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perfetto-mcp-rs

An MCP server that lets LLMs analyze Perfetto traces. Point Claude Code (or any MCP client) at a trace file (.pftrace / .perfetto-trace / .bin / … — content-sniffed) and ask in plain language. The server runs PerfettoSQL under the hood, backed by trace_processor_shell — downloaded automatically on first run, no manual Perfetto install required.

Dedicated tools ship curated SQL; for custom analysis the agent writes PerfettoSQL — steered toward the right stdlib modules.

Quick start

You drive perfetto-mcp-rs through an MCP client (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex, Cursor, …) — install one first if you don't have it.

1. Install — downloads the prebuilt binary and, if Claude Code and/or Codex are present, registers the MCP server automatically:

# Linux / macOS / Windows (Git Bash, MSYS2, Cygwin)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tooluse-labs/perfetto-mcp-rs/main/install.sh | sh
# Windows (PowerShell)
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tooluse-labs/perfetto-mcp-rs/main/install.ps1 | iex

Restart Claude Code (or start a new Codex session) to pick it up. Homebrew, Cargo, project scope, direct-binary download, and manual registration are under Install options.

2. Ask in plain language:

Load ~/traces/scroll_jank.pftrace and tell me the top scroll-jank causes.

Swap in any Perfetto trace you have — captured from the Perfetto UI, chrome://tracing, or record_android_trace.

The agent calls load_trace, sees it's a Chrome trace, and reaches for the dedicated chrome_scroll_jank_summary tool — no SQL to hand-write. When a question falls outside the dedicated tools, it drops down to execute_sql with raw PerfettoSQL on the same trace.

Works best with agentic clients (Claude Code, Codex, Claude Desktop, Cursor) that chain multi-turn tool calls and follow the server's error-message nudges. Non-agentic clients see the same tools and error nudges, but won't chain the guided flow automatically.

Related MCP server: mcp-server-logs-sieve

Tools

For one trace, other tools act on the most recently loaded trace by default. For multiple traces, call load_trace with paths, keep the returned trace_id for each file, and pass the intended id to every trace-bound tool call.

MCP tool annotations are client-facing intent and safety hints, not server-side authorization or execution boundaries.

Essential

Tool

Purpose

load_trace

Open one trace with path, or several with paths; returns an opaque trace_id and lightweight routing summary for each file (type/profile, duration, platform, process/thread counts, capabilities, redaction policy, recommended next tools)

execute_sql

Run a PerfettoSQL query (max 5000 returned rows). Prefer the dedicated chrome_* / list_* tools for standard analyses; use this for custom joins or aggregations they don't expose. Output shaping: head/limit, summary, columns_only, include_row_count, max_string_len. Sensitive URL/header/cookie/path values redacted by default

Exploration

Tool

Purpose

list_tables

List tables/views in the loaded trace, optional GLOB filter

list_table_structure

Show column names and types for a table

list_processes

List processes (pid, name, start/end timestamps)

list_threads_in_process

List threads under a process name (up to 2000)

slice_descendants_breakdown

Summarize child slices under a long slice id without hand-writing recursive CTEs

list_stdlib_modules

List PerfettoSQL stdlib modules, optional domain / query / limit filters (no trace needed)

Chrome traces — dedicated tools so the agent doesn't hand-roll SQL. Each flags row/string truncation in its metadata.

Tool

Purpose

chrome_scroll_jank_summary

Worst janky frames with cause, sub-cause, delay_since_last_frame

chrome_page_load_summary

Page loads: URL, raw boundary timestamps, FCP, LCP, DCL, load timings (ms)

chrome_page_load_resource_summary

Compact URL-level resource/request summary for page-load windows, ranked by max overlap with normalized origin, navigation/renderer relatedness, and attribution-scope evidence

chrome_page_load_resource_pipeline

One URL's lifecycle/request spans joined with background parse, script evaluation, and style/layout signals, plus an evidence boundary for DNS/TLS/TTFB/cache/download hypotheses

chrome_page_load_resource_hotspots

URL-bearing resource/request slices on thread, process, and async tracks ranked by page-load/window overlap, with process/thread identity where available

chrome_page_load_script_hotspots

Renderer main-thread script execution grouped by URL/slice/process within a page-load/window, with style/layout descendant signals

chrome_main_thread_hotspots

Top main-thread tasks by duration with ts, upid/pid, cpu_pct, and optional page-load/time-window filters

chrome_startup_summary

Browser startup events and time-to-first-visible-content

chrome_web_content_interactions

Web content interactions (clicks, taps, INP) ranked by duration

Resources

Resource

Purpose

resource://perfetto-mcp/stdlib-quickref

On-demand PerfettoSQL stdlib quick reference for Chrome, Android, and generic traces

