ftrace Alternatives for Linux

There are many alternatives to ftrace for Linux if you are looking for a replacement. The best Linux alternative is SystemTap, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked nine alternatives to ftrace and seven of them are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to ftrace are lurk, strace, DTrace and perf.

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ftrace alternatives page was last updated May 14, 2025

SystemTap
1 like
SystemTap provides free software (GPL) infrastructure to simplify the gathering of information about the running Linux system. This assists diagnosis of a performance or functional problem. SystemTap eliminates the need for the developer to go through the tedious and disruptive...
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Platforms
Linux
F
Is SystemTap a good alternative to ftrace?
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lurk
1 like
Lurk allows the user to trace system calls of a process or of a command. In contrast to strace, lurk focuses on a simple, yet pretty, user experience while implementing the most important use cases of strace.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (Apache-2.0)
Platforms
Linux
L
F
Is lurk a good alternative to ftrace?
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S
strace
5 likes
strace is a diagnostic, debugging and instructional userspace utility for Linux. It is used to monitor interactions between processes and the Linux kernel, which include system calls, signal deliveries, and changes of process state.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Origin
Russia
Platforms
Linux
BSD
FreeBSD
S
F
Is strace a good alternative to ftrace?
DTrace
4 likes
DTrace is a performance analysis and troubleshooting tool that is included by default with various operating systems, including Solaris, Mac OS X and FreeBSD. A Linux port is in development.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Origin
United States
Platforms
Mac
Linux
BSD
Solaris
FreeBSD
F
Is DTrace a good alternative to ftrace?
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perf
3 likes
perf is a performance analyzing tool in Linux, available from Linux kernel version 2.6.31 under tools/perf, and is frequently updated and enhanced. It is capable of lightweight profiling, supports hardware performance counters, tracepoints, software performance counters (e.g.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Platforms
Linux
P
F
Is perf a good alternative to ftrace?
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ltrace
2 likes
ltrace intercepts and records dynamic library calls which are called by an executed process and the signals received by that process. It can also intercept and print the system calls executed by the program. Used for debugging.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Platforms
Linux
BSD
FreeBSD
L
F
Is ltrace a good alternative to ftrace?
ktap
Like
ktap is a script-based dynamic tracing tool for Linux. It uses a scripting language and lets users trace the Linux kernel dynamically. ktap is designed to give operational insights with interoperability that allows users to tune, troubleshoot and extend the kernel and...
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Platforms
Linux
F
Is ktap a good alternative to ftrace?