{"id":13586,"date":"2025-11-10T07:50:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T07:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bacancytechnology.com\/qanda\/?p=13586"},"modified":"2025-11-12T09:59:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T09:59:17","slug":"how-to-use-dotnet-trace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bacancytechnology.com\/qanda\/dot-net\/how-to-use-dotnet-trace","title":{"rendered":"How to Use dotnet-trace for .NET Performance Analysis?"},"content":{"rendered":"

dotnet-trace is a cross-platform performance tracing tool <\/strong>for .NET applications.
\nIt allows developers to collect runtime diagnostic data, such as CPU usage, garbage collection (GC) events, exceptions, thread activity, and performance counters, without needing Visual Studio or Windows-specific tools.<\/p>\n

Step 1: Install dotnet-trace<\/h2>\n
Install the tool globally using .NET CLI:\r\ndotnet tool install --global dotnet-trace\r\n\r\nVerify installation:\r\ndotnet-trace --version<\/pre>\n
Step 2: Collect a Trace<\/h2>\n
You can start tracing a running .NET process using:<\/p>\n
dotnet-trace collect --process-id <PID><\/pre>\n
Or directly start and trace a new application:<\/p>\n
dotnet-trace collect -- dotnet run<\/pre>\n
The tool generates a .nettrace file containing all performance data.<\/p>\n
Step 3: Convert or Analyze Trace<\/h2>\n
To analyze or convert the trace file for visualization:<\/p>\n
dotnet-trace convert trace.nettrace --format speedscope<\/pre>\n
Then open it in tools like Speedscope or PerfView.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Step 4: Understanding \u201c?!?\u201d in dotnet-trace Dump<\/h2>\n
When you view a dotnet-trace dump or trace log, you might see entries containing: ?!?<\/p>\n
Meaning:<\/b><\/h3>\n
?!? indicates that symbol resolution failed<\/b>, which means the tool couldn\u2019t determine the exact method or function name being executed at that point in the trace.<\/p>\n
This typically happens when:<\/p>\n