Visualizing external trace formats with Perfetto

In this guide, you'll learn about:

• The different external trace formats that Perfetto supports.
• How to generate and visualize these formats in the Perfetto UI.
• The limitations of each format and when to use them.

Perfetto is capable of opening and analyzing trace files generated by a variety of external tools and systems, not just its own native protobuf format. You might have existing traces in these formats if:

• You're already using other tracing tools and have accumulated data.
• Perfetto's recording capabilities aren't the primary fit for your data collection needs, but you wish to use its analysis tools.
• You have custom timestamped data which you can convert this into one of the external formats Perfetto understands (detailed below).
  • Alternatively, you might consider converting your data directly into Perfetto's native TrackEvent protobuf format, which can offer more power and flexibility.

The main advantages of using Perfetto to examine these external traces are its powerful analysis and visualization capabilities:

• The Perfetto UI: A versatile, web-based trace viewer designed to handle large and complex timeline data, offering rich interactive analysis.
• Trace Processor: A powerful SQL-based engine that allows for programmatic querying and in-depth analysis of timestamped data from these diverse formats.

Below, we detail the supported formats, provide context on their typical use cases, and outline what to expect when loading them into Perfetto.

Chrome JSON format

Description: The Chrome JSON trace format consists of a JSON array of event objects. Each object represents a single trace event and typically includes fields like pid (process ID), tid (thread ID), ts (timestamp in microseconds), ph (phase, indicating event type like begin, end, instant, counter, etc.), name (event name), cat (category), and args (event-specific arguments). This format was originally developed for Chrome's about:tracing (now chrome://tracing) tool.

Common Scenarios: While Chromium browser developers now primarily use Perfetto's native protobuf format for trace collection, the Chrome JSON format is still encountered in several situations:

• Third-party Tools & Libraries: Due to its longevity and relatively simple structure, many external tools, custom C++ instrumentation libraries, and libraries in other languages (e.g., Node.js, Python, Java) adopted the Chrome JSON format for emitting trace data. It's often chosen for its ease of generation and established "stability" as a known format.
• Export from Chrome DevTools: The "Performance" panel in modern Chrome DevTools can still export profiles in this JSON format.
• Legacy Traces: You might have older traces from Chrome that are in this format.

Perfetto Support:

• Perfetto UI: Chrome JSON files can be opened directly in the Perfetto UI. The UI visualizes common event types, including:
  • B (begin) and E (end) events as slices.
  • X (complete) events as slices.
  • I (instant) events as single points on the timeline.
  • C (counter) events as counter tracks.
  • M (metadata) events for process and thread names, etc.
  • s, t, f (flow) events as connecting arrows between slices.
• Trace Processor: These events are parsed into Perfetto's standard SQL tables (e.g., slice, track, process, thread, counter, args). This allows you to analyze Chrome JSON traces using SQL queries.
• Important Notes:
  • Perfetto aims to adhere to the Trace Event Format specification. It does not attempt to replicate specific rendering quirks or undocumented behaviors of the legacy chrome://tracing tool unless they are critical for basic trace understanding.
  • Perfetto enforces strict nesting for duration events (B and E pairs). Overlapping, non-nested events might not be visualized or processed as they are in the legacy chrome://tracing viewer, which could be more lenient. For more details, see the FAQ on overlapping JSON events.
  • Support for some less common or highly specific features of the JSON format might be limited. Refer to the FAQ on obscure JSON features.

How to Generate:

• Programmatically by External Tools & Libraries: This is the most common way this format is generated today. Due to its established nature and simple structure, various libraries and tools across different languages (e.g., for Node.js, Python, Java, C++) can produce trace files in the Chrome JSON format.
• Export from Chrome DevTools: The "Performance" panel in Chromium-based browsers allows you to record activity and then use the "Save profile..." (download) option to get a JSON file.
• Historically from chrome://tracing: Older versions of Chrome used this interface for saving traces.

