perf data: Allow filtering conversion by start and end time

[PATCH] perf data: Allow filtering conversion by start and end time

Posted by Derek Foreman 1 week ago

This adds a feature to allow restricting the range of converted samples
with start and end times specified in nanoseconds.

Use it like this:

  $ perf data convert --to-json out.json -s 12345 -e 13340

Start, end, or both may be omitted.

Signed-off-by: Derek Foreman <derek.foreman@collabora.com>
---
 tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt |  6 ++++++
 tools/perf/builtin-data.c              |  4 ++++
 tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c      | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
 tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c    | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
 tools/perf/util/data-convert.h         |  3 +++
 5 files changed, 49 insertions(+)

diff --git a/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt b/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt
index 417bf17e265c..db0de1f354a3 100644
--- a/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt
+++ b/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt
@@ -40,6 +40,12 @@ OPTIONS for 'convert'
 --force::
 	Don't complain, do it.
 
+-s::
+	Start time, in nanoseconds. Samples before this time will not be converted.
+
+-e::
+	End time, in nanoseconds. Samples after this time will not be converted.
+
 -v::
 --verbose::
         Be more verbose (show counter open errors, etc).
diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-data.c b/tools/perf/builtin-data.c
index ce51cbf6dc97..da813c62e284 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-data.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-data.c
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ const char *to_ctf;
 struct perf_data_convert_opts opts = {
 	.force = false,
 	.all = false,
+	.range_start = 0,
+	.range_end = 0,
 };
 
 const struct option data_options[] = {
@@ -45,6 +47,8 @@ const struct option data_options[] = {
 #endif
 		OPT_BOOLEAN('f', "force", &opts.force, "don't complain, do it"),
 		OPT_BOOLEAN(0, "all", &opts.all, "Convert all events"),
+		OPT_U64('s', "start", &opts.range_start, "Earliest timestamp to convert"),
+		OPT_U64('e', "end", &opts.range_end, "Latest timestamp to convert"),
 		OPT_END()
 	};
 
diff --git a/tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c b/tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c
index 3d2e437e1354..6819f11fe900 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c
@@ -91,9 +91,13 @@ struct convert {
 	struct perf_tool	tool;
 	struct ctf_writer	writer;
 
+	u64			start;
+	u64			end;
+
 	u64			events_size;
 	u64			events_count;
 	u64			non_sample_count;
+	u64			skipped;
 
 	/* Ordered events configured queue size. */
 	u64			queue_size;
@@ -811,6 +815,12 @@ static int process_sample_event(const struct perf_tool *tool,
 	if (WARN_ONCE(!priv, "Failed to setup all events.\n"))
 		return 0;
 
+	if (sample->time < c->start ||
+	    (c->end && sample->time > c->end)) {
+		++c->skipped;
+		return 0;
+	}
+
 	event_class = priv->event_class;
 
 	/* update stats */
@@ -1626,6 +1636,9 @@ int bt_convert__perf2ctf(const char *input, const char *path,
 	c.tool.namespaces      = perf_event__process_namespaces;
 	c.tool.ordering_requires_timestamps = true;
 
+	c.start = opts->range_start;
+	c.end = opts->range_end;
+
 	if (opts->all) {
 		c.tool.comm = process_comm_event;
 		c.tool.exit = process_exit_event;
@@ -1677,6 +1690,11 @@ int bt_convert__perf2ctf(const char *input, const char *path,
 		"[ perf data convert: Converted '%s' into CTF data '%s' ]\n",
 		data.path, path);
 
+	if (c.skipped)
+		fprintf(stderr,
+			"[ perf data convert: Skipped %" PRIu64 " samples",
+			c.skipped);
+
 	fprintf(stderr,
 		"[ perf data convert: Converted and wrote %.3f MB (%" PRIu64 " samples",
 		(double) c.events_size / 1024.0 / 1024.0,
diff --git a/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c b/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c
index 9dc1e184cf3c..dcbba34d6b08 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c
@@ -35,7 +35,11 @@ struct convert_json {
 	struct perf_tool tool;
 	FILE *out;
 	bool first;
+	u64 start;
+	u64 end;
+
 	u64 events_count;
+	u64 skipped;
 };
 
 // Outputs a JSON-encoded string surrounded by quotes with characters escaped.
@@ -165,6 +169,12 @@ static int process_sample_event(const struct perf_tool *tool,
 		return -1;
 	}
 
