0001 perf-record(1)
0002 ==============
0003
0004 NAME
0005 ----
0006 perf-record - Run a command and record its profile into perf.data
0007
0008 SYNOPSIS
0009 --------
0010 [verse]
0011 'perf record' [-e <EVENT> | --event=EVENT] [-a] <command>
0012 'perf record' [-e <EVENT> | --event=EVENT] [-a] \-- <command> [<options>]
0013
0014 DESCRIPTION
0015 -----------
0016 This command runs a command and gathers a performance counter profile
0017 from it, into perf.data - without displaying anything.
0018
0019 This file can then be inspected later on, using 'perf report'.
0020
0021
0022 OPTIONS
0023 -------
0024 <command>...::
0025 Any command you can specify in a shell.
0026
0027 -e::
0028 --event=::
0029 Select the PMU event. Selection can be:
0030
0031 - a symbolic event name (use 'perf list' to list all events)
0032
0033 - a raw PMU event in the form of rN where N is a hexadecimal value
0034 that represents the raw register encoding with the layout of the
0035 event control registers as described by entries in
0036 /sys/bus/event_source/devices/cpu/format/*.
0037
0038 - a symbolic or raw PMU event followed by an optional colon
0039 and a list of event modifiers, e.g., cpu-cycles:p. See the
0040 linkperf:perf-list[1] man page for details on event modifiers.
0041
0042 - a symbolically formed PMU event like 'pmu/param1=0x3,param2/' where
0043 'param1', 'param2', etc are defined as formats for the PMU in
0044 /sys/bus/event_source/devices/<pmu>/format/*.
0045
0046 - a symbolically formed event like 'pmu/config=M,config1=N,config3=K/'
0047
0048 where M, N, K are numbers (in decimal, hex, octal format). Acceptable
0049 values for each of 'config', 'config1' and 'config2' are defined by
0050 corresponding entries in /sys/bus/event_source/devices/<pmu>/format/*
0051 param1 and param2 are defined as formats for the PMU in:
0052 /sys/bus/event_source/devices/<pmu>/format/*
0053
0054 There are also some parameters which are not defined in .../<pmu>/format/*.
0055 These params can be used to overload default config values per event.
0056 Here are some common parameters:
0057 - 'period': Set event sampling period
0058 - 'freq': Set event sampling frequency
0059 - 'time': Disable/enable time stamping. Acceptable values are 1 for
0060 enabling time stamping. 0 for disabling time stamping.
0061 The default is 1.
0062 - 'call-graph': Disable/enable callgraph. Acceptable str are "fp" for
0063 FP mode, "dwarf" for DWARF mode, "lbr" for LBR mode and
0064 "no" for disable callgraph.
0065 - 'stack-size': user stack size for dwarf mode
0066 - 'name' : User defined event name. Single quotes (') may be used to
0067 escape symbols in the name from parsing by shell and tool
0068 like this: name=\'CPU_CLK_UNHALTED.THREAD:cmask=0x1\'.
0069 - 'aux-output': Generate AUX records instead of events. This requires
0070 that an AUX area event is also provided.
0071 - 'aux-sample-size': Set sample size for AUX area sampling. If the
0072 '--aux-sample' option has been used, set aux-sample-size=0 to disable
0073 AUX area sampling for the event.
0074
0075 See the linkperf:perf-list[1] man page for more parameters.
0076
0077 Note: If user explicitly sets options which conflict with the params,
0078 the value set by the parameters will be overridden.
0079
0080 Also not defined in .../<pmu>/format/* are PMU driver specific
0081 configuration parameters. Any configuration parameter preceded by
0082 the letter '@' is not interpreted in user space and sent down directly
0083 to the PMU driver. For example:
0084
0085 perf record -e some_event/@cfg1,@cfg2=config/ ...
0086
0087 will see 'cfg1' and 'cfg2=config' pushed to the PMU driver associated
0088 with the event for further processing. There is no restriction on
0089 what the configuration parameters are, as long as their semantic is
0090 understood and supported by the PMU driver.
0091
0092 - a hardware breakpoint event in the form of '\mem:addr[/len][:access]'
0093 where addr is the address in memory you want to break in.
