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- 27. Debugging and Profiling »
New in version 3.4.
The tracemalloc module is a debug tool to trace memory blocks allocated by Python. It provides the following information:
To trace most memory blocks allocated by Python, the module should be started as early as possible by setting the PYTHONTRACEMALLOC environment variable to 1, or by using -X tracemalloc command line option. The tracemalloc.start() function can be called at runtime to start tracing Python memory allocations.
By default, a trace of an allocated memory block only stores the most recent frame (1 frame). To store 25 frames at startup: set the PYTHONTRACEMALLOC environment variable to 25, or use the -X tracemalloc=25 command line option.
Display the 10 files allocating the most memory:
import tracemalloc
tracemalloc.start()
# ... run your application ...
snapshot = tracemalloc.take_snapshot()
top_stats = snapshot.statistics('lineno')
print("[ Top 10 ]")
for stat in top_stats[:10]:
print(stat)
Example of output of the Python test suite:
[ Top 10 ]
<frozen importlib._bootstrap>:716: size=4855 KiB, count=39328, average=126 B
<frozen importlib._bootstrap>:284: size=521 KiB, count=3199, average=167 B
/usr/lib/python3.4/collections/__init__.py:368: size=244 KiB, count=2315, average=108 B
/usr/lib/python3.4/unittest/case.py:381: size=185 KiB, count=779, average=243 B
/usr/lib/python3.4/unittest/case.py:402: size=154 KiB, count=378, average=416 B
/usr/lib/python3.4/abc.py:133: size=88.7 KiB, count=347, average=262 B
<frozen importlib._bootstrap>:1446: size=70.4 KiB, count=911, average=79 B
<frozen importlib._bootstrap>:1454: size=52.0 KiB, count=25, average=2131 B
<string>:5: size=49.7 KiB, count=148, average=344 B
/usr/lib/python3.4/sysconfig.py:411: size=48.0 KiB, count=1, average=48.0 KiB
We can see that Python loaded 4.8 MiB data (bytecode and constants) from modules and that the collections module allocated 244 KiB to build namedtuple types.
See Snapshot.statistics() for more options.
Take two snapshots and display the differences:
import tracemalloc
tracemalloc.start()
# ... start your application ...
snapshot1 = tracemalloc.take_snapshot()
# ... call the function leaking memory ...
snapshot2 = tracemalloc.take_snapshot()
top_stats = snapshot2.compare_to(snapshot1, 'lineno')
print("[ Top 10 differences ]")
for stat in top_stats[:10]:
print(stat)
Example of output before/after running some tests of the Python test suite:
[ Top 10 differences ]
<frozen importlib._bootstrap>:716: size=8173 KiB (+4428 KiB), count=71332 (+39369), average=117 B
/usr/lib/python3.4/linecache.py:127: size=940 KiB (+940 KiB), count=8106 (+8106), average=119 B
/usr/lib/python3.4/unittest/case.py:571: size=298 KiB (+298 KiB), count=589 (+589), average=519 B
<frozen importlib._bootstrap>:284: size=1005 KiB (+166 KiB), count=7423 (+1526), average=139 B
/usr/lib/python3.4/mimetypes.py:217: size=112 KiB (+112 KiB), count=1334 (+1334), average=86 B
/usr/lib/python3.4/http/server.py:848: size=96.0 KiB (+96.0 KiB), count=1 (+1), average=96.0 KiB
/usr/lib/python3.4/inspect.py:1465: size=83.5 KiB (+83.5 KiB), count=109 (+109), average=784 B
/usr/lib/python3.4/unittest/mock.py:491: size=77.7 KiB (+77.7 KiB), count=143 (+143), average=557 B
/usr/lib/python3.4/urllib/parse.py:476: size=71.8 KiB (+71.8 KiB), count=969 (+969), average=76 B
/usr/lib/python3.4/contextlib.py:38: size=67.2 KiB (+67.2 KiB), count=126 (+126), average=546 B
We can see that Python has loaded 8.2 MiB of module data (bytecode and constants), and that this is 4.4 MiB more than had been loaded before the tests, when the previous snapshot was taken. Similarly, the linecache module has cached 940 KiB of Python source code to format tracebacks, all of it since the previous snapshot.
If the system has little free memory, snapshots can be written on disk using the Snapshot.dump() method to analyze the snapshot offline. Then use the Snapshot.load() method reload the snapshot.