External Resources:

• Format Specification: Trace Event Format (Google Docs)
• Original about:tracing tool context: The Trace Event Profiling Tool (Chromium Docs)

Firefox Profiler JSON format

Description: The Firefox Profiler JSON format is primarily known for its use by the Firefox Profiler, a web-based tool for performance analysis. While the format can describe various types of timeline data including "markers" (similar to trace events), its main strength, and Perfetto's primary interest in it, lies in representing CPU profiling data, especially sampled call stacks. This makes it an excellent target format for visualizing flamegraphs and call trees from various profiling sources.

Common Scenarios: The most common reason Perfetto users encounter this format is for:

• Visualizing Linux perf (or Android simpleperf) CPU profiles: Developers often collect CPU samples using perf record on Linux or simpleperf on Android. These native profiles can then be converted into the Firefox Profiler JSON format to leverage the interactive and user-friendly visualizations offered by tools like profiler.firefox.com or, as relevant here, for import into Perfetto.
• Using cross-platform profiling tools: Some profiling tools and libraries are designed to output or convert their data into this format, facilitating analysis with the Firefox Profiler UI.
• Analyzing profiles from Firefox: Less commonly for Perfetto users, one might have profiles captured directly within the Firefox browser itself.

Perfetto Support:

• Perfetto UI & Trace Processor: Perfetto provides partial support for the Firefox Profiler JSON format, with a strong focus on CPU sample data.
  • When you open a Firefox Profiler JSON file, Perfetto attempts to parse call stacks, sample timestamps, and thread/process information.
  • This data is imported into standard Perfetto SQL tables like perf_sample, stack_profile_callsite, stack_profile_frame, and stack_profile_mapping.
  • In the Perfetto UI, this allows for the visualization of CPU profiles as flamegraphs.
• Limitations:
  • Support for Firefox Profiler "markers" (timeline events like slices or instants) is generally not available in Perfetto.
  • Other advanced features specific to the Firefox Profiler's internal data representation or UI hints (like custom track colors or rich browser-specific metadata) are typically not imported.
  • The primary expectation when loading this format into Perfetto should be to analyze CPU callstack samples.

How to Generate: The most relevant generation path for Perfetto users involves converting native CPU profiles from Linux perf or Android simpleperf.

Other methods (less common for Perfetto import scenarios):

• From Firefox Browser: Using the built-in profiler (e.g., via about:profiling or developer tools) and saving the profile.

External Resources:

• Firefox Profiler Tool: profiler.firefox.com
• Documentation on the format (can be technical):
  • Gecko Profile Format (GitHub)
  • Processed Profile Format (GitHub)
• Linux perf Tool: perf Wiki, man page
• Android simpleperf (AOSP): Source and documentation can be found within the platform/system/extras repository in AOSP.
• Android simpleperf Documentation (overview): Simpleperf Introduction (Android GoogleSource)

Android systrace format

Description: Android Systrace was the legacy system-wide tracing tool for Android, used primarily before the introduction of Perfetto with Android 9 (Pie). It captures kernel activity via ftrace (e.g., CPU scheduling, I/O) and userspace annotations via ATrace (e.g., android.os.Trace). Systrace typically produces an interactive HTML file embedding trace data in a text-based format.

Common Scenarios (Primarily Legacy): You will typically only encounter the Android Systrace format when dealing with older data or legacy workflows, such as:

• Analyzing traces generated on Android systems prior to Android 9 (Pie).
• Working with historical traces recorded using the systrace.py command-line tool.
• Examining traces from very old versions of Android Studio's profiler.

For any current or new tracing on Android (version 9 Pie and newer), Perfetto is the standard and strongly recommended tool.