+	if (sample->time < c->start ||
+	    (c->end && sample->time > c->end)) {
+		++c->skipped;
+		return 0;
+	}
+
 	++c->events_count;
 
 	if (c->first)
@@ -320,6 +330,9 @@ int bt_convert__perf2json(const char *input_name, const char *output_name,
 	struct convert_json c = {
 		.first = true,
 		.events_count = 0,
+		.start = opts->range_start,
+		.end = opts->range_end,
+		.skipped = 0,
 	};
 	struct perf_data data = {
 		.mode = PERF_DATA_MODE_READ,
@@ -407,6 +420,11 @@ int bt_convert__perf2json(const char *input_name, const char *output_name,
 			"[ perf data convert: Converted '%s' into JSON data '%s' ]\n",
 			data.path, output_name);
 
+	if (c.skipped)
+		fprintf(stderr,
+				"[ perf data convert: Skipped %" PRIu64 " samples.\n",
+				c.skipped);
+
 	fprintf(stderr,
 			"[ perf data convert: Converted and wrote %.3f MB (%" PRIu64 " samples) ]\n",
 			(ftell(c.out)) / 1024.0 / 1024.0, c.events_count);
diff --git a/tools/perf/util/data-convert.h b/tools/perf/util/data-convert.h
index 1b4c5f598415..5d055e1c31c8 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/data-convert.h
+++ b/tools/perf/util/data-convert.h
@@ -3,11 +3,14 @@
 #define __DATA_CONVERT_H
 
 #include <stdbool.h>
+#include <linux/types.h>
 
 struct perf_data_convert_opts {
 	bool force;
 	bool all;
 	bool tod;
+	u64 range_start;
+	u64 range_end;
 };
 
 #ifdef HAVE_LIBBABELTRACE_SUPPORT
-- 
2.47.3

Re: [PATCH] perf data: Allow filtering conversion by start and end time

Posted by Namhyung Kim 4 days, 2 hours ago

Hello,

On Mon, Nov 24, 2025 at 03:23:00PM -0600, Derek Foreman wrote:
> This adds a feature to allow restricting the range of converted samples
> with start and end times specified in nanoseconds.
> 
> Use it like this:
> 
>   $ perf data convert --to-json out.json -s 12345 -e 13340
> 
> Start, end, or both may be omitted.

Looks useful, thanks!

> 
> Signed-off-by: Derek Foreman <derek.foreman@collabora.com>
> ---
>  tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt |  6 ++++++
>  tools/perf/builtin-data.c              |  4 ++++
>  tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c      | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
>  tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c    | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
>  tools/perf/util/data-convert.h         |  3 +++
>  5 files changed, 49 insertions(+)
> 
> diff --git a/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt b/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt
> index 417bf17e265c..db0de1f354a3 100644
> --- a/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt
> +++ b/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt
> @@ -40,6 +40,12 @@ OPTIONS for 'convert'
>  --force::
>  	Don't complain, do it.
>  
> +-s::

Please add this as well.

--start=<TIME>::

> +	Start time, in nanoseconds. Samples before this time will not be converted.

It'd be nice if you mention that users can see the timestamp from perf
script or so.


> +
> +-e::

--end=<TIME>::

