Blackfire Continuous Profiler
Low-overhead continuous profiling for app performance optimization.
Tracy Profiler
Nanosecond-resolution, real-time telemetry profiler for games and apps
A real‑time, nanosecond‑resolution hybrid frame and sampling profiler supporting CPU, GPU, memory, locks, and context switches across C, C++, Lua, Python, Fortran and many more languages.
Overview
Overview
Tracy is a high‑precision profiler that captures performance data with nanosecond granularity. It combines frame‑based and sampling techniques, allowing developers to see both per‑frame timing and statistical distributions of code execution.
Capabilities
The tool instruments CPU code (native C/C++, Lua, Python, Fortran, etc.) and a wide range of GPU APIs—including OpenGL, Vulkan, Direct3D 11/12, Metal, OpenCL, and CUDA. It also tracks memory allocations, lock contention, and context switches, automatically linking screenshots to captured frames for visual correlation.
Deployment
Tracy runs as a separate server process that receives telemetry over the network. Instrumented applications embed lightweight macros or API calls, then stream data to the Tracy UI client, which is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Pre‑built Windows x64 binaries are provided, and the source can be built with CMake or Meson for other platforms.
Highlights
Nanosecond‑level timing with hybrid frame and sampling modes
Comprehensive CPU and GPU support across major graphics APIs
Multi‑language instrumentation (C, C++, Lua, Python, Fortran, etc.)
Remote telemetry with a cross‑platform graphical UI
Pros
- Extremely fine‑grained timing enables precise bottleneck identification
- Supports both native and GPU profiling in a single workflow
- Broad language ecosystem through official and community bindings
- Interactive UI visualizes timelines, flame graphs, and resource usage
Considerations
- Instrumentation adds some runtime overhead, noticeable in tight loops
- Steeper learning curve for newcomers to hybrid profiling concepts
- Pre‑built binaries focus on Windows; other platforms require manual build
- Limited built‑in cloud or web‑based dashboards
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Fit guide
Great for
- Game developers needing low‑latency, per‑frame performance insight
- Simulation engineers profiling native and GPU‑accelerated code
- Teams working with mixed‑language codebases (e.g., C++ core with Python scripts)
- Performance analysts requiring detailed resource attribution
Not ideal when
- Small scripts where profiling overhead outweighs benefits
- Projects that require out‑of‑the‑box cloud monitoring dashboards
- Environments lacking a C++ toolchain for building the profiler
- Users seeking a purely web‑based profiling interface
How teams use it
Frame‑by‑frame performance debugging in a game engine
Identify spikes per frame, correlate with GPU API calls, and reduce latency.
GPU kernel profiling for Vulkan compute workloads
Measure kernel execution time, memory transfers, and pinpoint bottlenecks.
Memory allocation tracking in a scientific Fortran application
Visualize allocation patterns, detect leaks, and optimize memory usage.
Cross‑language profiling of a Python‑driven simulation with C++ core
Combine Python and native call stacks to see end‑to‑end performance.
Tech snapshot
C++94%
TeX3%
C1%
Python1%
CMake1%
Fortran1%
Frequently asked questions
Does Tracy require source code modifications?
Only minimal instrumentation macros are needed; you add them where you want timing data.
What platforms are supported?
Runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS, and supports OpenGL, Vulkan, Direct3D, Metal, CUDA, and OpenCL.
How does the remote telemetry work?
The profiler runs as a separate server process; instrumented applications send data over TCP/UDP to the UI client.
Is there a GUI for visualizing data?
Yes, Tracy provides a cross‑platform graphical client that displays timelines, flame graphs, and resource usage.
Can I extend Tracy to other languages?
Community bindings exist for many languages, and you can write custom wrappers using the C API.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
- 15,094
- Watchers
- 15,094
- Forks
- 987
Repo age5 years old
Last commit3 days ago
Primary languageC++
Last synced 3 hours ago