Perfetto Support:

• Perfetto UI: Perfetto can directly open Android Systrace HTML files, parsing the embedded ftrace and ATrace data for visualization. This is primarily for compatibility with historical traces.
• Trace Processor: The Trace Processor also supports parsing the raw textual ftrace data found within Systrace reports. This data is imported into standard Perfetto SQL tables (e.g., slice, sched_slice, ftrace_event), making it queryable via SQL.
• Important Note: Perfetto's support for Systrace is for backward compatibility. Systrace is a deprecated tool for trace collection on modern Android (Android 9 Pie and newer). Perfetto has superseded it, offering significantly more data sources, lower overhead, and more advanced analysis capabilities. New tracing efforts should exclusively use Perfetto.

How to Generate (Legacy Methods): The methods below describe how Systrace files were historically created and are provided for context when dealing with older traces. These methods are deprecated and should not be used for new trace collection on Android 9 (Pie) or newer.

• Using systrace.py (Deprecated): Historically, these traces were generated using the systrace.py script from the Android SDK Platform Tools. An example command might look like:# python <sdk>/platform-tools/systrace/systrace.py -a <your.app.package.name> -o mytrace.html sched freq idle am wm
• Android Studio (Older Versions - Deprecated): Earlier versions of Android Studio's profiler used Systrace. Modern Android Studio now uses Perfetto.

External Resources:

• Systrace Command-Line Reference (Legacy): developer.android.com/topic/performance/tracing/command-line (This page also highlights that Perfetto replaces Systrace for Android 9+)
• Understanding ATrace (Userspace Annotations - relevant for data in Systrace): ATrace: Android system and app trace events

Perf textual format (from perf script)

Description: The "Perf textual format" typically refers to the human-readable textual output generated by the perf script command on Linux. This command processes a perf.data file (created by perf record) and prints a chronological log of the recorded events. The output is highly configurable via perf script options but commonly includes CPU samples with their call stacks, timestamps, process/thread identifiers, CPU number, and event names.

Common Scenarios: This format is often used for:

• Manually inspecting the contents of a perf.data file for quick analysis or debugging.
• As an intermediate input for various third-party scripts and tools, such as Brendan Gregg's FlameGraph scripts, which parse perf script output to generate flame graphs.
• Working with existing perf script outputs from older profiling sessions or automated systems.

Perfetto Support:

• Perfetto UI & Trace Processor: Perfetto's Trace Processor can parse textual output generated by perf script.
  • The primary focus of this importer is on CPU samples and their associated call stacks.
  • When such data is parsed, it populates Perfetto's standard profiling tables (e.g., cpu_profile_stack_sample_table for the samples, and stack_profile_callsite, stack_profile_frame, stack_profile_mapping for the call stack information).
  • This allows the CPU profile data from the perf script output to be visualized as a flamegraph in the Perfetto UI and queried using SQL.
• Limitations:
  • The output format of perf script is very flexible depending on the arguments passed to it (e.g., using the -F flag). Perfetto's parser likely expects a common or default-like output structure for samples. Highly customized or unusual perf script textual outputs might not parse correctly or completely.
  • Support for other types of events (beyond CPU samples with callstacks) that perf script might output (e.g., raw tracepoints if -D is used, or other event types) may be limited when importing directly as "Perf textual format."
  • For robust visualization of CPU profiles from perf.data with a feature-rich intermediate format, consider converting perf.data to the Firefox Profiler JSON format, which Perfetto also supports for sample data.

How to Generate:

1. Record a profile with perf record: First, capture profiling data using perf record. This creates a perf.data file.

   # Example: Profile at 99Hz for 1 seconds with DWARF call graphs sudo perf record -F 99 -g --call-graph dwarf --output perf.data -- find ~ -name 'foo'

   Refer to man perf-record for detailed command options. Ensure debug symbols for your binaries are accessible for proper symbolization by perf script.

2. Generate textual output with perf script: Process the perf.data file to produce the textual output.

   # Default output sudo perf script -i perf.data > my_perf_output.txt

   For more detailed output that is often useful for other tools (and potentially for Perfetto's parser if it looks for specific fields), you might specify the fields:

   perf script -i perf.data -F comm,pid,tid,cpu,time,event,ip,sym,dso,trace > my_perf_output_detailed.txt

   Refer to man perf-script for its extensive formatting options.

