 The filter pattern is a glob matching pattern(s) to filter variables.
0239 In addition, you can use "!" for specifying filter-out rule. You also can give several rules combined with "&" or "|", and fold those rules as one rule by using "(" ")".
0240
0241 e.g.
0242 With --filter "foo* | bar*", perf probe -V shows variables which start with "foo" or "bar".
0243 With --filter "!foo* & *bar", perf probe -V shows variables which don't start with "foo" and end with "bar", like "fizzbar". But "foobar" is filtered out.
0244
0245 EXAMPLES
0246 --------
0247 Display which lines in schedule() can be probed:
0248
0249 ./perf probe --line schedule
0250
0251 Add a probe on schedule() function 12th line with recording cpu local variable:
0252
0253 ./perf probe schedule:12 cpu
0254 or
0255 ./perf probe --add='schedule:12 cpu'
0256
0257 Add one or more probes which has the name start with "schedule".
0258
0259 ./perf probe schedule*
0260 or
0261 ./perf probe --add='schedule*'
0262
0263 Add probes on lines in schedule() function which calls update_rq_clock().
0264
0265 ./perf probe 'schedule;update_rq_clock*'
0266 or
0267 ./perf probe --add='schedule;update_rq_clock*'
0268
0269 Delete all probes on schedule().
0270
0271 ./perf probe --del='schedule*'
0272
0273 Add probes at zfree() function on /bin/zsh
0274
0275 ./perf probe -x /bin/zsh zfree or ./perf probe /bin/zsh zfree
0276
0277 Add probes at malloc() function on libc
0278
0279 ./perf probe -x /lib/libc.so.6 malloc or ./perf probe /lib/libc.so.6 malloc
0280
0281 Add a uprobe to a target process running in a different mount namespace
0282
0283 ./perf probe --target-ns <target pid> -x /lib64/libc.so.6 malloc
0284
0285 Add a USDT probe to a target process running in a different mount namespace
0286
0287 ./perf probe --target-ns <target pid> -x /usr/lib/jvm/java-1.8.0-openjdk-1.8.0.121-0.b13.el7_3.x86_64/jre/lib/amd64/server/libjvm.so %sdt_hotspot:thread__sleep__end
0288
0289 Add a probe on specific versioned symbol by backslash escape
0290
0291 ./perf probe -x /lib64/libc-2.25.so 'malloc_get_state\@GLIBC_2.2.5'
0292
0293 Add a probe in a source file using special characters by backslash escape
0294
0295 ./perf probe -x /opt/test/a.out 'foo\+bar.c:4'
0296
0297
0298 PERMISSIONS AND SYSCTL
0299 ----------------------
0300 Since perf probe depends on ftrace (tracefs) and kallsyms (/proc/kallsyms), you have to care about the permission and some sysctl knobs.
0301
0302 - Since tracefs and kallsyms requires root or privileged user to access it, the following perf probe commands also require it; --add, --del, --list (except for --cache option)
0303
0304 - The system admin can remount the tracefs with 755 (`sudo mount -o remount,mode=755 /sys/kernel/tracing/`) to allow unprivileged user to run the perf probe --list command.
0305
0306 - /proc/sys/kernel/kptr_restrict = 2 (restrict all users) also prevents perf probe to retrieve the important information from kallsyms. You also need to set to 1 (restrict non CAP_SYSLOG users) for the above commands. Since the user-space probe doesn't need to access kallsyms, this is only for probing the kernel function (kprobes).
0307
0308 - Since the perf probe commands read the vmlinux (for kernel) and/or the debuginfo file (including user-space application), you need to ensure that you can read those files.
0309
0310
0311 SEE ALSO
0312 --------
0313 linkperf:perf-trace[1], linkperf:perf-record[1], linkperf:perf-buildid-cache[1]