Is that possible to profile a Linux-kernel base OS boot time with Perfetto?

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simowce go

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Jul 31, 2025, 4:05:50 AMJul 31

to Perfetto Development - www.perfetto.dev

Hi all:

Currently I'm working on a Linux-kernel base OS (not Android), and it starts up very slowly. I want to profile it.

I found that perfetto can trace Android device boot, so I wonder Is that possible to profile a Linux-kernel base OS boot time with Perfetto?

Thanks.

Primiano Tucci

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Jul 31, 2025, 7:37:40 AMJul 31

to simowce go, Perfetto Development - www.perfetto.dev

depends on your definition of "boot".

Boot as in from when the kernel starts, to when userspace is ready:

- use the kernel cmdline to setup ftrace (https://docs.kernel.org/trace/boottime-trace.html)

- write a matching perfetto config and start it later on when userspace is ready (you need to enable the same categories you passed to trace_event on the kernel cmdline)

- Set the preserve_ftrace_buffer: true in the trace config, which will read the existing trace buffer

This will allow you to do kernel-only tracing before boot.

If you want other forms of userspace tracing, you'll have to figure out ways to start perfetto early enough, maybe by starting in initird or something similar.

BUt for your stated purposes, the kernel-only tracing might work

Primiano

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