How to profile an application using dotMemory Command-Line Profiler

Background

One might want to profile an application on a remote system or in a container using dotMemory. This can be achieved using the dotMemory Command-Line Profiler, which enables application profiling via CLI.

Answer

The profiler allows you to connect to a running process or launch a new one, depending on your needs. dotMemory can be controlled via commands sent to stdin, Profiling API or by writing commands to a file using --service-input option   Below is an example demonstrating how to profile an application using dotMemory CLI. This example shows how to install dotMemory on a target system using dotnet tool, attach to a running process and control dotMemory via stdin):

• Download dotMemory command-line profiler and put it on the target system
• Run the target application on a target system
• Attach to the target process via dotmemory attach {process_id} --save-to={snapshot_directory_path} where
  • process_id - id of the target process
  • snapshot_path - snapshot storage directory
• Wait until the profiler starts and connects to the target process (indicated by messages Profiler connected and You can control the profiling session by writing the following service messages to stdin...)
• Type ##dotMemory["get-snapshot"] to collect a snapshot
• Use ##dotMemory["disconnect"] to disconnect the profiler from the target application
• Transfer the generated {snapshot_name}.dmw to the development system and open it in dotMemory

Find more information about this process in Use dotMemory Command-Line Profiler.