Analyzing a trace

The right path depends on the trace type:

  • Chrome traces — load_trace → dedicated chrome_* tools → execute_sql for deeper cuts on the returned rows. For slow FCP/load, check chrome_page_load_resource_summary first, then chrome_page_load_resource_pipeline for one slow URL or chrome_page_load_resource_hotspots for slice drilldown, before interpreting main-thread ResourceLoad* slices as full request time. The summary's resource_timing_evidence says whether DNS/TLS/TTFB/download/cache phase hints exist; keep conclusions at URL lifecycle-span level when phase breakdown is absent. Use chrome_page_load_script_hotspots for post-resource JS and style/layout work, and slice_descendants_breakdown on a long task id for its child-slice breakdown.

  • Other traces (Android, generic) — load_trace → list_stdlib_modules (or read resource://perfetto-mcp/stdlib-quickref) to check for a ready-made module first (Android, generic modules like slices.with_context), then run it via execute_sql + INCLUDE PERFETTO MODULE. No module fits? Fall back to list_tables / list_table_structure for schema discovery, then execute_sql.

Analyzing multiple traces

Load comparison targets together with load_trace(paths=[...]). The response returns one stable trace_id per file. Run the same trace-bound tool for each id (concurrently when the MCP client supports parallel tool calls), then compare the returned evidence. Calls without trace_id remain backward compatible and use the most recently loaded trace. If a loaded file changes on disk, its old id is rejected with an explicit instruction to reload it.

Privacy — tool results enter the LLM context, and real traces can hold URLs, headers, cookies, and local paths. execute_sql and the dedicated Chrome tools mask sensitive user and credential-like values by default while keeping the diagnostic structure visible. For raw forensic work, start the server with PERFETTO_MCP_REDACT_STRINGS_DEFAULT=false; load_trace reports the active policy in its summary.

Precision — dedicated Chrome tools preserve full string cells by default. Use max_string_len only when you explicitly want to trade detail for a smaller response.

Under the hood: dedicated tool vs. raw SQL

The scroll-jank question above resolves to a single chrome_scroll_jank_summary call — no SQL to write. When you need a cut the dedicated tools don't expose, the agent drops to execute_sql with PerfettoSQL; the same breakdown by hand:

INCLUDE PERFETTO MODULE chrome.scroll_jank.scroll_jank_v3;
SELECT cause_of_jank, COUNT(*) AS n
FROM chrome_janky_frames
GROUP BY cause_of_jank
ORDER BY n DESC;

Configuration

Server settings are read at startup; when both a CLI flag and environment variable exist, the CLI flag wins.

Setting (flag / env)

Default

Effect

PERFETTO_TP_PATH

—

Path to an existing trace_processor_shell binary; skips auto-download

--startup-timeout-ms / PERFETTO_STARTUP_TIMEOUT_MS

20000

Max time to wait for a spawned trace_processor_shell to become ready (ms)

--query-timeout-ms / PERFETTO_QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS

30000

HTTP timeout for /status and /query requests (ms)

--max-instances

3

Maximum idle trace_processor_shell processes retained in the LRU; active instances stay registered until their queries finish

--max-active-instances

10

Maximum active trace_processor_shell instances; requests for additional distinct traces wait for a semaphore permit

--span-timings / PERFETTO_MCP_SPAN_TIMINGS

off

Emit tracing span-close timings for performance hotspot diagnosis (1 / true / yes / on)

--artifacts-base-url / PERFETTO_ARTIFACTS_BASE_URL

LUCI bucket

Override the trace_processor_shell download source on a cache miss (mirror/proxy; same pinned version)

PERFETTO_MCP_REDACT_STRINGS_DEFAULT

true

Mask sensitive URL/header/cookie/path strings in tool output; set false for raw forensic work

PERFETTO_MCP_FULL_TRACE_FINGERPRINT

off

Use full-file SHA-256 for trace cache identity instead of head/middle/tail sampling (1 / true / yes / on)

RUST_LOG

—

tracing-subscriber filter, e.g. RUST_LOG=debug for verbose logs (written to stderr)

