---
id: py-spy
version: "0.4.2"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# py-spy

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Popularity: top 1,000 on PyPI

## Install

pip install py-spy
uv add py-spy
poetry add py-spy

## Description

py-spy: Sampling profiler for Python programs
=====
[![Build Status](https://github.com/benfred/py-spy/workflows/Build/badge.svg?branch=master)](https://github.com/benfred/py-spy/actions?query=branch%3Amaster)
[![FreeBSD Build Status](https://api.cirrus-ci.com/github/benfred/py-spy.svg)](https://cirrus-ci.com/github/benfred/py-spy)

py-spy is a sampling profiler for Python programs. It lets you visualize what your Python
program is spending time on without restarting the program or modifying the code in any way.
py-spy is extremely low overhead: it is written in Rust for speed and doesn't run
in the same process as the profiled Python program. This means py-spy is safe to use against production Python code.

py-spy works on Linux, OSX, Windows and FreeBSD, and supports profiling all recent versions of the CPython
interpreter (versions 2.3-2.7 and 3.3-3.14).

## Installation

Prebuilt binary wheels can be installed from PyPI with:

```
pip install py-spy
```

You can also download prebuilt binaries from the [GitHub Releases
Page](https://github.com/benfred/py-spy/releases).

If you're a Rust user, py-spy can also be installed with: ```cargo install py-spy```. Note this
builds...

## AI interpretation — verify before relying

py-spy is a sampling profiler for Python that visualizes program execution time without code modification or process restart. It runs as a separate Rust-based process with minimal overhead and supports profiling CPython 2.3–3.14 across Linux, macOS, Windows, and FreeBSD.

Verdict: py-spy is a mature, production-ready profiler with zero runtime dependencies, permissive licensing, and active maintenance. Its out-of-process design and low overhead make it well-suited for profiling live services. Medium install friction is offset by broad platform coverage and prebuilt wheels.

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/py-spy) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/py-spy/)