0094 Access is the memory access type (read, write, execute) it can
0095 be passed as follows: '\mem:addr[:[r][w][x]]'. len is the range,
0096 number of bytes from specified addr, which the breakpoint will cover.
0097 If you want to profile read-write accesses in 0x1000, just set
0098 'mem:0x1000:rw'.
0099 If you want to profile write accesses in [0x1000~1008), just set
0100 'mem:0x1000/8:w'.
0101
0102 - a BPF source file (ending in .c) or a precompiled object file (ending
0103 in .o) selects one or more BPF events.
0104 The BPF program can attach to various perf events based on the ELF section
0105 names.
0106
0107 When processing a '.c' file, perf searches an installed LLVM to compile it
0108 into an object file first. Optional clang options can be passed via the
0109 '--clang-opt' command line option, e.g.:
0110
0111 perf record --clang-opt "-DLINUX_VERSION_CODE=0x50000" \
0112 -e tests/bpf-script-example.c
0113
0114 Note: '--clang-opt' must be placed before '--event/-e'.
0115
0116 - a group of events surrounded by a pair of brace ("{event1,event2,...}").
0117 Each event is separated by commas and the group should be quoted to
0118 prevent the shell interpretation. You also need to use --group on
0119 "perf report" to view group events together.
0120
0121 --filter=<filter>::
0122 Event filter. This option should follow an event selector (-e) which
0123 selects either tracepoint event(s) or a hardware trace PMU
0124 (e.g. Intel PT or CoreSight).
0125
0126 - tracepoint filters
0127
0128 In the case of tracepoints, multiple '--filter' options are combined
0129 using '&&'.
0130
0131 - address filters
0132
0133 A hardware trace PMU advertises its ability to accept a number of
0134 address filters by specifying a non-zero value in
0135 /sys/bus/event_source/devices/<pmu>/nr_addr_filters.
0136
0137 Address filters have the format:
0138
0139 filter|start|stop|tracestop <start> [/ <size>] [@<file name>]
0140
0141 Where:
0142 - 'filter': defines a region that will be traced.
0143 - 'start': defines an address at which tracing will begin.
0144 - 'stop': defines an address at which tracing will stop.
0145 - 'tracestop': defines a region in which tracing will stop.
0146
0147 <file name> is the name of the object file, <start> is the offset to the
0148 code to trace in that file, and <size> is the size of the region to
0149 trace. 'start' and 'stop' filters need not specify a <size>.
0150
0151 If no object file is specified then the kernel is assumed, in which case
0152 the start address must be a current kernel memory address.
0153
0154 <start> can also be specified by providing the name of a symbol. If the
0155 symbol name is not unique, it can be disambiguated by inserting #n where
0156 'n' selects the n'th symbol in address order. Alternately #0, #g or #G
0157 select only a global symbol. <size> can also be specified by providing
0158 the name of a symbol, in which case the size is calculated to the end
0159 of that symbol. For 'filter' and 'tracestop' filters, if <size> is
0160 omitted and <start> is a symbol, then the size is calculated to the end
0161 of that symbol.
0162
0163 If <size> is omitted and <start> is '*', then the start and size will
0164 be calculated from the first and last symbols, i.e. to trace the whole
0165 file.
0166
0167 If symbol names (or '*') are provided, they must be surrounded by white
0168 space.
0169
0170 The filter passed to the kernel is not necessarily the same as entered.
0171 To see the filter that is passed, use the -v option.
0172
0173 The kernel may not be able to configure a trace region if it is not
0174 within a single mapping. MMAP events (or /proc/<pid>/maps) can be
0175 examined to determine if that is a possibility.
0176
0177 Multiple filters can be separated with space or comma.
0178
0179 --exclude-perf::
0180 Don't record events issued by perf itself. This option should follow
0181 an event selector (-e) which selects tracepoint event(s). It adds a
0182 filter expression 'common_pid != $PERFPID' to filters. If other
0183 '--filter' exists, the new filter expression will be combined with
0184 them by '&&'.
0185
0186 -a::
0187 --all-cpus::
0188 System-wide collection from all CPUs (default if no target is specified).
0189
0190 -p::
0191 --pid=::
0192 Record events on existing process ID (comma separated list).
0193
0194 -t::
0195 --tid=::
0196 Record events on existing thread ID (comma separated list).
0197 This option also disables inheritance by default. Enable it by adding
0198 --inherit.
