brew / rank 5710

Install async-profiler with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix

Sampling CPU & HEAP profiler for Java using AsyncGetCallTrace + perf_events. Version 4.5 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-20. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#async-profiler.

Install command Security notes

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install async-profiler

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install async-profiler

MacPorts ports tree · java/async-profiler/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#async-profiler

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/as/async-profiler/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Sampling CPU & HEAP profiler for Java using AsyncGetCallTrace + perf_events

Project links

Homepage

Commands and aliases

asprof
jfrconv

history

Project history and usage

async-profiler is a low-overhead sampling profiler for HotSpot-based Java runtimes. Its package-manager identity is unusually strong because the everyday tool is a small native CLI, `asprof`, that produces artifacts Java engineers already trade around: flame graphs, collapsed stacks, JFR recordings, traces, trees, heatmaps, and converter outputs.

Project history

The project started in 2016 with an initial proof of concept for profiling Java without the safepoint bias that affected many traditional JVM profilers. The README describes the core design as combining HotSpot-specific stack collection with native facilities such as perf events, so it can show Java frames alongside native, kernel, GC, and JIT compiler activity.

Over time async-profiler grew from a CPU sampler into a broader observability utility. Official documentation now covers CPU, allocation, native memory, lock, wall-clock, hardware/software counter, container, Java Flight Recorder, FlameGraph, OTLP, pprof, and converter workflows.

Adoption history

The project became a default recommendation in the JVM performance community because it is scriptable, produces portable output, and does not require a heavyweight GUI profiler. The package is distributed through Homebrew, MacPorts, and Nix in the supplied package metadata, while upstream publishes Linux and macOS binaries plus nightly builds from GitHub Actions.

Recent 4.x releases show continued production-oriented maintenance rather than archival status: v4.3 added native lock profiling, latency filtering, Prometheus-format metrics, and Java-agent/JMX control, while v4.4 added differential flame graphs and call-trace memory limits.

How it is used

The normal package-manager workflow is to install the CLI and run `asprof` against a live JVM PID, for example saving a 30-second profile to an HTML flame graph. More advanced workflows attach it as a Java agent, run continuous loops, emit JFR/OTLP/pprof-compatible data, or convert recordings with the bundled converter tooling.

Why package nerds care

async-profiler is one of those packages whose formula matters more than its size suggests: a native tool with JVM-specific privileges, OS-specific packaging, architecture-specific binaries, and output formats that plug into a large performance-debugging ecosystem. It is also a good example of a CLI package that package managers make discoverable to users who otherwise would only encounter it through conference talks or performance postmortems.

Timeline

2016: Initial Git commit and proof-of-concept async profiler work.
v1.x: Early public release series established the standalone profiler package.
2026: v4.3 added native lock profiling, latency filtering, Prometheus metrics, and Java-agent/JMX control.
2026: v4.4 added differential flame graphs and further FlameGraph/JFR/OTLP improvements.

Related projects

The project sits near HotSpot, Linux perf events, Java Flight Recorder, Brendan Gregg-style FlameGraphs, OpenTelemetry, and pprof-style profiling workflows.

Sources

Official git metadata from https://github.com/async-profiler/async-profiler.git
https://github.com/async-profiler/async-profiler#readme
https://github.com/async-profiler/async-profiler/releases.atom
https://github.com/async-profiler/async-profiler/tree/master/docs

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

text:sync

Install behavior

No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`asprof`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.
`jfrconv`	executable	indexed executable	Discovered from the local executable index.

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-08-03

manager version4.5

manager updated2026-07-20

local dataunknown

upstreamnot available

latest detectednot detected

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:async-profiler
Version	4.5
Package manager	Homebrew
Homepage	https://github.com/async-profiler/async-profiler
Repository	https://github.com/async-profiler/async-profiler
Last updated	2026-07-20T23:29:47Z
Pulse	updated
Bottle	not recorded
Service	none declared

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

async-profiler

nix profile install nixpkgs#async-profiler

normalized package name match
Matched by: Async Profiler

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/as/async-profiler/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

MacPorts95%