Safe, dynamic tracing for Java applications

BTrace dynamically instruments running Java applications to inject tracing code at runtime. No restarts. No recompilation. Production-safe.

Quick links: Quick Reference · Step-by-Step Tutorial

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Why BTrace?

• Zero downtime - Attach to running JVMs without restart
• Production safe - Verified scripts can't crash your application
• Flexible probes - Method entry/exit, timings, field access, allocations
• Low overhead - Bytecode injection with minimal performance impact

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Get Started in 30 Seconds

# Install via JBang (easiest)
curl -Ls https://sh.jbang.dev | bash -s - app setup

# Add the BTrace JBang catalog (one time)
jbang catalog add --name btraceio https://raw.githubusercontent.com/btraceio/jbang-catalog/main/jbang-catalog.json

# Trace slow methods in your running app
jbang btrace@btraceio -n 'com.myapp.*::* @return if duration>100ms { print method, duration }' $(pgrep -f myapp)

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Trace Anything

Method timing:

btrace -n 'java.sql.Statement::execute* @return { print method, duration }' <PID>

Exception tracking:

btrace -n 'java.lang.Exception::<init> @return { print self, stack(5) }' <PID>

Custom probes:

@BTrace public class Trace {
    @OnMethod(clazz = "com.example.OrderService", method = "checkout")
    public static void onCheckout(@Self Object self, @Duration long ns) {
        println(strcat("checkout: ", str(ns/1_000_000) + "ms"));
    }
}

See the Oneliner Guide for complete syntax.

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Install

# JBang (recommended - zero installation)
jbang catalog add --name btraceio https://raw.githubusercontent.com/btraceio/jbang-catalog/main/jbang-catalog.json
jbang btrace@btraceio <PID> script.java

# SDKMan
sdk install btrace

# Manual download
curl -LO https://github.com/btraceio/btrace/releases/latest/download/btrace-bin.tar.gz

See Installation Guide for Docker, package managers, and more options.

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Documentation

Resource	Description
Quick Reference	Cheat sheet for experienced users
Getting Started	Step-by-step first trace tutorial
Full Tutorial	Complete walkthrough of all features
Oneliners	DTrace-style quick probes
Extensions	StatsD, custom integrations
Documentation Hub	All docs and guides

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Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/btraceio/btrace.git
cd btrace
./gradlew :btrace-dist:build

See CLAUDE.md for development setup and architecture.

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Community & Contributing

Get help: Slack · Gitter · GitHub Issues

Contribute: Pull requests require signing the Oracle Contributor Agreement.

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License

GPLv2 with Classpath Exception. See LICENSE.

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Credits: Built with ASM, JCTools, hppcrt. Optimized with JProfiler.