0199
0200 -u::
0201 --uid=::
0202 Record events in threads owned by uid. Name or number.
0203
0204 -r::
0205 --realtime=::
0206 Collect data with this RT SCHED_FIFO priority.
0207
0208 --no-buffering::
0209 Collect data without buffering.
0210
0211 -c::
0212 --count=::
0213 Event period to sample.
0214
0215 -o::
0216 --output=::
0217 Output file name.
0218
0219 -i::
0220 --no-inherit::
0221 Child tasks do not inherit counters.
0222
0223 -F::
0224 --freq=::
0225 Profile at this frequency. Use 'max' to use the currently maximum
0226 allowed frequency, i.e. the value in the kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate
0227 sysctl. Will throttle down to the currently maximum allowed frequency.
0228 See --strict-freq.
0229
0230 --strict-freq::
0231 Fail if the specified frequency can't be used.
0232
0233 -m::
0234 --mmap-pages=::
0235 Number of mmap data pages (must be a power of two) or size
0236 specification with appended unit character - B/K/M/G. The
0237 size is rounded up to have nearest pages power of two value.
0238 Also, by adding a comma, the number of mmap pages for AUX
0239 area tracing can be specified.
0240
0241 --group::
0242 Put all events in a single event group. This precedes the --event
0243 option and remains only for backward compatibility. See --event.
0244
0245 -g::
0246 Enables call-graph (stack chain/backtrace) recording for both
0247 kernel space and user space.
0248
0249 --call-graph::
0250 Setup and enable call-graph (stack chain/backtrace) recording,
0251 implies -g. Default is "fp" (for user space).
0252
0253 The unwinding method used for kernel space is dependent on the
0254 unwinder used by the active kernel configuration, i.e
0255 CONFIG_UNWINDER_FRAME_POINTER (fp) or CONFIG_UNWINDER_ORC (orc)
0256
0257 Any option specified here controls the method used for user space.
0258
0259 Valid options are "fp" (frame pointer), "dwarf" (DWARF's CFI -
0260 Call Frame Information) or "lbr" (Hardware Last Branch Record
0261 facility).
0262
0263 In some systems, where binaries are build with gcc
0264 --fomit-frame-pointer, using the "fp" method will produce bogus
0265 call graphs, using "dwarf", if available (perf tools linked to
0266 the libunwind or libdw library) should be used instead.
0267 Using the "lbr" method doesn't require any compiler options. It
0268 will produce call graphs from the hardware LBR registers. The
0269 main limitation is that it is only available on new Intel
0270 platforms, such as Haswell. It can only get user call chain. It
0271 doesn't work with branch stack sampling at the same time.
0272
0273 When "dwarf" recording is used, perf also records (user) stack dump
0274 when sampled. Default size of the stack dump is 8192 (bytes).
0275 User can change the size by passing the size after comma like
0276 "--call-graph dwarf,4096".
0277
0278 When "fp" recording is used, perf tries to save stack enties
0279 up to the number specified in sysctl.kernel.perf_event_max_stack
0280 by default. User can change the number by passing it after comma
0281 like "--call-graph fp,32".
0282
0283 -q::
0284 --quiet::
0285 Don't print any message, useful for scripting.
0286
0287 -v::
0288 --verbose::
0289 Be more verbose (show counter open errors, etc).
0290
0291 -s::
0292 --stat::
0293 Record per-thread event counts. Use it with 'perf report -T' to see
0294 the values.
0295
0296 -d::
0297 --data::
0298 Record the sample virtual addresses.
0299
0300 --phys-data::
0301 Record the sample physical addresses.
0302
0303 --data-page-size::
0304 Record the sampled data address data page size.
0305
0306 --code-page-size::
0307 Record the sampled code address (ip) page size
0308
0309 -T::
0310 --timestamp::
0311 Record the sample timestamps. Use it with 'perf report -D' to see the
0312 timestamps, for instance.
