---
breadcrumbs:
- - /developers
  - For Developers
page_name: profiling-flame-graphs
title: Profiling Blink using Flame Graphs
---

Quick how to explaining how to profile Blink tests on Linux and analyze the
results using flame graphs.

<img alt="Example flame graph."
src="/developers/profiling-flame-graphs/flamegraph.png">
[Interactive Example](https://blink.gs/images/line-layout-flame-graph.svg)

## Prerequisites

*   perf - available in the package linux-tools on Ubuntu.
*   FlameGraph -
            [FlameGraph.zip](https://github.com/brendangregg/FlameGraph/archive/master.zip)
            or see [github page](https://github.com/brendangregg/FlameGraph).

## Instructions

To get profiling data one needs to build chromium and/or content_shell with
`GYP_DEFINE+="profiling=1"`

The basic strategy is to do the following:

1.  Build with `GYP_DEFINE+="profiling=1"`
2.  Record using `perf record`.
3.  Collapse stacks using `stackcollapse-perf.pl`.
4.  Generate flame graph using `flamegraph.pl`.

## Profiling a Performance Test

For example, to profile and generate a visualization for the Blink
`Layout/line-layout.html` performance tests the following command sequence could
be used. This assumes that the FlameGraph software from above is in the `PATH`.

GYP_DEFINES+="profiling=1" gclient runhooks ninja -C out/Release blink_tests
perf record -F 500 -g -q -- ./out/Release/content_shell \\ --dump-render-tree
\`pwd\`/third_party/WebKit/PerformanceTests/Layout/line-layout.html perf script
| stackcollapse-perf.pl | flamegraph.pl &gt; /tmp/flamegraph.svg

## Analyzing the Results

The generated SVG file is an interactive document that can be opened in Chrome
(or any other browser). Clicking a stack frame will "zoom in" to that frame. See
the [Flame Graphs](http://www.brendangregg.com/flamegraphs.html) home page for
further information and other use cases.

## Further Reading

*   [Chromium profiling on
            linux](https://code.google.com/p/chromium/wiki/LinuxProfiling).