perf-workshop/common/CHEATSHEET.md
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2026-01-08 18:11:30 +05:30

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# Linux Performance Tools Cheatsheet
## Quick Reference Card for Workshop
---
## time - Basic Timing
```bash
time ./program # Wall clock, user, sys time
time -v ./program # Verbose (GNU time, may need /usr/bin/time -v)
```
**Output explained:**
- `real` - Wall clock time (what a stopwatch would show)
- `user` - CPU time in user space (your code)
- `sys` - CPU time in kernel space (syscalls)
---
## perf stat - Hardware Counters
```bash
# Basic stats
perf stat ./program
# Specific events
perf stat -e cycles,instructions,cache-misses ./program
# Repeat for statistical accuracy
perf stat -r 5 ./program
# Common events
perf stat -e cycles,instructions,cache-references,cache-misses,branches,branch-misses ./program
```
**Key metrics:**
- **IPC** (Instructions Per Cycle): Higher is better, >1 is good
- **Cache miss ratio**: Lower is better
- **Branch misses**: Lower is better
---
## perf record/report - CPU Sampling
```bash
# Record samples
perf record ./program
perf record -g ./program # With call graphs
perf record -F 99 ./program # Custom frequency (99 Hz)
# Analyze
perf report # Interactive TUI
perf report --stdio # Text output
perf report -n --stdio # With sample counts
```
**TUI navigation:**
- Arrow keys: Navigate
- Enter: Zoom into function
- `a`: Annotate (show source/assembly)
- `q`: Quit/back
---
## perf annotate - Source-Level View
```bash
# After perf record
perf annotate function_name # Show hot lines
perf annotate -s function_name # Source view (needs -g)
```
**Requires:** Compiled with `-g` for source view
---
## strace - Syscall Tracing
```bash
# Summary of syscalls
strace -c ./program
# Trace specific syscalls
strace -e read,write ./program
# With timing per call
strace -T ./program
# Follow forks
strace -f ./program
# Output to file
strace -o trace.log ./program
```
**Key columns in `-c` output:**
- `% time`: Percentage of total syscall time
- `calls`: Number of times called
- `errors`: Failed calls
---
## Flamegraphs
```bash
# Clone FlameGraph repo (one time)
git clone https://github.com/brendangregg/FlameGraph.git
# Generate flamegraph
perf record -g ./program
perf script | ./FlameGraph/stackcollapse-perf.pl | ./FlameGraph/flamegraph.pl > profile.svg
# Open in browser
firefox profile.svg
```
---
## Python Profiling
```bash
# cProfile - built-in profiler
python3 -m cProfile script.py
python3 -m cProfile -s cumtime script.py # Sort by cumulative time
python3 -m cProfile -s ncalls script.py # Sort by call count
python3 -m cProfile -o profile.stats script.py # Save for later analysis
# py-spy - sampling profiler (low overhead)
pip install py-spy
py-spy record -o profile.svg -- python3 script.py # Flamegraph
py-spy top -- python3 script.py # Live view
# Attach to running process
py-spy top --pid 12345
```
---
## /proc Filesystem
```bash
# Process info
cat /proc/<pid>/status # Process status
cat /proc/<pid>/maps # Memory mappings
cat /proc/<pid>/fd # Open file descriptors
cat /proc/<pid>/smaps # Detailed memory info
# System info
cat /proc/cpuinfo # CPU details
cat /proc/meminfo # Memory details
cat /proc/loadavg # Load average
```
---
## htop - System Overview
```bash
htop # Interactive process viewer
```
**Key shortcuts:**
- `F6`: Sort by column
- `F5`: Tree view
- `F9`: Kill process
- `t`: Toggle tree view
- `H`: Toggle user threads
---
## hyperfine - Benchmarking
```bash
# Basic benchmark
hyperfine './program'
# Compare two programs
hyperfine './program_v1' './program_v2'
# With warmup
hyperfine --warmup 3 './program'
# Export results
hyperfine --export-markdown results.md './program'
```
---
## Quick Diagnosis Flowchart
```
Program is slow
┌──────────────────┐
│ time ./program │
└────────┬─────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ Is 'sys' time high? │
└─────────┬───────────┬───────────┘
YES NO
│ │
▼ ▼
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────────┐
│ strace -c │ │ perf record │
│ (syscalls)│ │ (CPU profile)│
└──────────┘ └──────────────┘
```
---
## Permission Issues
```bash
# Allow perf for non-root (temporary)
sudo sysctl -w kernel.perf_event_paranoid=1
# Allow perf for non-root (permanent)
echo 'kernel.perf_event_paranoid=1' | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf
# Run perf as root if needed
sudo perf record ./program
```
---
## Useful One-Liners
```bash
# Top 10 functions by CPU time
perf report -n --stdio | head -20
# Count syscalls by type
strace -c ./program 2>&1 | tail -20
# Watch cache misses in real-time
perf stat -e cache-misses -I 1000 -p <pid>
# Find memory-mapped files for a process
cat /proc/<pid>/maps | grep -v '\[' | awk '{print $6}' | sort -u
# Monitor a Python process
py-spy top --pid $(pgrep -f 'python.*myapp')
```
---
## Resources
- **Brendan Gregg's site**: https://www.brendangregg.com/linuxperf.html
- **perf wiki**: https://perf.wiki.kernel.org/
- **FlameGraph repo**: https://github.com/brendangregg/FlameGraph
- **py-spy docs**: https://github.com/benfred/py-spy