Install options

Package managers — if you'd rather not run the install script:

# macOS / Linux via Homebrew
brew tap tooluse-labs/tap
brew install perfetto-mcp-rs
# brew prints caveats; run the printed line to register with Claude Code / Codex:
perfetto-mcp-rs install --binary-path "$(brew --prefix)/bin/perfetto-mcp-rs"

# Rust developers via cargo
cargo install --locked perfetto-mcp-rs
perfetto-mcp-rs install --binary-path "$(which perfetto-mcp-rs)"

If Qoder is detected during a script install, the installer prints a paste-ready JSON snippet (Qoder has no programmatic MCP-registration API yet — open Qoder Settings → MCP → + Add and paste).

Claude scope — registration defaults to --scope user (available from any directory). For a project-local install, set SCOPE=local (or project) and run the script from that project's directory:

SCOPE=local bash -c 'curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tooluse-labs/perfetto-mcp-rs/main/install.sh | sh'

PowerShell equivalent: $env:SCOPE = 'local'; irm ... | iex. Codex has no scope concept and ignores this variable.

Direct binary — supported platforms: linux amd64/arm64, macOS amd64/arm64, Windows amd64. Grab the binary from the releases page. Release assets are named perfetto-mcp-rs-<platform> (e.g. perfetto-mcp-rs-linux-amd64); rename or address the downloaded file explicitly when invoking install, and on Unix mark it executable first (chmod +x) — the subcommand refuses non-executable paths to avoid writing a broken MCP entry. Example:

# Linux amd64 example — adjust the asset name for your platform.
curl -fsSL -o perfetto-mcp-rs \
  https://github.com/tooluse-labs/perfetto-mcp-rs/releases/latest/download/perfetto-mcp-rs-linux-amd64
chmod +x perfetto-mcp-rs
./perfetto-mcp-rs install --scope user --binary-path "$PWD/perfetto-mcp-rs"

Manual MCP client configuration — if the installer's auto-registration doesn't apply to your client.

Codex:

codex mcp add perfetto-rs -- /absolute/path/to/perfetto-mcp-rs

JSON-based clients (e.g. Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perfetto-rs": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/perfetto-mcp-rs"
    }
  }
}

Upgrade & uninstall

Upgrade — run the update subcommand:

perfetto-mcp-rs update

It pulls the latest release, safely overwrites the existing binary (with Windows file-lock retry), and re-registers the MCP server with Claude Code / Codex idempotently. No auto-update daemon — upgrades are explicit.

Pin to a specific version with the --version flag:

perfetto-mcp-rs update --version v0.7.0

For Claude local/project registrations, re-run from the original project directory and pass the same scope:

perfetto-mcp-rs update --scope local

The raw installer one-liners still work if you prefer to drive upgrades manually or need installer-specific environment overrides.

The VERSION env var also works, but must come immediately before sh (POSIX VAR=value cmd only scopes to the next command — VERSION=v0.7.0 curl ... | sh puts VERSION on curl, not on the piped sh):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tooluse-labs/perfetto-mcp-rs/main/install.sh | VERSION=v0.7.0 sh

PowerShell — set $env:VERSION in the same line, since iex runs in the current session:

$env:VERSION = 'v0.7.0'; irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tooluse-labs/perfetto-mcp-rs/main/install.ps1 | iex

Check for updates:

perfetto-mcp-rs check-update

Exits 0 if up to date (or ahead of releases — local dev build), 2 if a newer release exists, 1 on network or parse error. Useful for shell-prompt integrations and CI pre-checks. If it reports a newer release, run perfetto-mcp-rs update.

Uninstall — symmetric one-liner per platform. Deregisters from Claude Code and Codex, removes the binary, and deletes the cached trace_processor_shell. Idempotent — safe to run if any step was already done by hand.

# Linux / macOS / Windows (Git Bash, MSYS2, Cygwin)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tooluse-labs/perfetto-mcp-rs/main/uninstall.sh | sh
# Windows (PowerShell) — close Claude Code, Codex, or anything else using the .exe first
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tooluse-labs/perfetto-mcp-rs/main/uninstall.ps1 | iex

Scoped installs (local / project) — claude stores local/project entries keyed by project directory, so uninstall must use the same SCOPE AND run from that directory. Omitting this leaves the scoped Claude entry behind while the wrapper still removes the binary and cache:

# Ran `SCOPE=local bash install.sh` in ~/work/foo earlier? Then:
cd ~/work/foo
SCOPE=local bash -c 'curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tooluse-labs/perfetto-mcp-rs/main/uninstall.sh | sh'

PowerShell equivalent: cd <original-project-dir>; $env:SCOPE = 'local'; irm ... | iex.