0313
0314 -P::
0315 --period::
0316 Record the sample period.
0317
0318 --sample-cpu::
0319 Record the sample cpu.
0320
0321 --sample-identifier::
0322 Record the sample identifier i.e. PERF_SAMPLE_IDENTIFIER bit set in
0323 the sample_type member of the struct perf_event_attr argument to the
0324 perf_event_open system call.
0325
0326 -n::
0327 --no-samples::
0328 Don't sample.
0329
0330 -R::
0331 --raw-samples::
0332 Collect raw sample records from all opened counters (default for tracepoint counters).
0333
0334 -C::
0335 --cpu::
0336 Collect samples only on the list of CPUs provided. Multiple CPUs can be provided as a
0337 comma-separated list with no space: 0,1. Ranges of CPUs are specified with -: 0-2.
0338 In per-thread mode with inheritance mode on (default), samples are captured only when
0339 the thread executes on the designated CPUs. Default is to monitor all CPUs.
0340
0341 -B::
0342 --no-buildid::
0343 Do not save the build ids of binaries in the perf.data files. This skips
0344 post processing after recording, which sometimes makes the final step in
0345 the recording process to take a long time, as it needs to process all
0346 events looking for mmap records. The downside is that it can misresolve
0347 symbols if the workload binaries used when recording get locally rebuilt
0348 or upgraded, because the only key available in this case is the
0349 pathname. You can also set the "record.build-id" config variable to
0350 'skip to have this behaviour permanently.
0351
0352 -N::
0353 --no-buildid-cache::
0354 Do not update the buildid cache. This saves some overhead in situations
0355 where the information in the perf.data file (which includes buildids)
0356 is sufficient. You can also set the "record.build-id" config variable to
0357 'no-cache' to have the same effect.
0358
0359 -G name,...::
0360 --cgroup name,...::
0361 monitor only in the container (cgroup) called "name". This option is available only
0362 in per-cpu mode. The cgroup filesystem must be mounted. All threads belonging to
0363 container "name" are monitored when they run on the monitored CPUs. Multiple cgroups
0364 can be provided. Each cgroup is applied to the corresponding event, i.e., first cgroup
0365 to first event, second cgroup to second event and so on. It is possible to provide
0366 an empty cgroup (monitor all the time) using, e.g., -G foo,,bar. Cgroups must have
0367 corresponding events, i.e., they always refer to events defined earlier on the command
0368 line. If the user wants to track multiple events for a specific cgroup, the user can
0369 use '-e e1 -e e2 -G foo,foo' or just use '-e e1 -e e2 -G foo'.
0370
0371 If wanting to monitor, say, 'cycles' for a cgroup and also for system wide, this
0372 command line can be used: 'perf stat -e cycles -G cgroup_name -a -e cycles'.
0373
0374 -b::
0375 --branch-any::
0376 Enable taken branch stack sampling. Any type of taken branch may be sampled.
0377 This is a shortcut for --branch-filter any. See --branch-filter for more infos.
0378
0379 -j::
0380 --branch-filter::
0381 Enable taken branch stack sampling. Each sample captures a series of consecutive
0382 taken branches. The number of branches captured with each sample depends on the
0383 underlying hardware, the type of branches of interest, and the executed code.
0384 It is possible to select the types of branches captured by enabling filters. The
0385 following filters are defined:
0386
0387 - any: any type of branches
0388 - any_call: any function call or system call
0389 - any_ret: any function return or system call return
0390 - ind_call: any indirect branch
0391 - call: direct calls, including far (to/from kernel) calls
0392 - u: only when the branch target is at the user level
0393 - k: only when the branch target is in the kernel
0394 - hv: only when the target is at the hypervisor level
0395 - in_tx: only when the target is in a hardware transaction
0396 - no_tx: only when the target is not in a hardware transaction
0397 - abort_tx: only when the target is a hardware transaction abort
0398 - cond: conditional branches
0399 - save_type: save branch type during sampling in case binary is not available later
0400 For the platforms with Intel Arch LBR support (12th-Gen+ client or
0401 4th-Gen Xeon+ server), the save branch type is unconditionally enabled
0402 when the taken branch stack sampling is enabled.
