The VAgent GCA Memory Profiler is a development utility extension for Visual Studio Code designed to diagnose memory leaks and high resource consumption within the Gemini Code Assist (GCA) agent process.
It fully automates the complex process of attaching the Node.js debugger to a separately running process and capturing V8 Heap Snapshots.
✨ Features
Automated Debug Attach: Finds the running Gemini Code Assist Node.js agent process (via PID/Port 9229).
One-Click Profiling: Automatically signals the agent (via SIGUSR1) to open the V8 Inspector protocol.
Heap Snapshot Capture: Executes the V8 native command (writeHeapSnapshot()) to capture a full memory dump.
File Management: Copies the raw .heapsnapshot file from the ephemeral system temp directory to a permanent, user-selected folder in your workspace.
Status Bar Feedback: Provides real-time status updates on the monitored PID and Port.
🚀 How to Use (Workflow)
The goal of memory profiling is to run your analysis command twice: once for a Baseline snapshot, and once for a Comparison snapshot after reproducing the suspect memory usage scenario.
Step 1: Set the Destination Folder
Before running the profiler, you must designate a folder to store the large .heapsnapshot files.
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P).
Run the command: VAgent GCA Memory Profiler: Set Destination Folder.
Select a folder (e.g., a new folder named Gemini_Dumps).
Step 2: Capture the Baseline (Snapshot A)
Ensure the Gemini Code Assist chat panel is open and idle (to start its agent process).
Run the command: VAgent GCA Memory Profiler: Take Heap Snapshot.
Outcome: The debugger attaches, the snapshot is captured, and the file is copied to your destination folder and opened in a new tab.
Step 3: Reproduce the Leak
In the Gemini Code Assist chat, perform the specific memory-intensive task (e.g., ask a very long question, request code for a large file, or use the tool repeatedly).
Wait for the task to fully complete.
Step 4: Capture the Comparison (Snapshot B)
Run the command again: VAgent GCA Memory Profiler: Take Heap Snapshot.
Outcome: The second snapshot is captured and saved to the same folder.
🔬 Analyzing the Memory Leak
The leak is found by comparing the final snapshot (B) against the baseline (A).
Open the Comparison View: In VS Code, open the newest.heapsnapshot file (Snapshot B).
In the viewer's toolbar, switch the view from "Summary" to "Comparison".
Select the older file (Snapshot A) as the baseline.
Key Analysis Focus Areas
Column
Insight
Meaning
Δ Size
Sort Descending on Positive Numbers.
The memory (in bytes) that was retained and not garbage collected. This is the leak amount.
Constructor
Look for (closure), (array), or String objects.
A large, retained (closure) is a strong indicator that a function within the Gemini agent is unintentionally holding a reference to a large context object.
Retainers View
Click the leaky object and follow the chain.
This shows the path from the global root to the leaked object, pointing to the specific variable in the Gemini code causing the leak.