Code to display the traceback of the biggest memory block:
import tracemalloc
# Store 25 frames
tracemalloc.start(25)
# ... run your application ...
snapshot = tracemalloc.take_snapshot()
top_stats = snapshot.statistics('traceback')
# pick the biggest memory block
stat = top_stats[0]
print("%s memory blocks: %.1f KiB" % (stat.count, stat.size / 1024))
for line in stat.traceback.format():
print(line)
Example of output of the Python test suite (traceback limited to 25 frames):
903 memory blocks: 870.1 KiB
File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 716
File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 1036
File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 934
File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 1068
File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 619
File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 1581
File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 1614
File "/usr/lib/python3.4/doctest.py", line 101
import pdb
File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 284
File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 938
File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 1068
File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 619
File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 1581
File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 1614
File "/usr/lib/python3.4/test/support/__init__.py", line 1728
import doctest
File "/usr/lib/python3.4/test/test_pickletools.py", line 21
support.run_doctest(pickletools)
File "/usr/lib/python3.4/test/regrtest.py", line 1276
test_runner()
File "/usr/lib/python3.4/test/regrtest.py", line 976
display_failure=not verbose)
File "/usr/lib/python3.4/test/regrtest.py", line 761
match_tests=ns.match_tests)
File "/usr/lib/python3.4/test/regrtest.py", line 1563
main()
File "/usr/lib/python3.4/test/__main__.py", line 3
regrtest.main_in_temp_cwd()
File "/usr/lib/python3.4/runpy.py", line 73
exec(code, run_globals)
File "/usr/lib/python3.4/runpy.py", line 160
"__main__", fname, loader, pkg_name)
We can see that the most memory was allocated in the importlib module to load data (bytecode and constants) from modules: 870 KiB. The traceback is where the importlib loaded data most recently: on the import pdb line of the doctest module. The traceback may change if a new module is loaded.
Code to display the 10 lines allocating the most memory with a pretty output, ignoring <frozen importlib._bootstrap> and <unknown> files:
import linecache
import os
import tracemalloc
def display_top(snapshot, group_by='lineno', limit=10):
snapshot = snapshot.filter_traces((
tracemalloc.Filter(False, "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>"),
tracemalloc.Filter(False, "<unknown>"),
))
top_stats = snapshot.statistics(group_by)
print("Top %s lines" % limit)
for index, stat in enumerate(top_stats[:limit], 1):
frame = stat.traceback[0]
# replace "/path/to/module/file.py" with "module/file.py"
filename = os.sep.join(frame.filename.split(os.sep)[-2:])
print("#%s: %s:%s: %.1f KiB"
% (index, filename, frame.lineno, stat.size / 1024))
line = linecache.getline(frame.filename, frame.lineno).strip()
if line:
print(' %s' % line)
other = top_stats[limit:]
if other:
size = sum(stat.size for stat in other)
print("%s other: %.1f KiB" % (len(other), size / 1024))
total = sum(stat.size for stat in top_stats)
print("Total allocated size: %.1f KiB" % (total / 1024))
tracemalloc.start()
# ... run your application ...
snapshot = tracemalloc.take_snapshot()
display_top(snapshot)
Example of output of the Python test suite:
Top 10 lines
#1: Lib/base64.py:414: 419.8 KiB
_b85chars2 = [(a + b) for a in _b85chars for b in _b85chars]
#2: Lib/base64.py:306: 419.8 KiB
_a85chars2 = [(a + b) for a in _a85chars for b in _a85chars]
#3: collections/__init__.py:368: 293.6 KiB
exec(class_definition, namespace)
#4: Lib/abc.py:133: 115.2 KiB
cls = super().__new__(mcls, name, bases, namespace)
#5: unittest/case.py:574: 103.1 KiB
testMethod()
#6: Lib/linecache.py:127: 95.4 KiB
lines = fp.readlines()
#7: urllib/parse.py:476: 71.8 KiB
for a in _hexdig for b in _hexdig}
#8: <string>:5: 62.0 KiB
#9: Lib/_weakrefset.py:37: 60.0 KiB
self.data = set()
#10: Lib/base64.py:142: 59.8 KiB
_b32tab2 = [a + b for a in _b32tab for b in _b32tab]
6220 other: 3602.8 KiB
Total allocated size: 5303.1 KiB
See Snapshot.statistics() for more options.
Get the traceback where the Python object obj was allocated. Return a Traceback instance, or None if the tracemalloc module is not tracing memory allocations or did not trace the allocation of the object.
See also gc.get_referrers() and sys.getsizeof() functions.
Get the maximum number of frames stored in the traceback of a trace.
The tracemalloc module must be tracing memory allocations to get the limit, otherwise an exception is raised.
The limit is set by the start() function.
Get the current size and peak size of memory blocks traced by the tracemalloc module as a tuple: (current: int, peak: int).
Get the memory usage in bytes of the tracemalloc module used to store traces of memory blocks. Return an int.
True if the tracemalloc module is tracing Python memory allocations, False otherwise.
Start tracing Python memory allocations: install hooks on Python memory allocators. Collected tracebacks of traces will be limited to nframe frames. By default, a trace of a memory block only stores the most recent frame: the limit is 1. nframe must be greater or equal to 1.
Storing more than 1 frame is only useful to compute statistics grouped by 'traceback' or to compute cumulative statistics: see the Snapshot.compare_to() and Snapshot.statistics() methods.
Storing more frames increases the memory and CPU overhead of the tracemalloc module. Use the get_tracemalloc_memory() function to measure how much memory is used by the tracemalloc module.
