Android Systrace -- Series Article Index

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 2019/05/26

Technical update — 2026-10-13: This page is dated 2019 and retains update records from earlier tutorials. The old Systrace tooling workflow is obsolete. Read historical screenshots, source code and experiments against the Android versions stated in each article; they do not describe every current implementation. Start with the Perfetto series below for current capture and analysis workflows.

As Systrace and Android changed, my earlier tutorials started to show their age. I had also learned to read more from a trace, which helped me solve performance problems. I wanted to write those things down and get better at explaining what I had learned. If the notes helped someone else too, all the better.

The purpose of this series is to view the overall operation of the Android system from a different perspective using Systrace, while also providing an alternative angle for learning the Framework. Perhaps you’ve read many articles about the Framework but can never remember the code, or you’re unclear about the execution flow. Maybe from Systrace’s graphical perspective, you can gain a deeper understanding.

Perfetto has essentially replaced Systrace in my daily work. Many newcomers to Android performance optimization find Perfetto’s busy interface and numerous features overwhelming. They have asked me to present the earlier Systrace articles using Perfetto. Android’s SDK Platform-Tools notes identify the old systrace tool as superseded. That does not mean ATrace instrumentation or kernel ftrace has been deprecated as well.

Read this index along two lines: the Systrace articles retain the Framework flows and case studies of their time; the Perfetto articles cover capture, viewing, search, SQL and large-trace analysis, alongside system mechanisms. Changing the viewer does not make the function names, thread relationships or timing in an old screenshot applicable to every newer system.

Getting Started Today: Tools and Versions

Entry point or capability	Version and scope
Legacy `systrace.py`	The historical workflow typically produces an HTML report. Do not assume a current Platform-Tools installation still contains the script at the old tutorial’s path.
System Tracing in Developer options	Available from Android 9 / API 28. Android 9 saves Systrace format (`.ctrace`); Android 10 / API 29 and later save Perfetto format (`.perfetto-trace`).
On-device `perfetto` and tracing services	Platform services exist from Android 9 and are enabled by default from Android 11 / API 30. Some Android 9 and 10 devices need an extra enabling step; check the official instructions and device support.
Perfetto UI and command-line analysis	The UI can display Perfetto and supported legacy Systrace formats; `trace_processor` supports local SQL analysis. A filename extension does not guarantee complete data.
FrameTimeline	Available from Android 12 / API 31, with its data source actually recorded. Opening an old trace in a new UI cannot add frame data that was never captured.

Version references: on-device System Tracing, Perfetto Android capture guide, and FrameTimeline. The current graphical recording tutorial assumes Android 11+; for older devices, use its command-line branch. See Recording system traces.

Start with Perfetto 1–3 and capture a short scenario, then follow the particular problem into MainThread, RenderThread, CPU or Binder analysis. Record the device, Android/ROM version, refresh rate, app version and trace configuration. Before naming a bottleneck, confirm that the relevant time range, threads and data sources are present. A missing track may reflect configuration, permissions, device support or lost data; it does not mean zero time was spent there.

App developers can start with the system’s capture tools. Experiments that modify Framework code, change Buffer configuration or enable privileged data sources require the appropriate system build and permissions. You do not need to modify the OS before learning to read a trace, and not every experiment from a platform development environment applies to a retail device.

Perfetto Series Index

Systrace Series Article Index

I’ll keep the series collected on this page as I add articles.

When migrating from the old Systrace series to the current Perfetto workflow, start with this mapping:

Systrace topic	Matching Perfetto articles
Introduction, prerequisites, capture and opening	Perfetto 1 / Perfetto 2 / Perfetto 3
Why 60 fps and high refresh rate	Perfetto 6
Choreographer, MainThread, RenderThread, jank analysis	Perfetto 5 / Perfetto 7
Vsync, SurfaceFlinger, Triple Buffer	Perfetto 8
CPU and thread states	Perfetto 9
Binder, lock contention, SystemServer waits	Perfetto 10
Startup, responsiveness and input-to-first-frame latency	Perfetto 18

2023-10 update:

Starting to prepare the Perfetto series (historical progress; published articles are listed above)

Target Audience

This series of articles is suitable for both application developers and system developers. I will consider both perspectives when writing. As a system developer, here are roughly my advantages:

Access to system source code, making it convenient to debug and modify code, and see results on the phone at any time
Certain understanding of the system framework
Certain understanding of system tuning

That background lets me cover a few things from the system developer’s side:

Learning Android Framework through Systrace
Modifying certain system configurations to show everyone the results: for example, the impact of Buffer count on applications
Introducing considerations and trade-offs that system manufacturers make when building systems
Introducing important but often overlooked points during application development

Update Log

The historical update records are retained below; their dates do not always match the dates in current article URLs.

The plan is to update one article per week, giving myself a goal and accountability.

2018-03-30 Index update: Systrace Series Article Index
2018-04-01 Article update: Systrace Basics - Why 60 fps?
2019-07-23 Article update: Systrace Basics - Systrace Prerequisites
2019-10-22 Article update: Systrace Basics - Vsync-App: Detailed Explanation of Choreographer-Based Rendering Mechanism
2019-11-04 Article update: Systrace Basics - Input Explained
2019-11-06 Article update: Systrace Basics - MainThread and RenderThread Explained
2019-12-01 Article update: Systrace Basics - Vsync Explained
2019-12-06 Article update: Systrace Basics - Binder and Lock Contention Explained
2019-12-15 Article update: Systrace Basics - Triple Buffer Explained
2019-12-21 Article update: Systrace Basics - CPU Info Explained
2020-02-04 Article update: Systrace Basics - SystemServer Explained
2020-02-14 Article update: Systrace Basics - SurfaceFlinger Explained
2021-04-24 Article update: Systrace Smoothness Practice 1: Understanding Jank Principles
2021-04-24 Article update: Systrace Smoothness Practice 2: Case Analysis - MIUI Launcher Scroll Jank Analysis
2021-04-24 Article update: Systrace Smoothness Practice 3: Questions During Jank Analysis
2021-10-28 Article update: Systrace Response Speed Practice 1: Understanding Response Speed Principles
2021-10-28 Article update: Systrace Response Speed Practice 2: Response Speed Analysis - Using App Startup as an Example
2021-10-28 Article update: Systrace Response Speed Practice 3: Extended Knowledge on Response Speed

About Me && Blog

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