> +	End time, in nanoseconds. Samples after this time will not be converted.
> +
>  -v::
>  --verbose::
>          Be more verbose (show counter open errors, etc).
> diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-data.c b/tools/perf/builtin-data.c
> index ce51cbf6dc97..da813c62e284 100644
> --- a/tools/perf/builtin-data.c
> +++ b/tools/perf/builtin-data.c
> @@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ const char *to_ctf;
>  struct perf_data_convert_opts opts = {
>  	.force = false,
>  	.all = false,
> +	.range_start = 0,
> +	.range_end = 0,
>  };
>  
>  const struct option data_options[] = {
> @@ -45,6 +47,8 @@ const struct option data_options[] = {
>  #endif
>  		OPT_BOOLEAN('f', "force", &opts.force, "don't complain, do it"),
>  		OPT_BOOLEAN(0, "all", &opts.all, "Convert all events"),
> +		OPT_U64('s', "start", &opts.range_start, "Earliest timestamp to convert"),
> +		OPT_U64('e', "end", &opts.range_end, "Latest timestamp to convert"),
>  		OPT_END()
>  	};
>  
> diff --git a/tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c b/tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c
> index 3d2e437e1354..6819f11fe900 100644
> --- a/tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c
> +++ b/tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c
> @@ -91,9 +91,13 @@ struct convert {
>  	struct perf_tool	tool;
>  	struct ctf_writer	writer;
>  
> +	u64			start;
> +	u64			end;
> +
>  	u64			events_size;
>  	u64			events_count;
>  	u64			non_sample_count;
> +	u64			skipped;
>  
>  	/* Ordered events configured queue size. */
>  	u64			queue_size;
> @@ -811,6 +815,12 @@ static int process_sample_event(const struct perf_tool *tool,
>  	if (WARN_ONCE(!priv, "Failed to setup all events.\n"))
>  		return 0;
>  
> +	if (sample->time < c->start ||
> +	    (c->end && sample->time > c->end)) {
> +		++c->skipped;
> +		return 0;
> +	}
> +
>  	event_class = priv->event_class;
>  
>  	/* update stats */
> @@ -1626,6 +1636,9 @@ int bt_convert__perf2ctf(const char *input, const char *path,
>  	c.tool.namespaces      = perf_event__process_namespaces;
>  	c.tool.ordering_requires_timestamps = true;
>  
> +	c.start = opts->range_start;
> +	c.end = opts->range_end;
> +
>  	if (opts->all) {
>  		c.tool.comm = process_comm_event;
>  		c.tool.exit = process_exit_event;
> @@ -1677,6 +1690,11 @@ int bt_convert__perf2ctf(const char *input, const char *path,
>  		"[ perf data convert: Converted '%s' into CTF data '%s' ]\n",
>  		data.path, path);
>  
> +	if (c.skipped)
> +		fprintf(stderr,
> +			"[ perf data convert: Skipped %" PRIu64 " samples",
> +			c.skipped);

This is a strange style to have the literal in a different line.  It'd
be nice if you can fix others too - probably in a separate commit.

And this line could come after the next, but it's up to you.

Also it'd be recommended to have a pair of parentheses for multi-line
bodies even it's a single statement.

> +
>  	fprintf(stderr,
>  		"[ perf data convert: Converted and wrote %.3f MB (%" PRIu64 " samples",
>  		(double) c.events_size / 1024.0 / 1024.0,
> diff --git a/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c b/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c
> index 9dc1e184cf3c..dcbba34d6b08 100644
> --- a/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c
> +++ b/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c
> @@ -35,7 +35,11 @@ struct convert_json {
>  	struct perf_tool tool;
>  	FILE *out;
>  	bool first;
> +	u64 start;
> +	u64 end;
> +
>  	u64 events_count;
> +	u64 skipped;
>  };
>  
>  // Outputs a JSON-encoded string surrounded by quotes with characters escaped.
> @@ -165,6 +169,12 @@ static int process_sample_event(const struct perf_tool *tool,
>  		return -1;
>  	}
>  
> +	if (sample->time < c->start ||
> +	    (c->end && sample->time > c->end)) {
> +		++c->skipped;
> +		return 0;
> +	}
> +
>  	++c->events_count;
>  
>  	if (c->first)
> @@ -320,6 +330,9 @@ int bt_convert__perf2json(const char *input_name, const char *output_name,
>  	struct convert_json c = {
>  		.first = true,
>  		.events_count = 0,
> +		.start = opts->range_start,
> +		.end = opts->range_end,
> +		.skipped = 0,
>  	};
>  	struct perf_data data = {
>  		.mode = PERF_DATA_MODE_READ,
> @@ -407,6 +420,11 @@ int bt_convert__perf2json(const char *input_name, const char *output_name,
>  			"[ perf data convert: Converted '%s' into JSON data '%s' ]\n",
>  			data.path, output_name);
>  
> +	if (c.skipped)
> +		fprintf(stderr,
> +				"[ perf data convert: Skipped %" PRIu64 " samples.\n",
> +				c.skipped);

Ditto.

Thanks,
Namhyung

> +
>  	fprintf(stderr,
>  			"[ perf data convert: Converted and wrote %.3f MB (%" PRIu64 " samples) ]\n",
>  			(ftell(c.out)) / 1024.0 / 1024.0, c.events_count);
> diff --git a/tools/perf/util/data-convert.h b/tools/perf/util/data-convert.h
> index 1b4c5f598415..5d055e1c31c8 100644
> --- a/tools/perf/util/data-convert.h
> +++ b/tools/perf/util/data-convert.h
> @@ -3,11 +3,14 @@
>  #define __DATA_CONVERT_H
>  
>  #include <stdbool.h>
> +#include <linux/types.h>
>  
>  struct perf_data_convert_opts {
>  	bool force;
>  	bool all;
>  	bool tod;
> +	u64 range_start;
> +	u64 range_end;
>  };
>  
>  #ifdef HAVE_LIBBABELTRACE_SUPPORT
> -- 
> 2.47.3
>

