[PATCH v6 23/59] perf python: Add LiveSession helper

Ian Rogers
2026-04-25T17:50:38Z

Add LiveSession class in tools/perf/python/perf_live.py to support
live event collection using perf.evlist and perf.parse_events,
avoiding the need to fork a separate perf record process.

Signed-off-by: Ian Rogers <irogers@google.com>
Assisted-by: Gemini:gemini-3.1-pro-preview
---
v2:

1. Fixed File Descriptor Leak: I moved self.evlist.mmap() inside the
try block so that if it raises an exception, the finally block will
still be executed and call self.evlist.close() , preventing file
descriptor leaks.

2. Handled InterruptedError in poll() : I wrapped the poll() call in a
try-except block to catch InterruptedError and continue the
loop. This prevents the live session from crashing on non-fatal
signals like SIGWINCH .

3. Added evlist.config() : I added a call to self.evlist.config() in
the constructor after parse_events() . This applies the default
record options to the events, enabling sampling and setting up
PERF_SAMPLE_* fields so that the kernel will actually generate
PERF_RECORD_SAMPLE events.

4. Enable the evlist and be robust to exceptions from reading unsupported
events like mmap2.
---
tools/perf/python/perf_live.py | 48 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 file changed, 48 insertions(+)
create mode 100755 tools/perf/python/perf_live.py

diff --git a/tools/perf/python/perf_live.py b/tools/perf/python/perf_live.py
new file mode 100755
index 000000000000..d1dcbab1150b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/perf/python/perf_live.py
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+"""
+Live event session helper using perf.evlist.
+
+This module provides a LiveSession class that allows running a callback
+for each event collected live from the system, similar to perf.session
+but without requiring a perf.data file.
+"""
+
+import perf
+
+
+class LiveSession:
+ """Represents a live event collection session."""
+
+ def __init__(self, event_string: str, sample_callback):
+ self.event_string = event_string
+ self.sample_callback = sample_callback
+ # Create a cpu map for all online CPUs
+ self.cpus = perf.cpu_map()
+ # Parse events and set maps
+ self.evlist = perf.parse_events(self.event_string, self.cpus)
+ self.evlist.config()
+
+ def run(self):
+ """Run the live session."""
+ self.evlist.open()
+ try:
+ self.evlist.mmap()
+ self.evlist.enable()
+
+ while True:
+ # Poll for events with 100ms timeout
+ try:
+ self.evlist.poll(100)
+ except InterruptedError:
+ continue
+ for cpu in self.cpus:
+ try:
+ event = self.evlist.read_on_cpu(cpu)
+ if event and event.type == perf.RECORD_SAMPLE:
+ self.sample_callback(event)
+ except Exception:
+ pass
+ except KeyboardInterrupt:
+ pass
+ finally:
+ self.evlist.close()
--
2.54.0.545.g6539524ca2-goog