snakeviz
A web-based viewer for Python profiler output
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. SnakeViz is a mature, actively maintained tool with low install friction, no security vulnerabilities, and a permissive license. It solves a real problem—making Python profiling data readable—and integrates seamlessly with Python's standard profiling workflow. Install it if you regularly profile Python code and want a better way to explore the results than command-line tools.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.9 or later.
- Profiling data must be generated separately using Python's built-in cProfile or profile module before visualization.
- Low install friction with a single runtime dependency (tornado).
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — BSD License (permissive). You may use, modify, and distribute the software freely in source or binary form, provided you retain the copyright notice and disclaimer; you cannot use the author's name to endorse derived products.
last release 2024-11-09 (643 days) · last repo commit 2026-02-20 · 2,568 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 2,682,897 downloads/mo, #2,941 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install snakeviz
# After profiling with cProfile or profile module:
snakeviz profile_output.prof- Whether the web interface requires a specific browser or has known compatibility constraints.
- Whether snakeviz can handle very large profiling datasets without performance degradation.
What it is and what it does
SnakeViz is a web application that visualizes Python profiling output in your browser. It takes profiling data generated by Python's standard cProfile or profile module and renders it as an interactive hierarchy showing which functions consumed the most time and how they called one another. The tool runs a local web server (powered by tornado) and displays the call tree in a format inspired by RunSnakeRun, making it easy to spot performance bottlenecks without leaving your browser.
The package is designed for developers who need to understand where their Python code spends execution time. You generate a profile using Python's built-in profiling tools, then point SnakeViz at the output file. It handles the visualization and interaction, letting you drill down into call stacks and compare time spent across different code paths.
Use it for
- Identify performance bottlenecks in a Python application by visualizing which functions consume the most CPU time.
- Explore call hierarchies interactively to understand how functions call one another and where time is actually spent.
- Compare profiling runs across different code versions to see if optimizations had the intended effect.
- Debug slow batch jobs or data processing pipelines by profiling them and examining the results in a browser.
- Share profiling results with team members by exporting or viewing the web interface on a shared machine.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
SnakeViz is a mature, actively maintained tool with low install friction, no security vulnerabilities, and a permissive license. It solves a real problem—making Python profiling data readable—and integrates seamlessly with Python's standard profiling workflow. Install it if you regularly profile Python code and want a better way to explore the results than command-line tools.
Install
snakeviz on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a single runtime dependency (tornado). Actively maintained with recent commits and broad Python version support (3.9–3.13). Repository is not archived and has accumulated 2568 stars.
Requires Python 3.9 or later. Profiling data must be generated separately using Python's built-in cProfile or profile module before visualization.
License in practice
BSD License (permissive). You may use, modify, and distribute the software freely in source or binary form, provided you retain the copyright notice and disclaimer; you cannot use the author's name to endorse derived products.
Quickstart
pip install snakeviz
# After profiling with cProfile or profile module:
snakeviz profile_output.profVerify before relying
- Whether the web interface requires a specific browser or has known compatibility constraints.
- Whether snakeviz can handle very large profiling datasets without performance degradation.
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 1 packagetornado |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 643 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 2,682,897 / month, #2,941 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Intended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: BSD LicenseProgramming Language :: JavaScriptProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: Software Development |
Evidence: snakeviz-2.2.2-py3-none-any.whl
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