How to Use perf and flamegraph with Rust Applications

Performance
2026-04-17T14:12:14+00:00
Profile Rust applications with perf and visualize bottlenecks using flamegraphs.

Use perf to record instruction counts with stack traces, then convert the output to a flamegraph using flamegraph.pl.

  1. Build your Rust application in release mode with debug symbols enabled.
cargo build --release
  1. Record the performance data while running your binary, capturing the call graph.
sudo perf record -g -e instructions -- ./target/release/your_binary
  1. Generate a stack dump from the recorded data.
perf script | stackcollapse-perf.pl > out.stack
  1. Convert the stack dump into an SVG flamegraph.
flamegraph.pl out.stack > flamegraph.svg

Open flamegraph.svg in your browser to visualize the performance bottlenecks.