3. Open this trace in ui.perfetto.dev

   Navigate to ui.perfetto.dev and upload the my_perf_output.txt file into the UI. Once the trace opens, you should be able select either individual CPU samples or ranges of time containing CPU samples to get a flamegraph of all the samples in that region.

   Here's an example of what that looks like

   

Linux ftrace textual format

Description: The Linux ftrace textual format is the raw, human-readable output generated by the Linux kernel's ftrace tracing infrastructure. Each line in this text-based format typically represents a single trace event and follows a common structure: TASK-PID CPU# [MARKERS] TIMESTAMP FUNCTION --- ARGS. For example, a sched_switch event might look like: bash-1234 [002] ...1 5075.958079: sched_switch: prev_comm=bash prev_pid=1234 prev_prio=120 prev_state=R ==> next_comm=trace-cmd next_pid=5678 next_prio=120. This format can be quite verbose but is fundamental to how ftrace operates and is exposed via the tracefs filesystem (usually mounted at /sys/kernel/tracing).

Common Scenarios: You are likely to encounter or use this format when:

• Analyzing ftrace data captured using the trace-cmd utility, specifically with commands like trace-cmd report or trace-cmd stream.
• Directly reading from ftrace buffer files in tracefs, such as /sys/kernel/tracing/trace.
• Working with older Linux kernel debugging workflows or custom scripts that produce this textual output.
• Inspecting the raw data embedded within Android Systrace HTML files, as they use this underlying format.

Perfetto Support: Perfetto's support for the ftrace textual format is primarily for legacy compatibility and is maintained on a best-effort basis.

• Perfetto UI: The Perfetto UI can directly open ftrace textual log files (often with .txt or .ftrace extensions). It visualizes known event types by parsing the text lines. For instance:
  • sched_switch events are displayed as scheduling slices on CPU tracks.
  • print events that match the ATrace format are shown as userspace slices.
  • Other ftrace events present in the text file might not be visualized if they don't map to recognized Perfetto UI elements.
• Trace Processor: When parsing ftrace textual logs, Perfetto's Trace Processor will:
  • Parse recognized events (e.g., sched_switch, sched_waking, cpu_frequency, atrace-compatible print events) into their corresponding structured SQL tables (e.g., sched_slice, slice, counter).
  • Unlike Perfetto's native ftrace protobuf ingestion, unrecognized or generic ftrace events from a textual ftrace file are generally not populated into a broad ftrace_event catch-all table. Support is typically limited to events that have specific parsers for creating structured tables.
• Recommendation: For new tracing activities on systems where Perfetto is available (especially Android 9+ or Linux systems with Perfetto installed), using Perfetto's native ftrace data source is strongly recommended. Perfetto's direct collection records ftrace data into its own efficient binary protobuf format, offering better performance, richer features (including parsing of generic ftrace events into the protobuf GenericFtraceEvent type), and more robust support. Importing the textual format should be reserved for analyzing pre-existing logs.

How to Generate (for context on existing logs): These methods describe how ftrace textual logs are typically created using tracefs (usually mounted at /sys/kernel/tracing). For new tracing, prefer using Perfetto's ftrace data source directly.

• Using trace-cmd: trace-cmd is a user-space frontend for ftrace.

  # Example: Record scheduling and syscall events sudo trace-cmd record -e sched -e syscalls # After stopping (Ctrl-C or by duration), generate the textual report: trace-cmd report > my_ftrace_log.txt

  Or for a live stream:

  sudo trace-cmd stream -e sched:sched_waking -e irq:irq_handler_entry > my_ftrace_log.txt

  (Stop with Ctrl-C). Refer to man trace-cmd for more options.

• Directly from tracefs (more manual): You can interact with ftrace via the /sys/kernel/tracing/ interface.