0403
0404 +
0405 The option requires at least one branch type among any, any_call, any_ret, ind_call, cond.
0406 The privilege levels may be omitted, in which case, the privilege levels of the associated
0407 event are applied to the branch filter. Both kernel (k) and hypervisor (hv) privilege
0408 levels are subject to permissions. When sampling on multiple events, branch stack sampling
0409 is enabled for all the sampling events. The sampled branch type is the same for all events.
0410 The various filters must be specified as a comma separated list: --branch-filter any_ret,u,k
0411 Note that this feature may not be available on all processors.
0412
0413 --weight::
0414 Enable weightened sampling. An additional weight is recorded per sample and can be
0415 displayed with the weight and local_weight sort keys. This currently works for TSX
0416 abort events and some memory events in precise mode on modern Intel CPUs.
0417
0418 --namespaces::
0419 Record events of type PERF_RECORD_NAMESPACES. This enables 'cgroup_id' sort key.
0420
0421 --all-cgroups::
0422 Record events of type PERF_RECORD_CGROUP. This enables 'cgroup' sort key.
0423
0424 --transaction::
0425 Record transaction flags for transaction related events.
0426
0427 --per-thread::
0428 Use per-thread mmaps. By default per-cpu mmaps are created. This option
0429 overrides that and uses per-thread mmaps. A side-effect of that is that
0430 inheritance is automatically disabled. --per-thread is ignored with a warning
0431 if combined with -a or -C options.
0432
0433 -D::
0434 --delay=::
0435 After starting the program, wait msecs before measuring (-1: start with events
0436 disabled). This is useful to filter out the startup phase of the program, which
0437 is often very different.
0438
0439 -I::
0440 --intr-regs::
0441 Capture machine state (registers) at interrupt, i.e., on counter overflows for
0442 each sample. List of captured registers depends on the architecture. This option
0443 is off by default. It is possible to select the registers to sample using their
0444 symbolic names, e.g. on x86, ax, si. To list the available registers use
0445 --intr-regs=\?. To name registers, pass a comma separated list such as
0446 --intr-regs=ax,bx. The list of register is architecture dependent.
0447
0448 --user-regs::
0449 Similar to -I, but capture user registers at sample time. To list the available
0450 user registers use --user-regs=\?.
0451
0452 --running-time::
0453 Record running and enabled time for read events (:S)
0454
0455 -k::
0456 --clockid::
0457 Sets the clock id to use for the various time fields in the perf_event_type
0458 records. See clock_gettime(). In particular CLOCK_MONOTONIC and
0459 CLOCK_MONOTONIC_RAW are supported, some events might also allow
0460 CLOCK_BOOTTIME, CLOCK_REALTIME and CLOCK_TAI.
0461
0462 -S::
0463 --snapshot::
0464 Select AUX area tracing Snapshot Mode. This option is valid only with an
0465 AUX area tracing event. Optionally, certain snapshot capturing parameters
0466 can be specified in a string that follows this option:
0467 'e': take one last snapshot on exit; guarantees that there is at least one
0468 snapshot in the output file;
0469 <size>: if the PMU supports this, specify the desired snapshot size.
0470
0471 In Snapshot Mode trace data is captured only when signal SIGUSR2 is received
0472 and on exit if the above 'e' option is given.
0473
0474 --aux-sample[=OPTIONS]::
0475 Select AUX area sampling. At least one of the events selected by the -e option
0476 must be an AUX area event. Samples on other events will be created containing
0477 data from the AUX area. Optionally sample size may be specified, otherwise it
0478 defaults to 4KiB.
0479
0480 --proc-map-timeout::
0481 When processing pre-existing threads /proc/XXX/mmap, it may take a long time,
0482 because the file may be huge. A time out is needed in such cases.
0483 This option sets the time out limit. The default value is 500 ms.
0484
0485 --switch-events::
0486 Record context switch events i.e. events of type PERF_RECORD_SWITCH or
0487 PERF_RECORD_SWITCH_CPU_WIDE. In some cases (e.g. Intel PT, CoreSight or Arm SPE)
0488 switch events will be enabled automatically, which can be suppressed by
0489 by the option --no-switch-events.
