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dtrace — A simple interface to invoke the D language compiler, retrieve buffered trace and print traced data

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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Problem

How to use the dtrace command: A simple interface to invoke the D language compiler, retrieve buffered trace and print traced data from the DTrace kernel facility. Generic front-end to DTrace facility, requiring root privileges. More information: <https://keith.github.io/xcode-man-pages/dtrace.1.html>.

Solution

dtrace — A simple interface to invoke the D language compiler, retrieve buffered trace and print traced data from the DTrace kernel facility. Generic front-end to DTrace facility, requiring root privileges. More information: <https://keith.github.io/xcode-man-pages/dtrace.1.html>.

Set target data model for a specific architecture:

dtrace -arch {{arch_name}}

Claim [a]nonymous tracing state and display the traced data:

dtrace -a

Set principal trace buffer size. Supported units are k, m, g, or t:

dtrace -b {{2g}}

Compile the specified D Program [s]ource file:

dtrace -s {{D_script}}

Run the specified [c]ommand and exit upon its completion:

dtrace -c {{command}}

Specify [f]unction name to trace or list (-l option). The corresponding argument can include any of the probe description forms like provider:module:function, module:function, or function:

dtrace -f {{function}}

Grad the specified [p]rocess ID, cache its symbol table, and exit upon completion:

dtrace -p {{pid}}

Combine different options for tracing function in a process:

dtrace -a -b {{buffer_size}} -f {{function}} -p {{pid}}

Code Snippets

Set target data model for a specific architecture

dtrace -arch {{arch_name}}

Claim [a]nonymous tracing state and display the traced data

dtrace -a

Set principal trace buffer size. Supported units are `k`, `m`, `g`, or `t`

dtrace -b {{2g}}

Compile the specified D Program [s]ource file

dtrace -s {{D_script}}

Run the specified [c]ommand and exit upon its completion

dtrace -c {{command}}

Context

tldr-pages: osx/dtrace

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