The profiler is shipped within Datadog tracing libraries. If you are already using APM to collect traces for your application, you can skip installing the library and go directly to enabling the profiler.

Requirements

For a summary of the minimum and recommended runtime and tracer versions across all languages, read Supported Language and Tracer Versions.

The Datadog Profiler requires at least Node.js 14, but Node.js 16 or higher is recommended. If you use a version of Node.js earlier than 16, some applications see tail latency spikes every minute when starting the next profile.

Continuous Profiler support is in Preview for some serverless platforms, such as AWS Lambda.

Installation

To begin profiling applications:

1. Ensure Datadog Agent v6+ is installed and running. Datadog recommends using Datadog Agent v7+.

2. Run npm install --save dd-trace@latest to add a dependency on the dd-trace module which includes the profiler.

3. Enable the profiler:

   export DD_PROFILING_ENABLED=true
   export DD_ENV=prod
   export DD_SERVICE=my-web-app
   export DD_VERSION=1.0.3
   

   Note: If you’re already using Datadog APM, you are already calling init and don’t need to do so again. If you are not, ensure the tracer and the profiler are loaded together:

   node -r dd-trace/init app.js
   

   const tracer = require('dd-trace').init({
     profiling: true,
     env: 'prod',
     service: 'my-web-app',
     version: '1.0.3'
   })
   

   Note: If you’re already using Datadog APM, you are already calling init and don’t need to do so again. If you are not, ensure the tracer and the profiler are loaded together:

   const tracer = require('dd-trace/init')
   

4. Optional: Set up Source Code Integration.

5. A minute or two after starting your Node.js application, your profiles will show up on the APM > Profiler page.

Not sure what to do next?

The Getting Started with Profiler guide takes a sample service with a performance problem and shows you how to use Continuous Profiler to understand and fix the problem.

Experiencing high overhead?

Node.js 16 or higher is recommended. On earlier versions, some applications see tail latency spikes every minute while starting the next profile.

Further Reading

Additional helpful documentation, links, and articles:

Getting Started with ProfilerDOCUMENTATION Learn more about available profile visualizationsDOCUMENTATION Fix problems you encounter while using the profilerDOCUMENTATION