DotNet Profiler for VS Code

A VS Code extension that brings Visual Studio-style profiling tools to VS Code. Monitor, analyze, and optimize your .NET applications directly from your editor.

Features

Real-time Performance Monitoring

• CPU Usage - Live CPU utilization chart with configurable time windows (30s, 1min, 5min)
• Memory Usage - Track working set and GC heap size over time
• Auto-detection - Automatically detects .NET debug sessions and offers to start monitoring

Memory Analysis

• Heap Snapshots - Capture GC heap snapshots showing object counts and sizes by type
• Delta Tracking - Compare snapshots to identify memory growth between captures
• Object Inspection - Click any type to explore individual object instances
• Field Drilling - Inspect object fields with automatic type resolution and primitive value display
• GC Root Analysis - Find what's keeping objects alive with gcroot integration
• Export to File - Save .gcdump files for offline analysis
• Terminal Access - Open dumps directly in dotnet-dump analyze for advanced SOS commands

CPU Profiling

• CPU Traces - Capture CPU samples with configurable duration (3-30 seconds)
• Hot Path Analysis - View functions by inclusive and exclusive CPU time
• Speedscope Integration - Export traces to Speedscope for flame graph visualization

AI-Powered Analysis (Copilot)

• Intelligent Insights - Ask GitHub Copilot to analyze your profiling data
• Workspace Awareness - AI has access to your project structure and open files
• Quick Suggestions - Pre-built prompts for common analysis tasks:
  • Memory consumption analysis
  • CPU hotspot identification
  • Memory leak detection
  • Performance summaries

Requirements

• VS Code 1.90.0 or later
• .NET SDK with diagnostic tools:
  • dotnet-counters - Real-time performance monitoring
  • dotnet-gcdump - Memory snapshots
  • dotnet-dump - Heap analysis
  • dotnet-trace - CPU profiling

The extension will prompt to install any missing tools automatically.

For AI features, GitHub Copilot must be installed and signed in.

Usage

Starting the Profiler

1. From Command Palette: Run DotNet Profiler: Start Monitoring
2. During Debugging: When a .NET debug session starts, you'll be prompted to start monitoring
3. Select your target .NET process from the list

Taking Snapshots

Memory Snapshot:

1. Click "Take Memory Snapshot" in the Memory tab
2. Browse types sorted by size or count
3. Click a type to inspect individual objects
4. Expand objects to see fields, values, and GC roots

CPU Trace:

1. Select trace duration (3-30 seconds)
2. Click "Take CPU Trace"
3. Review hot functions sorted by CPU time
4. Click "Open in Speedscope" for flame graph visualization

Using AI Analysis

1. Expand the "AI Analysis (Copilot)" panel
2. Take a memory snapshot or CPU trace first
3. Use quick suggestions or type your own question
4. AI will analyze the data in context of your codebase

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following commands:

• dotnet-profiler.startMonitoring - Start monitoring a .NET process
• dotnet-profiler.stopMonitoring - Stop the current monitoring session

Known Issues

• CPU traces require the target process to be running during capture
• Very large heap dumps may take time to analyze
• Speedscope integration requires a web browser

Release Notes

0.0.1

Initial release:

• Real-time CPU and memory monitoring
• GC heap snapshots with object inspection
• CPU tracing with Speedscope export
• AI-powered analysis via GitHub Copilot
• Automatic .NET tool installation

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please open issues and pull requests at GitHub.