How to install "perf" monitoring tool?

Question

How do I install the perf monitoring tool?

notpeter · Answer 1 · 2021-05-08T13:28:30.850

162

On Ubuntu I had to install three packages:

apt-get install linux-tools-common linux-tools-generic linux-tools-`uname -r`

edited May 08 '21 at 13:28

answered Jan 28 '15 at 00:49

notpeter

1,749

9

When I tried it, just using sudo apt-get install linux-tools-common linux-tools-generic (skipping the part, which depends on the kernel version) was sufficient. – Martin R. Jun 29 '15 at 22:17
9

@Martin-R linux-tools-generic always points at the tools for the most up to date kernel version. When running an older kernel (e.g. a server with a couple months uptime) if you want perf without rebooting to the newer kernel you have to explicitly install the tools paired with that kernel (hence the uname -r shell expansion). – notpeter Jun 30 '15 at 06:09
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get -y install linux-tools-common linux-tools-generic linux-tools-uname -r – dylanninin Jun 19 '16 at 03:10
4

sudo apt install linux-tools-generic on ubuntu 18.04 – huangli Feb 03 '20 at 09:17
2

E: Unable to locate package linux-tools-5.5.* what can be done to run perf on kernel 5.5? – txs Feb 05 '22 at 01:04
I too kept getting the "Unable to locate package linux-tools-..." message and nothing helped me fix it until i followed the first part of this answer and then came back to this answer and tried it again – MilesStanfield Dec 25 '23 at 16:09
this works for an aws instance also. – Krishna Mar 08 '24 at 13:14

score 110 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 16 '15 at 18:10

110

The perf utility can be found in the linux-tools package.

edited Oct 16 '15 at 18:10

abcd

443

answered Jun 23 '11 at 05:13

James Henstridge

42,106

19

You also probably want to install linux-tools-generic since it includes kernel modules that perf interacts with. – Allen Sep 06 '14 at 21:59
1

Yep @Allen linux-tools-generic was what I needed! – jerome Mar 24 '16 at 15:00
Also, if (like me) you have HWE installed, you'll need to install linux-tools-generic-hwe-$version (linux-tools-generic-hwe-20.04 is what I have currently). – pizzapants184 Mar 08 '22 at 02:15
Or can you? Not right now it seems:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-hwe-6.14/+bug/2117147?comments=all
– Moberg Aug 20 '25 at 06:38

score 44 · Answer 3 · edited Nov 19 '20 at 10:55

44

To get the latest version of perf irrespective of the kernel version (perf version is independent of the kernel version):

git clone --depth 1 https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git
cd linux/tools/perf
make
cp perf /usr/bin

perf --version to check the current version

edited Nov 19 '20 at 10:55

Community

1

answered Apr 04 '16 at 19:16

bodha

541

3

Build deps for reference apt-get install build-essential git flex bison – Matthias Kuhn Aug 24 '21 at 11:01
2

This is the right answer if your using a newer kenel. All the answer referring to using dpkg, and apt downloads are dependent on if dpkg repos have access to perf based on your kernel version. Running the latest Ubuntu image 21.04 with a kernel of 5.11, perf does "install" after using dpkg to download, however when trying to run perf -h you will be prompted with WARNING: perf not found for kernel 5.11.0-41 (or which ever newer kernel you have that perf is not apart of). Had to literally compile the tool from linux-tools manually. – Dave Feb 08 '22 at 15:26
that worked to install - but it seems to be installing a different version - it doesn't support perf trace – stason Apr 04 '23 at 05:10
@stason what is the expected version, what is it installing ? – bodha Apr 04 '23 at 10:00
it's installing 6.3.x as of this writing. it looks like v6 dropped trace, it's there in v5.
I also very much doubt that v6 perf would work on kernel 5.x.

may be could add to your answer to suggest to check that the same major version is used as the actual kernel?
– stason Apr 04 '23 at 17:02

score 43 · Answer 4 · edited Apr 05 '23 at 04:11

Make sure you are installing this tool for the right Kernel release. If you just type:

sudo apt-get install linux-tools

It will install it for the latest Linux release in your machine and in case you are booting a previous version (say for stability reason), it will err. In my case it installed for .45 instead of .43 and I had to use the following command to install it:

sudo apt-get install linux-tools-3.2.0.43

You can find your Kernel release by typing : uname -r

To make sure it's working right you can try this: perf record /bin/ls

score 15 · Answer 5 · answered Feb 15 '20 at 13:55

15

Ubuntu:

sudo apt install linux-tools-common

https://packages.ubuntu.com/eoan/linux-tools-common

Debian:

sudo apt install linux-perf

https://packages.debian.org/buster/linux-perf

answered Feb 15 '20 at 13:55

Aleksandr Levchuk

2,366

score 8 · Answer 6 · answered Sep 29 '14 at 08:46

In 14.04, the linux-tools package does not exist unqualified:

$ sudo apt-get install linux-tools
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Package linux-tools is a virtual package provided by:
  linux-tools-virtual 3.13.0.36.43
  linux-tools-lowlatency 3.13.0.36.43
  linux-tools-generic-lts-trusty 3.13.0.36.43
  linux-tools-generic-lts-saucy 3.13.0.36.43
  linux-tools-generic 3.13.0.36.43
You should explicitly select one to install.