$INSTALL_DIR (default ~/.local/bin) is not removed from your PATH:

  • Linux / macOS — the installer only prints a PATH hint; if you added it to your shell rc, remove that line manually.

  • Windows — the installer writes $INSTALL_DIR into your user PATH (HKCU\Environment); remove it via System Properties → Environment Variables if you want it gone.

Other tools may still depend on this directory, which is why uninstall leaves it in place.

Build from source

Requires a Rust toolchain and protoc (Protocol Buffers compiler):

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install -y protobuf-compiler
# macOS
brew install protobuf
# Windows
choco install protoc

Then:

git clone https://github.com/tooluse-labs/perfetto-mcp-rs
cd perfetto-mcp-rs
cargo build --release
# Binary at target/release/perfetto-mcp-rs

Development:

cargo test          # unit tests
cargo clippy        # lint
cargo fmt           # format

License

Dual-licensed under either of Apache License, Version 2.0 or MIT license at your option. Contributions are accepted under the same terms.

Available Tools

17 tools
chrome_main_thread_hotspotsA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Top Chrome main-thread tasks by wall duration: id, ts, name, task_type, thread_name, process_name, upid, pid, nullable machine_id, dur_ms, overlap_dur_ms, full_task_cpu_pct/full_task_thread_dur_ms, overlap_cpu_pct/overlap_thread_dur_ms; legacy cpu_pct/thread_dur_ms are full-task. Uses chrome.tasks, thread.is_main_thread = 1, and Chrome's Cr*Main fallback. Pass a returned id to slice_descendants_breakdown for child-slice breakdowns.

Use when: investigating responsiveness, scroll/load stalls, CPU vs wall time, or one renderer.

Don't use for: non-Chrome traces (will error). For background (non-main) thread tasks, drop to execute_sql against chrome.tasks directly.

Parameters (all optional):

  • process_name / pid / machine_id / upid: scope to one process/type. Prefer upid; add machine_id to disambiguate multi-machine pids. All filters AND.

  • page_load_id / navigation_id / phase: scope to a page-load window. IDs match chrome_page_loads.id and .navigation_id respectively and are mutually exclusive. phase: navigation_to_fcp, navigation_to_load, dcl_to_fcp, fcp_to_load. If an id is set without phase, defaults to navigation_to_fcp; phase-only uses the latest page load.

  • start_ts_ns / end_ts_ns: raw trace timestamp bounds in nanoseconds (end_ts_ns exclusive); aliases start_ts / end_ts are accepted; intersect page-load windows. overlap_dur_ms is clipped to that window.

  • min_dur_ms: minimum full-task duration, or clipped overlap duration when a window is set. Defaults to 16 ms. Pass 0 for all positive-overlap tasks.

  • limit: max rows (default 100, capped at 5000). Must be > 0 if set.

  • max_string_len: optional cap for returned string cells. Unset preserves full strings for precision. Must be > 0 if set.

Output: metadata-first JSON preserving columns / rows; truncated=true means an extra-row probe found more rows; string_truncated=true means cell text was shortened.

Empty result: no detected main-thread tasks exceeded min_dur_ms at the selected process/window threshold, or the trace uses non-standard main-thread names outside the Cr*Main fallback.

Inputs: pid, upid, limit, phase, +9 more.

chrome_page_load_resource_hotspotsA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Rank URL-bearing Chrome resource/request slices in a page-load/raw window. Returns timing, overlap, process/thread/machine_id, URL. Use after chrome_page_load_resource_summary to drill into slow URL slices. Filters: page_load/window, min_dur_ms default 50, limit, max_string_len. slice_duration_status='incomplete_duration' means dur=-1; overlap is measured to window end or trace_end().

Inputs: limit, phase, trace_id, end_ts_ns, +5 more.

chrome_page_load_resource_pipelineA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Drill into one Chrome page-load resource URL and join lifecycle/request spans with script/style/layout signals. Use after chrome_page_load_resource_summary with example_slice_id or url_substring. Returns timing facts, match evidence, resource ends, primary/detail slice evidence (detail is not a root-cause claim), URL/ancestor-correlated resource result source/hit, machine-id sets, incomplete count, and evidence_boundary. Parameters: URL seed required; optional window filters, url_grouping, limit default 30, max_string_len.