The PYTHONTRACEMALLOC environment variable (PYTHONTRACEMALLOC=NFRAME) and the -X tracemalloc=NFRAME command line option can be used to start tracing at startup.
See also stop(), is_tracing() and get_traceback_limit() functions.
Stop tracing Python memory allocations: uninstall hooks on Python memory allocators. Also clears all previously collected traces of memory blocks allocated by Python.
Call take_snapshot() function to take a snapshot of traces before clearing them.
See also start(), is_tracing() and clear_traces() functions.
Take a snapshot of traces of memory blocks allocated by Python. Return a new Snapshot instance.
The snapshot does not include memory blocks allocated before the tracemalloc module started to trace memory allocations.
Tracebacks of traces are limited to get_traceback_limit() frames. Use the nframe parameter of the start() function to store more frames.
The tracemalloc module must be tracing memory allocations to take a snapshot, see the start() function.
See also the get_object_traceback() function.
Filter on traces of memory blocks.
See the fnmatch.fnmatch() function for the syntax of filename_pattern. The '.pyc' and '.pyo' file extensions are replaced with '.py'.
Examples:
If inclusive is True (include), only trace memory blocks allocated in a file with a name matching filename_pattern at line number lineno.
If inclusive is False (exclude), ignore memory blocks allocated in a file with a name matching filename_pattern at line number lineno.
Line number (int) of the filter. If lineno is None, the filter matches any line number.
Filename pattern of the filter (str).
If all_frames is True, all frames of the traceback are checked. If all_frames is False, only the most recent frame is checked.
This attribute has no effect if the traceback limit is 1. See the get_traceback_limit() function and Snapshot.traceback_limit attribute.
Snapshot of traces of memory blocks allocated by Python.
The take_snapshot() function creates a snapshot instance.
Compute the differences with an old snapshot. Get statistics as a sorted list of StatisticDiff instances grouped by group_by.
See the Snapshot.statistics() method for group_by and cumulative parameters.
The result is sorted from the biggest to the smallest by: absolute value of StatisticDiff.size_diff, StatisticDiff.size, absolute value of StatisticDiff.count_diff, Statistic.count and then by StatisticDiff.traceback.
Create a new Snapshot instance with a filtered traces sequence, filters is a list of Filter instances. If filters is an empty list, return a new Snapshot instance with a copy of the traces.
All inclusive filters are applied at once, a trace is ignored if no inclusive filters match it. A trace is ignored if at least one exclusive filter matchs it.
Get statistics as a sorted list of Statistic instances grouped by group_by:
| group_by | description |
|---|---|
| 'filename' | filename |
| 'lineno' | filename and line number |
| 'traceback' | traceback |
If cumulative is True, cumulate size and count of memory blocks of all frames of the traceback of a trace, not only the most recent frame. The cumulative mode can only be used with group_by equals to 'filename' and 'lineno'.
The result is sorted from the biggest to the smallest by: Statistic.size, Statistic.count and then by Statistic.traceback.
Maximum number of frames stored in the traceback of traces: result of the get_traceback_limit() when the snapshot was taken.
Traces of all memory blocks allocated by Python: sequence of Trace instances.
The sequence has an undefined order. Use the Snapshot.statistics() method to get a sorted list of statistics.
Statistic on memory allocations.
Snapshot.statistics() returns a list of Statistic instances.
See also the StatisticDiff class.
Number of memory blocks (int).
Total size of memory blocks in bytes (int).
Statistic difference on memory allocations between an old and a new Snapshot instance.
Snapshot.compare_to() returns a list of StatisticDiff instances. See also the Statistic class.
Number of memory blocks in the new snapshot (int): 0 if the memory blocks have been released in the new snapshot.
Difference of number of memory blocks between the old and the new snapshots (int): 0 if the memory blocks have been allocated in the new snapshot.
Total size of memory blocks in bytes in the new snapshot (int): 0 if the memory blocks have been released in the new snapshot.
Difference of total size of memory blocks in bytes between the old and the new snapshots (int): 0 if the memory blocks have been allocated in the new snapshot.
Sequence of Frame instances sorted from the most recent frame to the oldest frame.
A traceback contains at least 1 frame. If the tracemalloc module failed to get a frame, the filename "<unknown>" at line number 0 is used.
When a snapshot is taken, tracebacks of traces are limited to get_traceback_limit() frames. See the take_snapshot() function.
The Trace.traceback attribute is an instance of Traceback instance.
Format the traceback as a list of lines with newlines. Use the linecache module to retrieve lines from the source code. If limit is set, only format the limit most recent frames.
Similar to the traceback.format_tb() function, except that format() does not include newlines.
Example:
print("Traceback (most recent call first):")
for line in traceback:
print(line)
Output:
Traceback (most recent call first):
File "test.py", line 9
obj = Object()
File "test.py", line 12
tb = tracemalloc.get_object_traceback(f())