  # Example: Enable sched_switch and printk events sudo sh -c 'echo sched:sched_switch print > /sys/kernel/tracing/set_event' # Enable tracing sudo sh -c 'echo 1 > /sys/kernel/tracing/tracing_on' # ... allow the system to run or perform actions you want to trace ... # Capture the trace buffer sudo cat /sys/kernel/tracing/trace > my_ftrace_log.txt # Disable tracing and clear events sudo sh -c 'echo 0 > /sys/kernel/tracing/tracing_on' sudo sh -c 'echo > /sys/kernel/tracing/set_event' # Clear events

External Resources:

• Official Ftrace Documentation: Ftrace - Function Tracing (kernel.org) (Primary source: Documentation/trace/ftrace.txt or ftrace.rst in the Linux kernel source)
• trace-cmd Man Page: man trace-cmd (or find it online, e.g., on Arch Linux man pages)
• Tracefs Documentation: The Tracefs Pseudo Filesystem (kernel.org)

ART method tracing format

Description: The Android Runtime (ART) method tracing format (commonly found in .trace files) is a binary format specific to Android. It captures detailed information about the execution of Java and Kotlin methods within an Android application, essentially logging the entry and exit points of each called method. This allows for a fine-grained analysis of an app's runtime behavior at the method level.

Common Scenarios: This format is typically used when:

• Needing to deeply profile the performance of specific Java or Kotlin code paths in an Android app to identify performance bottlenecks or understand complex call sequences.
• Analyzing traces generated by Android Studio's CPU Profiler, specifically when using the "Trace Java Methods" recording configuration.
• Working with traces created programmatically from within an application using the android.os.Debug.startMethodTracing() API.

Perfetto Support:

• Perfetto UI: .trace files can be opened directly in the Perfetto UI. The method calls are typically visualized as a flamegraph, providing an intuitive way to see where time is spent. They are also be displayed as nested slices on the timeline for each thread.
• Trace Processor: Perfetto's Trace Processor has built-in support for parsing ART method trace files (.trace).
  • Each method invocation (entry and exit) is imported as a distinct slice into the slice table. These slices are associated with their respective threads and processes.
  • This enables detailed SQL-based analysis of method execution times, call counts, stack depth, and relationships between different methods.
• Important Note on Overhead: ART method tracing, by its nature of instrumenting every method call, can introduce significant performance overhead to the application being profiled. This overhead might alter the very behavior you are trying to measure. For less intrusive CPU profiling of Java/Kotlin code, consider using Android Studio's "Sample Java Methods" option or Perfetto's system-wide callstack sampling capabilities, though these provide statistical data rather than an exact log of all method calls.

How to Generate:

• Android Studio CPU Profiler:

  1. Open the Android Studio Profiler (View > Tool Windows > Profiler).
  2. Select your device and the application process you want to profile.
  3. In the CPU profiler section, choose the "Trace Java Methods" recording configuration from the dropdown menu.
  4. Click "Record," perform the actions in your app that you want to profile, and then click "Stop."
  5. The collected .trace file can then be exported from the Android Studio profiler interface for use in Perfetto.

• Programmatically within an app: You can instrument your app's Java/Kotlin code to start and stop method tracing using the android.os.Debug class:

  import android.os.Debug; // ... // In your application code: // To start tracing: // Debug.startMethodTracing("myAppTraceName"); // The .trace file will typically be saved to a location like: // /sdcard/Android/data/<your_app_package_name>/files/myAppTraceName.trace // or /data/data/<your_app_package_name>/files/myAppTraceName.trace depending on Android version and permissions. // ... execute the code you want to profile ... // To stop tracing: // Debug.stopMethodTracing();

  After stopping, you'll need to pull the generated .trace file from the device using ADB (e.g., adb pull /sdcard/Android/data/<your_app_package_name>/files/myAppTraceName.trace .). The exact path can vary, so check your app's specific file storage location.

