Hit Record, and the timeline starts
Pick the process and hit Record. Nothing to rebuild. The timeline streams live and the capture timer ticks. Function hooks need no code change; Frida is the default.
From the whole run to a single context switch.
Orbit attaches to a program that is already running, with no code change. The service runs on Linux, macOS and Windows. The viewer is a web page, so any browser on any device can open it.
A Rust re-implementation by the original author of Orbit.
Drag to pan · wheel over the ruler to zoom · click a thread · right-click a scope · Home to fit Open it on its own
4.6 MB stream
From the whole run down
These recordings go from the shape of the run down to one core. The platform table says what the service records on each operating system. The features page has the rest.
Where the run spends time
The sampling flame graph is the whole run, at 1 kHz. Click a frame to highlight that function on the timeline. Double-click to zoom into its subtree.
Then time the hot functions
Auto-profiling hooks the functions the samples point at and drops whatever costs too much, inside a budget you set. No rebuild and no source edits. On Linux it needs root or CAP_SYS_ADMIN. It is not available on macOS or Windows. You can also hook one function yourself.
Down to one core
The scheduler track is one lane per core. A slice is the time that thread was on that core; the thread-state strip shows Running and Sleeping. Select a stretch of the run and the report recomputes for that window, down to a single context switch.
Timeline zoom, scope search, call trees, live statistics, disassembly, traces and the rest of the recordings are on the features page.
How it works
The capture agent runs on the machine you profile. The viewer is a web page, so you can open it on another device.
Supported
Linux
Call stacks at 1 kHz, a lane per core, dynamic instrumentation with no code change, and manual scopes. The tested build is x86-64.
Supported
Windows
Call stacks at 1 kHz, a lane per core and thread states from the kernel logger (an elevated prompt), Frida function hooks and manual scopes without one. x86-64.
Partial
macOS
Manual scopes and Frida function hooks, on Intel and Apple silicon. Sampling, the scheduler, and auto-profiling are not in this build.
orbit-service
The capture agent, on that machine
It attaches to a process that is already running and serves the viewer on the same port.
Web viewer
- Desktop
- Tablet
- Phone
A Rust and WebAssembly page. Any device with a browser can open it, including one that is not the machine being profiled. A saved capture also opens with no service at all.
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Target process
Already running
A native binary. Orbit does not rebuild it and does not relaunch it.
-
orbit-service
What this machine records
On Linux: call stacks at 1 kHz, the scheduler, and dynamic instrumentation with no code change. Auto-profiling picks what to hook and keeps the cost under a budget. It needs root or
CAP_SYS_ADMIN. On Windows: the same call stacks, scheduler and thread states from the kernel logger, which needs an elevated prompt; Frida hooks and manual scopes without one. On macOS: manual scopes and Frida function hooks. Sampling, the scheduler, and auto-profiling are not in that build. -
Web viewer
Live, in the browser
Timeline, flame graph, call trees, live table, selection reports, and, on Linux and Windows, disassembly (next to source on Linux).
What the service records
Status of orbit-service on main. The viewer itself runs in any browser.
| Feature | Linux | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Call-stack sampling | Supported | Supported | Not yet |
| Scheduler and context switches | Supported | Supported | Not yet |
| Thread states | Supported | Supported | Not yet |
| Dynamic instrumentation (no code change) | Supported | Supported | Supported |
| Auto-profiling | Supported | Not yet | Not yet |
| Manual instrumentation | Supported | Supported | Supported |
| Symbols | Supported | Supported | Partial |
| Disassembly and source | Supported | Partial | Not yet |
| Service CPU and memory | Supported | Supported | Supported |
- Linux is the x86-64 service. Sampling is fixed at 1 kHz and unwound with DWARF. Arm64 has the register and unwind paths and is not run in CI; the static binary is x86-64.
- macOS function hooks are tested on Apple Silicon and Intel. Attaching needs a task port. Code signing, the hardened runtime, and SIP can refuse it; these builds do not bypass that. Shared-cache images whose symbols Frida cannot read may be missing from the function list. Hook-safety analysis is the Linux path. The release binary is universal and ad-hoc signed, not notarized.
- Dynamic instrumentation needs no code change. Frida is the default. On Linux, auto-profiling uses a kernel engine and needs root or
CAP_SYS_ADMIN. - Auto-profiling is supported on Linux and needs root or
CAP_SYS_ADMIN. It is not available on macOS or Windows. - Windows is the x86-64 service. Sampling (1 kHz, the kernel walks the stacks), the scheduler and thread states come from the NT Kernel Logger (ETW), which needs a prompt opened with Run as administrator; manual scopes and Frida hooks need no privilege. Symbols come from PDBs and export tables. Disassembly is partial: there is no source interleave, since the line table lives in the PDB. No GPU lanes. The binaries link the C runtime statically and are not code-signed.
Get started
The script installs the build for this machine, including the Frida files function hooks need.
Run it
# install (Linux x86-64 or macOS)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pierricgimmig/orbit/main/tools/install/install.sh | sh
# install (Windows x64, PowerShell)
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pierricgimmig/orbit/main/tools/install/install.ps1 | iex
orbit-service
# http://127.0.0.1:44766/The scripts download a GitHub Release tagged orbit-v*. Linux x86-64, macOS (one universal binary, Intel and Apple silicon) and Windows x86-64 are all in that release. Until a stable release exists the script stops and says so. orbitprofiler.dev is not the host. Function hooks ship beside the binary and do not need root. On macOS, attaching needs a task port.
On Linux, sampling works at perf_event_paranoid 2 or below, and the scheduler needs 0 or below. Root, CAP_PERFMON or CAP_SYS_ADMIN bypass the sysctl. Auto-profiling needs root or CAP_SYS_ADMIN. On Windows, sampling, the scheduler and thread states need a prompt opened with Run as administrator. Those are not in the macOS build.
Where it runs
The service runs on the machine you profile. The viewer runs in any browser, on any device, including a phone.
Several machines go on one timeline: start the service on each with --join <hub>:44766 and the hub's viewer shows them all, clocks aligned over the link, one Record for every machine. Several machines in the manual.
One small API for Rust, C, C++ and Python is in the manual, alongside the HTTP API. The platform table is the feature-by-feature status.
Instrumentation and the HTTP APIAbout
A Rust re-implementation of Orbit, by the original author. The capture agent and the web viewer are the work in this repository.
Site built 2026-10-24 at commit 44391ce95. Recordings are of the live viewer at da8aa05c, profiling game_loop. The embedded capture is a .orbit.stream.