0490
0491 --clang-path=PATH::
0492 Path to clang binary to use for compiling BPF scriptlets.
0493 (enabled when BPF support is on)
0494
0495 --clang-opt=OPTIONS::
0496 Options passed to clang when compiling BPF scriptlets.
0497 (enabled when BPF support is on)
0498
0499 --vmlinux=PATH::
0500 Specify vmlinux path which has debuginfo.
0501 (enabled when BPF prologue is on)
0502
0503 --buildid-all::
0504 Record build-id of all DSOs regardless whether it's actually hit or not.
0505
0506 --buildid-mmap::
0507 Record build ids in mmap2 events, disables build id cache (implies --no-buildid).
0508
0509 --aio[=n]::
0510 Use <n> control blocks in asynchronous (Posix AIO) trace writing mode (default: 1, max: 4).
0511 Asynchronous mode is supported only when linking Perf tool with libc library
0512 providing implementation for Posix AIO API.
0513
0514 --affinity=mode::
0515 Set affinity mask of trace reading thread according to the policy defined by 'mode' value:
0516 node - thread affinity mask is set to NUMA node cpu mask of the processed mmap buffer
0517 cpu - thread affinity mask is set to cpu of the processed mmap buffer
0518
0519 --mmap-flush=number::
0520
0521 Specify minimal number of bytes that is extracted from mmap data pages and
0522 processed for output. One can specify the number using B/K/M/G suffixes.
0523
0524 The maximal allowed value is a quarter of the size of mmaped data pages.
0525
0526 The default option value is 1 byte which means that every time that the output
0527 writing thread finds some new data in the mmaped buffer the data is extracted,
0528 possibly compressed (-z) and written to the output, perf.data or pipe.
0529
0530 Larger data chunks are compressed more effectively in comparison to smaller
0531 chunks so extraction of larger chunks from the mmap data pages is preferable
0532 from the perspective of output size reduction.
0533
0534 Also at some cases executing less output write syscalls with bigger data size
0535 can take less time than executing more output write syscalls with smaller data
0536 size thus lowering runtime profiling overhead.
0537
0538 -z::
0539 --compression-level[=n]::
0540 Produce compressed trace using specified level n (default: 1 - fastest compression,
0541 22 - smallest trace)
0542
0543 --all-kernel::
0544 Configure all used events to run in kernel space.
0545
0546 --all-user::
0547 Configure all used events to run in user space.
0548
0549 --kernel-callchains::
0550 Collect callchains only from kernel space. I.e. this option sets
0551 perf_event_attr.exclude_callchain_user to 1.
0552
0553 --user-callchains::
0554 Collect callchains only from user space. I.e. this option sets
0555 perf_event_attr.exclude_callchain_kernel to 1.
0556
0557 Don't use both --kernel-callchains and --user-callchains at the same time or no
0558 callchains will be collected.
0559
0560 --timestamp-filename
0561 Append timestamp to output file name.
0562
0563 --timestamp-boundary::
0564 Record timestamp boundary (time of first/last samples).
0565
0566 --switch-output[=mode]::
0567 Generate multiple perf.data files, timestamp prefixed, switching to a new one
0568 based on 'mode' value:
0569 "signal" - when receiving a SIGUSR2 (default value) or
0570 <size> - when reaching the size threshold, size is expected to
0571 be a number with appended unit character - B/K/M/G
0572 <time> - when reaching the time threshold, size is expected to
0573 be a number with appended unit character - s/m/h/d
0574
0575 Note: the precision of the size threshold hugely depends
0576 on your configuration - the number and size of your ring
0577 buffers (-m). It is generally more precise for higher sizes
0578 (like >5M), for lower values expect different sizes.
0579
0580 A possible use case is to, given an external event, slice the perf.data file
0581 that gets then processed, possibly via a perf script, to decide if that
0582 particular perf.data snapshot should be kept or not.
0583
0584 Implies --timestamp-filename, --no-buildid and --no-buildid-cache.
0585 The reason for the latter two is to reduce the data file switching
0586 overhead. You can still switch them on with:
0587
0588 --switch-output --no-no-buildid --no-no-buildid-cache
0589
0590 --switch-output-event::
0591 Events that will cause the switch of the perf.data file, auto-selecting
0592 --switch-output=signal, the results are similar as internally the side band
0593 thread will also send a SIGUSR2 to the main one.
