Trace Processor (Python)

The trace processor Python API is built on the trace procesor C++ library. By integrating with Python, the library allows using Python's rich data analysis ecosystem to process traces.

Setup

pip install perfetto

NOTE: The API is only compatible with Python3.

from perfetto.trace_processor import TraceProcessor
# Initialise TraceProcessor with a trace file
tp = TraceProcessor(trace='trace.perfetto-trace')

NOTE: The TraceProcessor can be initialized in a combination of ways including:
- An address at which there exists a running instance of trace_processor with a loaded trace (e.g.TraceProcessor(addr='localhost:9001'))
- An address at which there exists a running instance of trace_processor and needs a trace to be loaded in (e.g. TraceProcessor(trace='trace.perfetto-trace', addr='localhost:9001'))
- A path to a trace_processor binary and the trace to be loaded in (e.g. TraceProcessor(trace='trace.perfetto-trace', config=TraceProcessorConfig(bin_path='./trace_processor')))

API

The trace_processor.api module contains the TraceProcessor class which provides various functions that can be called on the loaded trace. For more information on how to use these functions, see this example.

Query

The query() function takes an SQL query as input and returns an iterator through the rows of the result.

from perfetto.trace_processor import TraceProcessor
tp = TraceProcessor(trace='trace.perfetto-trace')

qr_it = tp.query('SELECT ts, dur, name FROM slice')
for row in qr_it:
  print(row.ts, row.dur, row.name)

Output

261187017446933 358594 eglSwapBuffersWithDamageKHR
261187017518340 357 onMessageReceived
261187020825163 9948 queueBuffer
261187021345235 642 bufferLoad
261187121345235 153 query
...

The QueryResultIterator can also be converted to a Pandas DataFrame, although this requires you to have both the NumPy and Pandas modules installed.

from perfetto.trace_processor import TraceProcessor
tp = TraceProcessor(trace='trace.perfetto-trace')

qr_it = tp.query('SELECT ts, dur, name FROM slice')
qr_df = qr_it.as_pandas_dataframe()
print(qr_df.to_string())

Output

ts                   dur                  name
-------------------- -------------------- ---------------------------
     261187017446933               358594 eglSwapBuffersWithDamageKHR
     261187017518340                  357 onMessageReceived
     261187020825163                 9948 queueBuffer
     261187021345235                  642 bufferLoad
     261187121345235                  153 query
     ...

Furthermore, you can use the query result in a Pandas DataFrame format to easily make visualisations from the trace data.

from perfetto.trace_processor import TraceProcessor
tp = TraceProcessor(trace='trace.perfetto-trace')

qr_it = tp.query('SELECT ts, value FROM counter WHERE track_id=50')
qr_df = qr_it.as_pandas_dataframe()
qr_df = qr_df.replace(np.nan,0)
qr_df = qr_df.set_index('ts')['value'].plot()

Output

Metric

The metric() function takes in a list of trace metrics and returns the results as a Protobuf.

from perfetto.trace_processor import TraceProcessor
tp = TraceProcessor(trace='trace.perfetto-trace')

ad_cpu_metrics = tp.metric(['android_cpu'])
print(ad_cpu_metrics)

Output

metrics {
  android_cpu {
    process_info {
      name: "/system/bin/init"
      threads {
        name: "init"
        core {
          id: 1
          metrics {
            mcycles: 1
            runtime_ns: 570365
            min_freq_khz: 1900800
            max_freq_khz: 1900800
            avg_freq_khz: 1902017
          }
        }
        core {
          id: 3
          metrics {
            mcycles: 0
            runtime_ns: 366406
            min_freq_khz: 1900800
            max_freq_khz: 1900800
            avg_freq_khz: 1902908
          }
        }
        ...
      }
      ...
    }
    process_info {
      name: "/system/bin/logd"
      threads {
        name: "logd.writer"
        core {
          id: 0
          metrics {
            mcycles: 8
            runtime_ns: 33842357
            min_freq_khz: 595200
            max_freq_khz: 1900800
            avg_freq_khz: 1891825
          }
        }
        core {
          id: 1
          metrics {
            mcycles: 9
            runtime_ns: 36019300
            min_freq_khz: 1171200
            max_freq_khz: 1900800
            avg_freq_khz: 1887969
          }
        }
        ...
      }
      ...
    }
    ...
  }
}

HTTP

The trace_processor.http module contains the TraceProcessorHttp class which provides methods to make HTTP requests to an address at which there already exists a running instance of trace_processor with a trace loaded in. All results are returned in Protobuf format (see trace_processor_proto). Some functions include:

• execute_query() - Takes in an SQL query and returns a QueryResult Protobuf message
• compute_metric() - Takes in a list of trace metrics and returns a ComputeMetricResult Protobuf message
• status() - Returns a StatusResult Protobuf message