Visual Studio Extension for WindowsPerf

WindowsPerf is a lightweight performance profiling tool inspired by Linux Perf, and designed specifically for Windows on Arm.

The WindowsPerf GUI is a Visual Studio 2022 extension that provides an intuitive, integrated experience within the Visual Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The extension allows developers to interact with WindowsPerf, adjust settings, and visualize performance data seamlessly in Visual Studio.

Before you begin

Before installing the Visual Studio Extension for WindowsPerf, complete the following steps:

1. Install Visual Studio 2022 on your Windows on Arm device.
2. Install WindowsPerf using the WindowsPerf install guide .
3. Install the LLVM toolchain using the LLVM toolchain for Windows on Arm install guide .

Install the extension using the Visual Studio Extension Manager

To install the Visual Studio extension for WindowsPerf from Visual Studio, use the Extension Manager:

1. Open Visual Studio 2022.
2. Navigate to the Extensions menu, and select Manage Extensions.
3. Select the Search (Ctrl+L) bar, and type WindowsPerf.
4. Select the Install button.
5. Restart Visual Studio to complete installation.

Install the extension from GitLab

You can also install the WindowsPerf Visual Studio Extension from GitLab.

Using a browser, visit the Releases page and download the latest file. For example, windowsperf-gui-5.4.0.zip.

Unzip the downloaded file and double-click on the WindowsPerfGUI.vsix file.

Follow the prompts to install the Visual Studio extension.

Build and install the extension from source code

You don’t need to build the source, but it is an alternative installation method if you want to customize the extension.

To build the source code, clone the repository using Git:

    

        
        
git clone https://gitlab.com/Linaro/WindowsPerf/vs-extension.git

    

Double-click the WindowsPerfGUI.sln solution file to open the project Visual Studio.

Open the Build menu and select Build Solution to create WindowsPerfGUI.dll and WindowsPerfGUI.vsix. You can replace the currently installed files with these files to try any changes you’ve made.

Set up WindowsPerf in Visual Studio

After installing the extension, you need to link the extension with the wperf.exe file by navigating to Tools > Options > WindowsPerf > WindowsPerf Path in Visual Studio.

Use the Select button to navigate to your wperf.exe and the Validate button to confirm the executable is found.

Key features of the WindowsPerf extension

The WindowsPerf extension is composed of several key features, each designed to streamline the user experience:

• WindowsPerf Configuration: Connect directly to wperf.exe for a seamless integration.
• Host Data: Understand your environment by selecting Tools then WindowsPerf Host Data.
• Output Logging: All commands executed through the GUI are logged, ensuring transparency and aiding with performance analysis.
• Sampling UI: Customize your sampling experience by selecting events, setting frequency and duration, choosing programs for sampling, and comprehensively analyzing results.

The sampling interface is shown as follows:

• Counting Settings UI: Build a wperf stat command from scratch using the configuration interface, then view the output in VS Code or open it with Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA). The interface to configure counting is shown as follows:

You’re now ready to use the WindowsPerf extension on VSCode.

Uninstall the WindowsPerf extension

To uninstall the extension in Visual Studio:

Go to Extensions > Manage Extensions > Installed > All > WindowsPerfGUI and select Uninstall.

Visual Studio will schedule the uninstallation. To complete the process, close Visual Studio and follow the uninstall dialog prompts.