0594
0595 Uses the same syntax as --event, it will just not be recorded, serving only to
0596 switch the perf.data file as soon as the --switch-output event is processed by
0597 a separate sideband thread.
0598
0599 This sideband thread is also used to other purposes, like processing the
0600 PERF_RECORD_BPF_EVENT records as they happen, asking the kernel for extra BPF
0601 information, etc.
0602
0603 --switch-max-files=N::
0604
0605 When rotating perf.data with --switch-output, only keep N files.
0606
0607 --dry-run::
0608 Parse options then exit. --dry-run can be used to detect errors in cmdline
0609 options.
0610
0611 'perf record --dry-run -e' can act as a BPF script compiler if llvm.dump-obj
0612 in config file is set to true.
0613
0614 --synth=TYPE::
0615 Collect and synthesize given type of events (comma separated). Note that
0616 this option controls the synthesis from the /proc filesystem which represent
0617 task status for pre-existing threads.
0618
0619 Kernel (and some other) events are recorded regardless of the
0620 choice in this option. For example, --synth=no would have MMAP events for
0621 kernel and modules.
0622
0623 Available types are:
0624 'task' - synthesize FORK and COMM events for each task
0625 'mmap' - synthesize MMAP events for each process (implies 'task')
0626 'cgroup' - synthesize CGROUP events for each cgroup
0627 'all' - synthesize all events (default)
0628 'no' - do not synthesize any of the above events
0629
0630 --tail-synthesize::
0631 Instead of collecting non-sample events (for example, fork, comm, mmap) at
0632 the beginning of record, collect them during finalizing an output file.
0633 The collected non-sample events reflects the status of the system when
0634 record is finished.
0635
0636 --overwrite::
0637 Makes all events use an overwritable ring buffer. An overwritable ring
0638 buffer works like a flight recorder: when it gets full, the kernel will
0639 overwrite the oldest records, that thus will never make it to the
0640 perf.data file.
0641
0642 When '--overwrite' and '--switch-output' are used perf records and drops
0643 events until it receives a signal, meaning that something unusual was
0644 detected that warrants taking a snapshot of the most current events,
0645 those fitting in the ring buffer at that moment.
0646
0647 'overwrite' attribute can also be set or canceled for an event using
0648 config terms. For example: 'cycles/overwrite/' and 'instructions/no-overwrite/'.
0649
0650 Implies --tail-synthesize.
0651
0652 --kcore::
0653 Make a copy of /proc/kcore and place it into a directory with the perf data file.
0654
0655 --max-size=<size>::
0656 Limit the sample data max size, <size> is expected to be a number with
0657 appended unit character - B/K/M/G
0658
0659 --num-thread-synthesize::
0660 The number of threads to run when synthesizing events for existing processes.
0661 By default, the number of threads equals 1.
0662
0663 ifdef::HAVE_LIBPFM[]
0664 --pfm-events events::
0665 Select a PMU event using libpfm4 syntax (see http://perfmon2.sf.net)
0666 including support for event filters. For example '--pfm-events
0667 inst_retired:any_p:u:c=1:i'. More than one event can be passed to the
0668 option using the comma separator. Hardware events and generic hardware
0669 events cannot be mixed together. The latter must be used with the -e
0670 option. The -e option and this one can be mixed and matched. Events
0671 can be grouped using the {} notation.
0672 endif::HAVE_LIBPFM[]
0673
0674 --control=fifo:ctl-fifo[,ack-fifo]::
0675 --control=fd:ctl-fd[,ack-fd]::
0676 ctl-fifo / ack-fifo are opened and used as ctl-fd / ack-fd as follows.
0677 Listen on ctl-fd descriptor for command to control measurement.
0678
0679 Available commands:
0680 'enable' : enable events
0681 'disable' : disable events
0682 'enable name' : enable event 'name'
0683 'disable name' : disable event 'name'
0684 'snapshot' : AUX area tracing snapshot).
0685 'stop' : stop perf record
0686 'ping' : ping
0687
0688 'evlist [-v|-g|-F] : display all events
0689 -F Show just the sample frequency used for each event.
0690 -v Show all fields.
0691 -g Show event group information.