Inputs: limit, phase, trace_id, end_ts_ns, +7 more.

chrome_page_load_resource_summaryA
Read-onlyIdempotent

URL-level Chrome resource/request summary for a page-load/raw window. Returns URL key, process/machine/priority sets, span, max/summed overlap, primary/detail slice evidence (detail is not a root-cause claim), navigation/renderer relation including target_renderer_source, example_slice_id, incomplete_duration_slice_count. Use before chrome_page_load_resource_hotspots; rank by max overlap.

Inputs: limit, phase, trace_id, end_ts_ns, +6 more.

chrome_page_load_script_hotspotsA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Rank renderer main-thread script groups in a Chrome page-load/raw window: URL/name/process/thread/machine_id, wall/CPU totals, style/layout ms, example_slice_id. Read-only.

Use when: slow FCP/load needs post-resource JS attribution; expand example_slice_id with slice_descendants_breakdown.

Parameters: optional process filters (process_name/pid/machine_id/upid), page-load/window filters shared with chrome_main_thread_hotspots, min_total_ms (default 20), limit, max_string_len. Empty result: no matching script groups.

Inputs: pid, upid, limit, phase, +9 more.

chrome_page_load_summaryA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Summarize each page navigation in a Chrome trace: navigation id, URL, raw boundary timestamps, FCP / LCP / DCL / load timings in ms. Read-only.

Use when: comparing page-load timings across navigations, finding slow loads, baselining web-vitals before/after a change. Prefer over hand-joining chrome.page_loads — schema is already correct.

Don't use for: non-Chrome traces (will error). For sub-event timings inside one navigation, drop to execute_sql against the chrome.page_loads module.

Parameters: optional limit (default 100, capped at 5000) and max_string_len. Operates on the loaded trace.

Output: metadata-first JSON; row_count exact; truncated=true means more rows exist; string_truncated=true means shortened text.

Empty result: no navigations occurred during capture (e.g. trace started after the page was already loaded).

Inputs: limit, trace_id, max_string_len.

chrome_scroll_jank_summaryA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Summarize the worst scroll jank frames in a Chrome trace: cause_of_jank, sub_cause_of_jank, delay_since_last_frame, event_latency_id, scroll_id, vsync_interval. One row per janky frame, sorted by delay_since_last_frame DESC. Read-only.

Use when: investigating jank reports, finding scroll regressions, ranking jank causes. Prefer over hand-rolling SQL on chrome.scroll_jank.scroll_jank_v3 — same data, less code.

Don't use for: non-Chrome traces (will error). For custom filters, use execute_sql against the same view.

Parameters: optional limit (default 100, capped at 5000) and max_string_len. Operates on the loaded trace.

Output: metadata-first JSON; row_count exact; truncated=true means more rows exist; string_truncated=true means shortened text.

Empty result: no janky frames detected (clean trace) or no scrolls occurred during capture.

Inputs: limit, trace_id, max_string_len.

chrome_startup_summaryA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Summarize Chrome browser startup events: id, name, launch_cause, startup_duration_ms (first_visible_content_ts - startup_begin_ts), browser_upid. Read-only.

Use when: measuring time-to-first-visible-content for cold starts, comparing launch causes (NEW_WINDOW vs CMD_LINE vs RESTORE_SESSION), regressing startup performance.

Don't use for: non-Chrome traces (will error). Browser-process work during steady state is covered by chrome_main_thread_hotspots.

Parameters: optional limit (default 100, capped at 5000) and max_string_len. Operates on the loaded trace.

Output: metadata-first JSON; row_count exact; truncated=true means more rows exist; string_truncated=true means shortened text.

Empty result: trace started after the browser was already running (most cases — startup is captured only when tracing began before launch).

Inputs: limit, trace_id, max_string_len.

chrome_web_content_interactionsA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Rank Chrome web content interactions by total_duration_ms: id, ts, total_duration_ms, longest_event_dur_ms, interaction_type, renderer_upid. Read-only.

Use when: INP analysis, reproducing user-felt latency, finding slow click/tap/keyboard handlers.

Don't use for: non-Chrome traces (will error). For interactions filtered by interaction_type, drop to execute_sql against chrome.web_content_interactions.

Parameters: optional limit (default 100, capped at 5000) and max_string_len. Operates on the loaded trace.

