Python cProfile Filter [Complete Tutorial]

In Python, you can use the cProfile module to profile your code and measure its performance. cProfile provides a way to analyze the time and function calls in your Python program. If you want to filter the results of cProfile to focus on specific functions or modules, you can use the pstats module in combination with cProfile to achieve this.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to filter cProfile results:

  1. Import the necessary modules:
import cProfile
import pstatsCode language: Python (python)
  1. Profile your code using cProfile:
def your_function_to_profile():
    # Your code here

if __name__ == "__main__":
    cProfile.run("your_function_to_profile()", filename="profile_results")Code language: Python (python)

Replace your_function_to_profile with the function you want to profile.

  1. Generate a filtered report using pstats:
profiler = pstats.Stats("profile_results")
profiler.strip_dirs()  # Remove extraneous path information
profiler.sort_stats("cumulative")  # Sort the statistics by cumulative time

# You can filter the results using various methods. Here are some examples:

# 3.1. To print the top N functions by cumulative time:
profiler.print_stats(N)

# 3.2. To print statistics for a specific function:
profiler.print_stats("function_name")

# 3.3. To print statistics for functions in a specific module:
profiler.print_stats("module_name")

# 3.4. To print statistics for functions matching a regular expression pattern:
profiler.print_stats(re.compile("pattern"))

# You can also combine filters:
# profiler.print_stats(N, "module_name", re.compile("pattern"))
Code language: Python (python)

Replace "profile_results" with the filename you used in step 2. Replace "function_name", "module_name", or "pattern" with the specific function, module, or pattern you want to filter by. N represents the number of functions to display, and it can be an integer value.

By using these filtering techniques with pstats, you can focus on the parts of your code that matter most in terms of performance analysis. This can be especially helpful when dealing with large and complex codebases.

Filtering Out Irrelevant cProfile Output


When profiling your Python code with cProfile, you may want to filter out irrelevant output to focus on the most important information. One common approach is to use the cprofiler library, which extends the capabilities of cProfile and provides a way to easily filter and format the output. Here’s how you can use cprofiler to filter out irrelevant cProfile output:

  1. Install cprofiler if you haven’t already:
pip install cprofilerCode language: Python (python)
  1. Import the necessary modules:
import cprofilerCode language: Python (python)
  1. Decorate the functions you want to profile with the @cprofiler.profile decorator:
@cprofiler.profile
def your_function_to_profile():
    # Your code hereCode language: Python (python)
  1. Run your code with cProfile:
if __name__ == "__main__":
    your_function_to_profile()Code language: Python (python)
  1. Use the filtering options provided by cprofiler to focus on relevant information:

To display the top N functions by cumulative time:

cprofiler.print_stats(N)Code language: Python (python)

To filter by a specific function name:

cprofiler.print_stats(function_name="your_function_name")Code language: Python (python)

To filter by a specific module name:

cprofiler.print_stats(module_name="your_module_name")Code language: Python (python)

To filter by a regular expression pattern:

cprofiler.print_stats(pattern="your_pattern")Code language: Python (python)

You can use these filtering options to narrow down the output to the most relevant parts of your code. This makes it easier to identify performance bottlenecks and focus your optimization efforts where they are needed most.

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  • Abdullah Walied Allama

    Abdullah Walied Allama is a driven programmer who earned his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Alexandria University's Faculty of Computer and Data Science. He is passionate about constructing problem-solving models and excels in various technical skills, including Python, data science, data analysis, Java, SQL, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

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