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Create and open snapshots

Last modified: 29 November 2022

This topic explains the steps to create a snapshot. After you have gathered the data, you can analyze the snapshot right away, save for later, or send to someone else.

Prerequisites

You can use the default settings to profile most applications. Unless you are using Linux or want to use a custom profiler, no configuration is required: everything works out-of-the-box.

note

For Linux and customizations, refer to Custom profiler configurations.

IntelliJ IDEA profiler supports the following run configurations:

Local process

Run targets

Application

Feature is supported

Feature is supported

Spring Boot

Feature is supported

Feature is supported

Micronaut

Feature is supported

Feature is supported

Kotlin

Feature is supported

Feature is supported

Ktor

Feature is supported

Feature is supported

JUnit and Arquillian JUnit

Feature is supported

Feature is supported

TestNG and Arquillian TestNG

Feature is supported

Feature is supported

Maven

Feature is supported

Feature is not supported

Gradle

Feature is supported

Feature is not supported

Tomcat Server Local

Feature is supported

Feature is not supported

If the required configuration is not on the list, you are welcome to create or vote for a request in our issue tracker.

Start the profiling session

You can either start an application with the profiler, or attach to an already running application.

Start an app with the profiler

  • Press Shift+F10, select the run/debug configuration you want to profile, then select Profile with IntelliJ Profiler from the menu.

    Selecting Profile from the Run popup

  • Alternatively, click the Run icon in the gutter. From the menu, select Profile with IntelliJ Profiler.

    A menu with the Profile option appears upon clicking the Run gutter icon

You can also profile applications that were launched in debug mode. For this, start the debugging session first, then attach the profiler to the running process.

Attach to a running process

  1. With the process already launched, open the Profiler tool window.

  2. On the Home tab, find the process that you are going to profile. Right-click it, then select Attach IntelliJ Profiler

    A menu appears on right-clicking a process allowing you to attach the profiler to it

The profiler will detach and save the snapshot automatically when the process terminates. Otherwise, if you want to leave the process running and only detach the profiler, you can do that manually.

Stop the profiling session

  • In the Profiler tool window, navigate to the tab that has opened for the process you are profiling and click Stop Profiling and Show Results.

    Stop Profiling and Show Results button in the Profiler tool window

Open snapshots

The snapshot will open right away. Also, if you want to access it later, you can find it on the Home tab of the Profiler tool window. From this tab, you can view the recent snapshots or open snapshots that are stored elsewhere on your hard drive.

The Recent Snapshots panel in the Profiler tool window

By default, the snapshots are stored in the user home directory. If you prefer another location, you can change that.

Change the snapshots location

  1. Open the Profiler tool window.

  2. On the Home tab, click More, then select Change Snapshot Folder.

    Change snapshot folder