Output: metadata-first JSON; row_count exact; truncated=true means more rows exist; string_truncated=true means shortened text.

Empty result: no interactions captured (trace started before user input or interaction tracking was disabled in tracing config).

Inputs: limit, trace_id, max_string_len.

execute_sqlA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Run a PerfettoSQL query against the loaded trace and return rows as columnar JSON. Read-only against trace data; SQLite operates in-memory per session. Aggregates are strongly preferred over raw row data; results are capped at 5000 rows.

Use when: composing analyses not covered by the dedicated tools — custom aggregations, joins across stdlib modules, or queries against base tables (slice, thread, process, sched).

Don't use for: questions the dedicated chrome_* tools answer — they return the same data with the JOIN shape already correct. Don't hand-roll slice scans with LIKE '%x%' patterns when a stdlib module covers the data; INCLUDE PERFETTO MODULE chrome.tasks is faster and the joins are pre-baked.

Parameters: sql is a single PerfettoSQL statement (the INCLUDE PERFETTO MODULE foo; and SELECT ... can be in the same call). Optional output shaping (head/limit, columns_only, summary, include_row_count, max_string_len) only changes what this tool returns; it does not rewrite the SQL. Blob cells render as blob:hex:<hex>. String results may be redacted by the server privacy policy before they are returned, preserving diagnostic structure while masking sensitive URL/header/cookie/path values. Requires load_trace to have run first.

Empty rows means the query matched nothing — distinct from a SQL error, which is returned as an error string with a hint pointing at the most likely cause (missing module, missing column, missing table).

Reference docs (fetch when you need exact column names or function signatures): https://perfetto.dev/docs/analysis/stdlib-docs (24 stdlib packages — chrome / android / sched / slices / linux / wattson / v8 / ...; use per-package anchors like #package-chrome), https://perfetto.dev/docs/analysis/perfetto-sql-syntax (syntax).

Inputs: sql (required), head, limit, summary, +4 more.

list_processesA
Read-onlyIdempotent

List every process captured in the trace: upid (trace-internal id), pid, machine_id, name, start_ts, end_ts. Read-only.

Use when: entry point for Android and Linux trace analysis, or picking the right pid/upid to feed into list_threads_in_process or chrome_main_thread_hotspots.

Don't use for: Chrome traces — the dedicated chrome_* tools answer most common questions without process-level navigation.

Parameters: none — operates on the loaded trace.

Empty result: rare; would mean the trace captured no process metadata at all.

Errors when: no trace is loaded — call load_trace first.

Inputs: trace_id.

list_stdlib_modulesA
Read-onlyIdempotent

List curated PerfettoSQL stdlib modules as JSON entries with domain, module, views, description, and usage. Use when choosing an INCLUDE PERFETTO MODULE ... target; no trace has to be loaded.

Optional filters: domain (chrome, android, generic), query (case-insensitive search over module/view/description), and limit. For longer guidance, read resource://perfetto-mcp/stdlib-quickref.

Inputs: limit, query, domain.

list_tablesA
Read-onlyIdempotent

List tables and views in the loaded trace. Read-only.

Use when: exploring an unfamiliar trace or verifying a table exists before writing SQL. Underlying SQL engine is SQLite, so the catalog tables common in other SQL engines aren't present — this MCP tool is the schema introspection path.

Don't use for: queries against known stdlib modules — go straight to execute_sql with INCLUDE PERFETTO MODULE. Don't reference this tool name inside SQL; it's a separate MCP tool, not a SQL function — call it via the tool API.

Parameters: optional pattern — SQLite GLOB filter (e.g. chrome_* for chrome stdlib views, slice* for the slice table family). Without it, internal stdlib tables (_*) are hidden.

Empty result: no tables matched. For stdlib views, run execute_sql with INCLUDE PERFETTO MODULE ... first; otherwise retry an explicit pattern for internal tables.

Errors when: no trace is loaded — call load_trace first.

Inputs: pattern, trace_id.

list_table_structureA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Show the columns of a table or view: name, type, nullability, primary_key flag.

Use when: writing or debugging a query — call this immediately after a no such column error to inspect the actual schema rather than guessing. Both stdlib views and base tables have fixed schemas; don't infer columns by analogy across them.

Don't use for: this is a separate MCP tool, not a SQL function — don't write SELECT * FROM list_table_structure inside execute_sql.