External Resources:

• Android Developer - Debug class documentation: developer.android.com/reference/android/os/Debug (See startMethodTracing() and stopMethodTracing())
• Android Developer - Inspect CPU activity with CPU Profiler: developer.android.com/studio/profile/cpu-profiler (Provides details on "Trace Java Methods")

macOS Instruments format (XML export)

Description: Apple's Instruments tool, part of Xcode, is used for performance analysis on macOS and iOS. While Instruments saves its full data in a proprietary .trace package format, Perfetto's support focuses on an XML format that can be exported from these Instruments traces. This XML export is primarily useful for extracting CPU profiling data (stack samples).

Common Scenarios: This import path is relevant when:

• You have CPU performance data (e.g., from the Time Profiler instrument) collected using Apple's Instruments.
• You wish to visualize this CPU stack sample data as a flamegraph or analyze it using Perfetto's tools.

Perfetto Support:

• Perfetto UI & Trace Processor: Perfetto can parse the XML file exported from a macOS Instruments trace.
  • The primary focus of this import is on CPU stack samples.
  • Data such as call stacks, sample timestamps, and thread information is extracted and loaded into Perfetto's profiling tables, specifically cpu_profile_stack_sample for the samples themselves, and stack_profile_callsite, stack_profile_frame, stack_profile_mapping for the call stack information.
  • This enables the visualization of the CPU profile as a flamegraph within the Perfetto UI and allows for SQL-based querying of the sample data.
• Limitations:
  • Support is mainly targeted at CPU stack sample data from the XML export.
  • Other rich data types or specific features from the diverse set of tools within Instruments (e.g., detailed memory allocations, custom os_signpost data if not in a compatible part of the XML) may not be supported or fully represented through this XML import path.

How to Generate: Traces are originally collected using the Instruments application in Xcode or the xctrace command-line utility, which produce a .trace package. The XML file that Perfetto ingests is an export from such a trace. (The specific steps for exporting to this XML format from Instruments would need to be followed within the Instruments tool itself; Perfetto then consumes the resulting XML file).

External Resources:

• Apple Developer - Instruments: For general information on what Instruments can do, refer to the official Instruments User Guide or search for current Instruments documentation on developer.apple.com.

External Resources:

• perf-script man page: man perf-script (or search online, e.g., perf-script Linux man page)
• perf tool general information: perf Wiki (kernel.org)
• Brendan Gregg's perf examples: Brendan Gregg's perf page (Contains many examples of perf script usage, especially for flame graphs)

Ninja logs format (.ninja_log)

Description: The Ninja build system, known for its speed and use in projects like Chromium and Android, generates a log file typically named .ninja_log. This file is a tab-separated text file that records metadata about each command (build step) executed during the build process. Key information for each entry includes the start time (in milliseconds), end time (in milliseconds), the restat mtime (in milliseconds), the primary output file path of the build step, and a hash of the command itself. The format is versioned, with new versions occasionally adding fields.

Common Scenarios: This format is used when:

• Analyzing the performance of software builds that utilize the Ninja build system.
• Identifying which build steps are taking the longest, understanding the degree of parallelism in the build, and diagnosing potential bottlenecks that slow down compilation or linking.
• Visualizing the build process over time.

Perfetto Support:

• Perfetto UI & Trace Processor: Perfetto's Trace Processor can parse .ninja_log files.
  • Each build step recorded in the .ninja_log is typically imported as a distinct slice into the slice table.
  • To visualize these build steps on a timeline, Perfetto often synthesizes process and thread information. For instance, all build steps might be grouped under a single "Ninja Build" process, with individual tracks potentially created for each unique output file path or based on other heuristics to represent concurrency.
  • The timestamps (start and end times) are converted from milliseconds to nanoseconds for consistency within Perfetto.
  • This allows the build process to be visualized in the Perfetto UI, showing the duration and concurrency of various compilation, linking, and other build tasks, which can be very helpful for understanding the build's critical path.
• Limitations: The .ninja_log only records completed commands. It doesn't provide information about dependencies directly in its per-step log format, though this can sometimes be inferred by analyzing the sequence and timing of output files.