E: Package 'linux-tools' has no installation candidate

Instead, you can install one of the packages listed, depending upon the kernel you have installed. Most users will want linux-tools-generic.

For Ubuntu 22.04, this is the correct answer. It will bring in linux-tools-common and the specific package for your current kernel version automatically. — davidA, Mar 16 '23 at 23:12

score 7 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 23 '19 at 03:44

7

On ubuntu "perf" is a shell script that calls a kernel specific perf binary.

But that's not actually needed, perf is compatible. Just remove the wrapper from /usr/bin and copy any of the perf binaries from ./lib/linux-tools* to it.

answered Jan 23 '19 at 03:44

prabha101

101
1
1

that worked - thank you! You could call directly sudo /usr/lib/linux-tools-5.15.0-67/perf trace date - try locate /lib/linux-tools | grep perf to find which version you may have. – stason Apr 04 '23 at 05:07

score 4 · Answer 8 · edited Nov 06 '14 at 07:25

4

I installed Linux 3.17.2 on my machine and tried

sudo apt-get install linux-tools-3.17.2

it showed that linux-tools is not present. In this case, download the required linux kernel version, go to linux->tools->perf :

cd linux/tools/perf

and then run make command :

make

and then run make install command:

make install

and then reboot. You just installed perf manually.

edited Nov 06 '14 at 07:25

muru

207,970

answered Nov 06 '14 at 07:04

Abhishek Abhyankar

41

Reboot is not necessary. Also, if you are to compile from the source code; linux-tools-3.17.2 should not be necessary – Chang Hyun Park Oct 19 '16 at 10:03

score 3 · Answer 9 · edited Mar 17 '13 at 15:10

3

Running the following two commands will do it!

sudo apt-get install linux-tools-common 
sudo apt-get install linux-tools

edited Mar 17 '13 at 15:10

Aditya

13,626

answered Mar 17 '13 at 14:28

phoenix bai

273

Doesn't work. I'm using 12.04. I get the error perf not found for kernel 3.2.0-60. You may need to install linux-tools-3.2.0-60-generic – Rishi Dua Mar 10 '14 at 18:54
This doesn't look working. – SmallChess Jul 28 '18 at 00:52

score 2 · Answer 10 · answered Dec 02 '18 at 15:10

2

Here's how it worked for me On Ubuntu 18.04:

After Command 'perf' not found, it suggested to install with sudo apt install linux-tools-common. Doing so and trying to run perf afterward still resulted in:

WARNING: perf not found for kernel 4.15.0-39

  You may need to install the following packages for this specific kernel:
    linux-tools-4.15.0-39-generic
    linux-cloud-tools-4.15.0-39-generic

  You may also want to install one of the following packages to keep up to date:
    linux-tools-generic
    linux-cloud-tools-generic

I decided for sudo apt-get install linux-tools-generic and this was enough.

In case you run into permission-error when trying to use perf as non-root, look here:

Run perf without root-rights

answered Dec 02 '18 at 15:10

Darkonaut

121

I got the same warning. But then I ran the command you suggested and I still get the same warning. – Caleb Stanford Mar 20 '19 at 21:40
linux-tools-oem seems to have been enough. – Caleb Stanford Mar 20 '19 at 21:42
1

@6005 Thx for the feedback, I don't have an idea why you experienced a different behaviour, though. – Darkonaut Mar 20 '19 at 21:47
This happens because the package your are downloading from the dpkg repo was never compiled for your newer kernel version. So the logic builds a binary that just runs this output. You must do what @bodha suggested. Even after compiling, you need to remove or move these binaries where ever they are based on your path, and replace with the compiled binary you made. You will need to do a lot of which perf to find out where they all are. – Dave Feb 08 '22 at 15:28

score 1 · Answer 11 · answered Nov 29 '19 at 01:53

1

For debian 9.11 (Stretch)

sudo apt-get install linux-perf-4.9

https://packages.debian.org/stretch/linux-perf

You might need to do an

apt-get update

before.

answered Nov 29 '19 at 01:53

ximbal

111

Abhinav · Answer 12 · 2024-05-17T17:07:28.217

0

I tried a solution from another stackoverflow post

TLDR: You will need to checkout the repo from https://github.com/microsoft/WSL2-Linux-Kernel.git yourself with the latest commit and run make command.

This solution worked for me: Biswapriyo

Edit: I tried it for WSL2

edited May 17 '24 at 17:07

answered May 16 '24 at 15:41

Abhinav

1

As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please [edit] to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. – Community May 16 '24 at 17:32

score -1 · Answer 13 · answered Feb 29 '16 at 13:11

-1

sudo apt-get install linux-tools-virtual

answered Feb 29 '16 at 13:11

Tomer Ben David

107

1

this answer is useless without any hint of the approach targeted – cmks Mar 15 '16 at 16:05

How to install "perf" monitoring tool?

13 Answers13

Ubuntu:

Debian:

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