Parameters: table_name (string) — the exact table or view name as it appears in list_tables output. Case-sensitive; does not accept GLOB patterns or partial matches. Also accepts the alias name (v0.11.3+).

Errors when: the table doesn't exist or has no columns. Call list_tables first; stdlib views may need an INCLUDE first.

Inputs: table_name (required), trace_id.

list_threads_in_processA
Read-onlyIdempotent

List threads in one process or same-named process set: tid, thread_name, pid, upid, machine_id. Limit 2000, cap 5000.

Use when: drilling into a process from list_processes.

Don't use for: ALL trace threads — use execute_sql on thread.

Parameters: pass either upid (trace-internal id, precise — prefer when multiple processes share a name like 'Renderer') or process_name (exact match). upid wins when both are set. Optional limit and offset page large result sets; both accept numbers or numeric strings.

Output: exact row_count, returned_rows, truncated/has_more; rows are ordered by pid/tid. process_counts reports per-upid counts for same-name fan-out.

Empty result: returned as an error pointing at list_processes for available candidates.

When truncated=true, increase offset or drill down with upid.

Inputs: upid, limit, offset, trace_id, +1 more.

load_traceA
Idempotent

Load one or more local Perfetto trace files and return routing summaries plus trace_id handles. Other tools use the active trace by default; pass trace_id to analyze a specific loaded trace after loading more.

Use when: starting any analysis session — call this first.

Don't use for: live capture or streaming URLs; paths must be complete local trace files.

Parameters: pass path for one trace or paths for a batch. Calling again makes the last loaded path the active default; cached trace processors make repeat loads cheap unless the file fingerprint changed.

Errors when: the file doesn't exist, isn't a valid Perfetto trace, trace_processor fails to parse it, or the binary cannot be downloaded.

Inputs: path, paths.

slice_descendants_breakdownA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Recursive child-slice expansion under known slice.id roots, aggregated as a bounded breakdown per (depth, name) group. Use to drill into a long task — after chrome_main_thread_hotspots or execute_sql returns a slice id — without hand-writing WITH RECURSIVE CTEs over slice.parent_id. Required: slice_ids. Optional bounds: min_dur_ms, max_depth, limit, include_args, max_string_len. The response echoes summary_scope, applied_filters, and missing_root_ids (missing root slice ids). Returned columns: root_id, depth, name, slice_count, inclusive_total_ms (do not sum across depths), self_ms (direct-child time subtracted, clamped at zero), max_ms, first_ts_ns (raw nanoseconds, not ms), example_slice_id (longest-duration descendant per group), and optionally example_args. incomplete_descendant_count counts dur<0 descendants excluded from duration aggregates.

Inputs: slice_ids (required), limit, trace_id, max_depth, +3 more.

Tool Schema Changelog

Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

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    TDQS

    A4.4/5.0

    Scored across 17 tools

    Disambiguation4/5

    Most tools have distinct purposes (page-load summaries, resource hotspots, main-thread hotspots, scroll jank, startup, interactions). However, `chrome_page_load_resource_summary`, `chrome_page_load_resource_hotspots`, and `chrome_page_load_resource_pipeline` all deal with resource URL analysis and could be confused, though their descriptions clarify the intended sequence (summary → hotspots → pipeline). The generic `execute_sql` and `list_*` tools are clearly separate.

    Naming Consistency5/5

    All tools follow a consistent snake_case pattern with a clear domain prefix: `chrome_*` for Chrome-specific analysis, `list_*` for exploration, `execute_sql`, `load_trace`, `slice_descendants_breakdown`. Verbs are uniform (list, load, execute, chrome_page_load_*, chrome_main_thread_*) and the naming clearly indicates the tool's function.

    Tool Count4/5

    17 tools is on the higher side but justified for a comprehensive Perfetto trace analysis server covering Chrome performance domains (page loads, resources, main thread, jank, startup, interactions) plus general SQL and schema exploration. Each tool serves a distinct purpose, and the count reflects the breadth of the domain without being bloated.

    Completeness4/5

    The tool set covers major Chrome performance analysis workflows (page loads, resources, main-thread tasks, scroll jank, startup, web interactions) plus generic trace exploration (processes, threads, tables, SQL). Minor gaps exist: no dedicated tool for memory or CPU profile analysis, and the resource pipeline depends on the summary/hotspots sequence, but `execute_sql` covers custom needs.

    Maintenance

    ActivityInactive
    ResponsivenessOutdated data

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