How to Generate:

• Automatically by Ninja: The Ninja build system automatically creates and incrementally updates the .ninja_log file in the root of your build output directory (e.g., out/Default/, build/, etc.) every time it runs a build.
• No special flags are typically needed to enable the generation of .ninja_log as it is a standard feature for build auditing and ninja -t recompact usage.

External Resources:

• Ninja Build System Manual - Log File: ninja-build.org/manual.html#_log_file
• Ninja Build System Home: ninja-build.org

Android logcat textual format

Description: Android logcat is the command-line tool used to access messages from Android's system-wide logging service, logd. The textual output from adb logcat is what Perfetto can import. This output can vary significantly based on the formatting options specified (e.g., via adb logcat -v <format>), but typically includes a timestamp, log priority (Verbose, Debug, Info, Warn, Error, Fatal/Assert), a tag identifying the source of the log, the Process ID (PID), often the Thread ID (TID), and the log message itself.

Common Scenarios: You might work with textual logcat files when:

• Performing traditional debugging of Android applications or system services using their textual log output.
• Analyzing log files previously saved from adb logcat sessions.
• Extracting logcat information from Android bug reports (where logcat data is embedded within bugreport.txt or as separate files).

Perfetto Support:

• Perfetto UI & Trace Processor: Perfetto's Trace Processor can parse textual logcat files.
  • Imported log messages are populated into the android_logs SQL table. This is the same table used when Perfetto collects logcat data natively via its Android Log data source.
  • In the Perfetto UI, these logs appear in the "Android Logs" panel, where they are displayed chronologically and can be filtered. This allows correlation of log messages with other trace events on the main timeline.
• Supported Formats: Perfetto's parser is designed to handle common adb logcat output formats, with good support for logcat -v long and logcat -v threadtime. Other, more esoteric or heavily customized logcat formats might not be fully parsed.

How to Generate Textual Logcat Files:

• Using adb logcat: The primary method is via the adb logcat command, redirecting its output to a file.
  • To dump the current contents of the log buffers and then exit (useful for a snapshot):# Dumps logs in 'long' format adb logcat -d -v long > logcat_dump_long.txt # Dumps logs in 'threadtime' format (timestamp, PID, TID, priority, tag, message) adb logcat -d -v threadtime > logcat_dump_threadtime.txt
  • To stream live logs to a file (press Ctrl-C to stop):adb logcat -v long > logcat_stream_long.txt # Or, for a more parse-friendly streaming format: adb logcat -v threadtime > logcat_stream_threadtime.txt
• From Android Bug Reports: Logcat data is a standard component of bug reports generated by adb bugreport. You can often find the logcat output within the main bugreport.txt file or as separate log files within the bug report archive.

External Resources:

• logcat Command-Line Tool (Official Android Documentation): developer.android.com/studio/command-line/logcat
• Reading and Writing Logs (General Overview): developer.android.com/studio/debug/am-logcat

Android bugreport zip format (.zip)

Description: An Android bugreport is a .zip archive generated by Android devices, containing a comprehensive snapshot of diagnostic information from an Android device at a particular point in time. This archive bundles various logs (like logcat), system properties, process information, stack traces for ANRs and crashes, and importantly, a system trace (typically a Perfetto trace on modern Android versions). It also contains detailed dumpstate output, which includes board-level information and specific service dumps like batterystats.

Common Scenarios: Bugreport zip files are primarily used for:

• Capturing extensive diagnostic data when reporting bugs or analyzing complex issues on Android devices, whether for app development or platform-level debugging.
• Providing detailed system state information to Google, device manufacturers (OEMs), or other developers to help diagnose problems.