Re: [PATCH] perf data: Allow filtering conversion by start and end time

Posted by Derek Foreman 3 days, 2 hours ago

On 11/27/25 3:34 PM, Namhyung Kim wrote:
> Hello,
>
> On Mon, Nov 24, 2025 at 03:23:00PM -0600, Derek Foreman wrote:
>> This adds a feature to allow restricting the range of converted samples
>> with start and end times specified in nanoseconds.
>>
>> Use it like this:
>>
>>    $ perf data convert --to-json out.json -s 12345 -e 13340
>>
>> Start, end, or both may be omitted.
> Looks useful, thanks!
Thanks for the review!
>> Signed-off-by: Derek Foreman <derek.foreman@collabora.com>
>> ---
>>   tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt |  6 ++++++
>>   tools/perf/builtin-data.c              |  4 ++++
>>   tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c      | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
>>   tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c    | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
>>   tools/perf/util/data-convert.h         |  3 +++
>>   5 files changed, 49 insertions(+)
>>
>> diff --git a/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt b/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt
>> index 417bf17e265c..db0de1f354a3 100644
>> --- a/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt
>> +++ b/tools/perf/Documentation/perf-data.txt
>> @@ -40,6 +40,12 @@ OPTIONS for 'convert'
>>   --force::
>>   	Don't complain, do it.
>>   
>> +-s::
> Please add this as well.
>
> --start=<TIME>::
>
>> +	Start time, in nanoseconds. Samples before this time will not be converted.
> It'd be nice if you mention that users can see the timestamp from perf
> script or so.

After looking at perf script, I realized I'd reinvented the wheel here, 
so in v2 I've used `--time` and the util functions that already exist 
for parsing and filtering time strings.

I mostly copy and pasted the --time help from another file. I think 
asciidoc has a way to templatize this with an include file (it's in at 
least 3 files now), but I wasn't sure if I should try to do that.

>
>> +
>> +-e::
> --end=<TIME>::
>
>> +	End time, in nanoseconds. Samples after this time will not be converted.
>> +
>>   -v::
>>   --verbose::
>>           Be more verbose (show counter open errors, etc).
>> diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-data.c b/tools/perf/builtin-data.c
>> index ce51cbf6dc97..da813c62e284 100644
>> --- a/tools/perf/builtin-data.c
>> +++ b/tools/perf/builtin-data.c
>> @@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ const char *to_ctf;
>>   struct perf_data_convert_opts opts = {
>>   	.force = false,
>>   	.all = false,
>> +	.range_start = 0,
>> +	.range_end = 0,
>>   };
>>   
>>   const struct option data_options[] = {
>> @@ -45,6 +47,8 @@ const struct option data_options[] = {
>>   #endif
>>   		OPT_BOOLEAN('f', "force", &opts.force, "don't complain, do it"),
>>   		OPT_BOOLEAN(0, "all", &opts.all, "Convert all events"),
>> +		OPT_U64('s', "start", &opts.range_start, "Earliest timestamp to convert"),
>> +		OPT_U64('e', "end", &opts.range_end, "Latest timestamp to convert"),
>>   		OPT_END()
>>   	};
>>   
>> diff --git a/tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c b/tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c
>> index 3d2e437e1354..6819f11fe900 100644
>> --- a/tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c
>> +++ b/tools/perf/util/data-convert-bt.c
>> @@ -91,9 +91,13 @@ struct convert {
>>   	struct perf_tool	tool;
>>   	struct ctf_writer	writer;
>>   
>> +	u64			start;
>> +	u64			end;
>> +
>>   	u64			events_size;
>>   	u64			events_count;
>>   	u64			non_sample_count;
>> +	u64			skipped;
>>   
>>   	/* Ordered events configured queue size. */
>>   	u64			queue_size;
>> @@ -811,6 +815,12 @@ static int process_sample_event(const struct perf_tool *tool,
>>   	if (WARN_ONCE(!priv, "Failed to setup all events.\n"))
>>   		return 0;
>>   
>> +	if (sample->time < c->start ||
>> +	    (c->end && sample->time > c->end)) {
>> +		++c->skipped;
>> +		return 0;
>> +	}
>> +
>>   	event_class = priv->event_class;
>>   
>>   	/* update stats */
>> @@ -1626,6 +1636,9 @@ int bt_convert__perf2ctf(const char *input, const char *path,
>>   	c.tool.namespaces      = perf_event__process_namespaces;
>>   	c.tool.ordering_requires_timestamps = true;
>>   
>> +	c.start = opts->range_start;
>> +	c.end = opts->range_end;
>> +
>>   	if (opts->all) {
>>   		c.tool.comm = process_comm_event;
>>   		c.tool.exit = process_exit_event;
>> @@ -1677,6 +1690,11 @@ int bt_convert__perf2ctf(const char *input, const char *path,
>>   		"[ perf data convert: Converted '%s' into CTF data '%s' ]\n",
>>   		data.path, path);
>>   
>> +	if (c.skipped)
>> +		fprintf(stderr,
>> +			"[ perf data convert: Skipped %" PRIu64 " samples",
>> +			c.skipped);
> This is a strange style to have the literal in a different line.  It'd
> be nice if you can fix others too - probably in a separate commit.
>
> And this line could come after the next, but it's up to you.
I think it's better your way, yes.
> Also it'd be recommended to have a pair of parentheses for multi-line
> bodies even it's a single statement.

