Cprofiler

Cprofiler is a profiling tool for C and C++ applications designed to help developers identify performance bottlenecks and optimize resource usage. It supports both instrumentation-based and sampling-based profiling, enabling detailed per-function timing and a low-overhead overview depending on configuration. The tool collects CPU time, wall-clock time, and memory allocation information, and can produce call graphs, flame graphs, and aggregated statistics to aid analysis. It is designed to work with multi-threaded programs and can attribute work to individual threads or tasks.

Cprofiler consists of a runtime library and a set of analysis utilities. In instrumentation mode, it instruments function entry and exit points or compiler-generated hooks to record timing and call relationships. In sampling mode, it periodically samples the program counter to build a probabilistic view of hot paths. Data can be collected and stored in a portable format (such as JSON or a native binary format) and then processed by the analysis tools to generate reports.

Typical workflow: build your program with Cprofiler support, run it under the profiler to collect data, then invoke the report generator to produce text summaries, JSON outputs, and optional visualizations such as call-graph diagrams or flame graphs. The tool aims to integrate with common build systems and continuous integration pipelines and supports multiple platforms, including Linux and macOS, with experimental Windows support.

Cprofiler is distributed as open-source software under a permissive license and is maintained by a community-driven project. It competes with established profilers by offering a consistent interface across modes and easy-to-parse output for automation.