Perfetto Support:

• Perfetto UI & Trace Processor: Perfetto can directly open and process Android bugreport .zip files.
  • When a bugreport zip is loaded, Perfetto automatically:
    • Scans the archive for Perfetto trace files (.pftrace, .perfetto-trace) in known locations (e.g., FS/data/misc/perfetto-traces/, proto/perfetto-trace.gz). The primary Perfetto trace found is loaded for visualization and SQL querying.
    • Parses the main dumpstate board-level information (often found in files like bugreport-*.txt or dumpstate_board.txt) into the dumpstate SQL table. This table includes system properties, kernel version, build fingerprints, and other hardware/software details.
    • Extracts detailed battery statistics from the batterystats section of the dumpstate into the battery_stats SQL table. This provides information on battery levels, charging status, and power events over time.
  • This integrated approach allows users to analyze not only the system trace but also key system state (from dumpstate) and battery information (from battery_stats) from the bugreport within a unified Perfetto environment, without needing to manually extract these components.
  • Note: Perfetto's focus when processing bugreports is on its own native trace format and specific, structured parts of the dumpstate like batterystats. It generally does not attempt to import or parse legacy Systrace files (systrace.html or systrace.txt) that might be present in older bugreports. For analyzing those, you'd typically extract them manually and open them as per the Android systrace format section.

How to Generate:

• Using adb bugreport (from a computer connected to the device): This is the most common method for developers.

  adb bugreport ./my_bugreport_filename.zip

  This command instructs the connected Android device to generate a bug report and saves it as a .zip file to the specified path on your computer.

• From Developer Options on the Android device:

  1. Enable Developer Options on your Android device (usually by going to Settings > About phone and tapping "Build number" seven times).
  2. Navigate to Settings > System > Developer options.
  3. Find and tap the "Bug report" or "Take bug report" option. The exact wording and sub-menu might vary slightly depending on the Android version and device manufacturer.
  4. You might be prompted to choose the type of bug report (e.g., "Interactive report" for more details during capture, or "Full report" for the most comprehensive data).
  5. After the bug report is generated (which can take a few minutes), a notification will appear. Tapping this notification typically allows you to share the .zip file (e.g., via email, a file sharing app, or by saving it to cloud storage).

External Resources:

• Capture and read bug reports (Official Android Documentation): developer.android.com/studio/debug/bug-report

Fuchsia tracing format (.fxt)

Description: The Fuchsia trace format (typically found in .fxt files) is a binary format used by the Fuchsia operating system. It's designed for high-performance, low-overhead recording of diagnostic information from both userspace components and the Zircon kernel. The format features compact, memory-aligned records and is extensible, with trace data often written directly into Zircon Virtual Memory Objects (VMOs) for efficiency.

Common Scenarios: This format is primarily encountered when:

• Working with traces recorded on a Fuchsia OS device or emulator for debugging system behavior or analyzing performance.
• In some niche, non-Fuchsia use cases where a binary, compact, and streamable format with similarities to Chrome JSON's event structure is desired.
  • However, for such custom tracing needs outside of the Fuchsia ecosystem, generating Perfetto's native TrackEvent protobuf format is generally recommended as it is more feature-rich and better supported by Perfetto tools.

Perfetto Support:

• Perfetto UI: .fxt files can be opened directly in the Perfetto UI for visualization. The UI can display various Fuchsia-specific events and system activities.
• Trace Processor: Perfetto's Trace Processor supports parsing the Fuchsia binary format. This allows the trace data, including events, scheduling records, and logs, to be imported into standard Perfetto SQL tables, making it available for query-based analysis.

How to Generate:

• On Fuchsia OS:
  • Using ffx (Fuchsia's developer tool): The primary way to record traces on a Fuchsia system from a development host is using the ffx trace start command.
  • On-target trace utility: Fuchsia devices also include a trace utility that can control tracing and save trace data.
  • Kernel-specific tracing with ktrace: For Zircon kernel-level tracing, the ktrace command-line utility can be used.
• Programmatically by custom tools: Some projects might also generate this format programmatically for specific non-Fuchsia use cases, particularly if a binary, compact, and streamable trace format is needed.

External Resources:

• Official Fuchsia Tracing Documentation: Fuchsia Tracing Guides
• Fuchsia Trace Format Specification: Fuchsia trace format
• Tutorial on recording and visualizing: Record and visualize a trace (Fuchsia Docs)