I've added a second patch for v2. One of the lines exceeded 100 chars, 
which bothered checkpatch.pl, so I left the literal on the second line 
for now.

Thanks,
Derek

>> +
>>   	fprintf(stderr,
>>   		"[ perf data convert: Converted and wrote %.3f MB (%" PRIu64 " samples",
>>   		(double) c.events_size / 1024.0 / 1024.0,
>> diff --git a/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c b/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c
>> index 9dc1e184cf3c..dcbba34d6b08 100644
>> --- a/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c
>> +++ b/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c
>> @@ -35,7 +35,11 @@ struct convert_json {
>>   	struct perf_tool tool;
>>   	FILE *out;
>>   	bool first;
>> +	u64 start;
>> +	u64 end;
>> +
>>   	u64 events_count;
>> +	u64 skipped;
>>   };
>>   
>>   // Outputs a JSON-encoded string surrounded by quotes with characters escaped.
>> @@ -165,6 +169,12 @@ static int process_sample_event(const struct perf_tool *tool,
>>   		return -1;
>>   	}
>>   
>> +	if (sample->time < c->start ||
>> +	    (c->end && sample->time > c->end)) {
>> +		++c->skipped;
>> +		return 0;
>> +	}
>> +
>>   	++c->events_count;
>>   
>>   	if (c->first)
>> @@ -320,6 +330,9 @@ int bt_convert__perf2json(const char *input_name, const char *output_name,
>>   	struct convert_json c = {
>>   		.first = true,
>>   		.events_count = 0,
>> +		.start = opts->range_start,
>> +		.end = opts->range_end,
>> +		.skipped = 0,
>>   	};
>>   	struct perf_data data = {
>>   		.mode = PERF_DATA_MODE_READ,
>> @@ -407,6 +420,11 @@ int bt_convert__perf2json(const char *input_name, const char *output_name,
>>   			"[ perf data convert: Converted '%s' into JSON data '%s' ]\n",
>>   			data.path, output_name);
>>   
>> +	if (c.skipped)
>> +		fprintf(stderr,
>> +				"[ perf data convert: Skipped %" PRIu64 " samples.\n",
>> +				c.skipped);
> Ditto.
>
> Thanks,
> Namhyung
>
>> +
>>   	fprintf(stderr,
>>   			"[ perf data convert: Converted and wrote %.3f MB (%" PRIu64 " samples) ]\n",
>>   			(ftell(c.out)) / 1024.0 / 1024.0, c.events_count);
>> diff --git a/tools/perf/util/data-convert.h b/tools/perf/util/data-convert.h
>> index 1b4c5f598415..5d055e1c31c8 100644
>> --- a/tools/perf/util/data-convert.h
>> +++ b/tools/perf/util/data-convert.h
>> @@ -3,11 +3,14 @@
>>   #define __DATA_CONVERT_H
>>   
>>   #include <stdbool.h>
>> +#include <linux/types.h>
>>   
>>   struct perf_data_convert_opts {
>>   	bool force;
>>   	bool all;
>>   	bool tod;
>> +	u64 range_start;
>> +	u64 range_end;
>>   };
>>   
>>   #ifdef HAVE_LIBBABELTRACE_SUPPORT
>> -- 
>> 2.47.3
>>