0692
0693 Measurements can be started with events disabled using --delay=-1 option. Optionally
0694 send control command completion ('ack\n') to ack-fd descriptor to synchronize with the
0695 controlling process. Example of bash shell script to enable and disable events during
0696 measurements:
0697
0698 #!/bin/bash
0699
0700 ctl_dir=/tmp/
0701
0702 ctl_fifo=${ctl_dir}perf_ctl.fifo
0703 test -p ${ctl_fifo} && unlink ${ctl_fifo}
0704 mkfifo ${ctl_fifo}
0705 exec {ctl_fd}<>${ctl_fifo}
0706
0707 ctl_ack_fifo=${ctl_dir}perf_ctl_ack.fifo
0708 test -p ${ctl_ack_fifo} && unlink ${ctl_ack_fifo}
0709 mkfifo ${ctl_ack_fifo}
0710 exec {ctl_fd_ack}<>${ctl_ack_fifo}
0711
0712 perf record -D -1 -e cpu-cycles -a \
0713 --control fd:${ctl_fd},${ctl_fd_ack} \
0714 -- sleep 30 &
0715 perf_pid=$!
0716
0717 sleep 5 && echo 'enable' >&${ctl_fd} && read -u ${ctl_fd_ack} e1 && echo "enabled(${e1})"
0718 sleep 10 && echo 'disable' >&${ctl_fd} && read -u ${ctl_fd_ack} d1 && echo "disabled(${d1})"
0719
0720 exec {ctl_fd_ack}>&-
0721 unlink ${ctl_ack_fifo}
0722
0723 exec {ctl_fd}>&-
0724 unlink ${ctl_fifo}
0725
0726 wait -n ${perf_pid}
0727 exit $?
0728
0729 --threads=<spec>::
0730 Write collected trace data into several data files using parallel threads.
0731 <spec> value can be user defined list of masks. Masks separated by colon
0732 define CPUs to be monitored by a thread and affinity mask of that thread
0733 is separated by slash:
0734
0735 <cpus mask 1>/<affinity mask 1>:<cpus mask 2>/<affinity mask 2>:...
0736
0737 CPUs or affinity masks must not overlap with other corresponding masks.
0738 Invalid CPUs are ignored, but masks containing only invalid CPUs are not
0739 allowed.
0740
0741 For example user specification like the following:
0742
0743 0,2-4/2-4:1,5-7/5-7
0744
0745 specifies parallel threads layout that consists of two threads,
0746 the first thread monitors CPUs 0 and 2-4 with the affinity mask 2-4,
0747 the second monitors CPUs 1 and 5-7 with the affinity mask 5-7.
0748
0749 <spec> value can also be a string meaning predefined parallel threads
0750 layout:
0751
0752 cpu - create new data streaming thread for every monitored cpu
0753 core - create new thread to monitor CPUs grouped by a core
0754 package - create new thread to monitor CPUs grouped by a package
0755 numa - create new threed to monitor CPUs grouped by a NUMA domain
0756
0757 Predefined layouts can be used on systems with large number of CPUs in
0758 order not to spawn multiple per-cpu streaming threads but still avoid LOST
0759 events in data directory files. Option specified with no or empty value
0760 defaults to CPU layout. Masks defined or provided by the option value are
0761 filtered through the mask provided by -C option.
0762
0763 --debuginfod[=URLs]::
0764 Specify debuginfod URL to be used when cacheing perf.data binaries,
0765 it follows the same syntax as the DEBUGINFOD_URLS variable, like:
0766
0767 http://192.168.122.174:8002
0768
0769 If the URLs is not specified, the value of DEBUGINFOD_URLS
0770 system environment variable is used.
0771
0772 --off-cpu::
0773 Enable off-cpu profiling with BPF. The BPF program will collect
0774 task scheduling information with (user) stacktrace and save them
0775 as sample data of a software event named "offcpu-time". The
0776 sample period will have the time the task slept in nanoseconds.
0777
0778 Note that BPF can collect stack traces using frame pointer ("fp")
0779 only, as of now. So the applications built without the frame
0780 pointer might see bogus addresses.
0781
0782 include::intel-hybrid.txt[]
0783
0784 SEE ALSO
0785 --------
0786 linkperf:perf-stat[1], linkperf:perf-list[1], linkperf:perf-intel-pt[1]