JFR Support in Native Image

[roberttoyonaga]

TL;DR

We want to maximize support for JFR in GraalVM Native Image.

Goals

We want to allow users to re-use their monitoring tools and other JFR-based tools for native deployments of their applications. For this reason, we plan to support as many JFR events and components as possible within Native Image. Not all of them may apply, for example, because native executables don't allow dynamic features and usually don't include a JIT¹.
This issue outlines the current and in progress scope of JFR support in Native Image compared with JIT. This outline is a work in progress and should be kept up-to-date as tasks are identified/completed.

Non-Goals

• Support for jvmstat, JMX, and other monitoring/observability APIs (handled in separate issues)
• Maintain support for older versions of JFR

Events

The following built-in JFR events are supported in native images. Some of the events on this list may not be applicable to native images and are included for the sake of completion.

• jdk.ActiveRecording (since 22.1)
• jdk.ActiveSetting (since 22.1)
• jdk.AllocationRequiringGC (since 24.0, GraalVM for JDK 22)
  jdk.BooleanFlag (N/A)
  jdk.BooleanFlagChanged (N/A)
• jdk.ClassLoaderStatistics
• jdk.ClassLoadingStatistics (since 22.1)
• jdk.ClassDefine
jdk.ClassLoad (N/A)
  jdk.ClassRedefinition (N/A)
  jdk.ClassUnload (N/A)
  jdk.CodeCacheConfiguration (N/A)
  jdk.CodeCacheFull (N/A)
  jdk.CodeCacheStatistics (N/A)
• jdk.CodeSweeperConfiguration
• jdk.CodeSweeperStatistics
jdk.Compilation (N/A)
  jdk.CompilationFailure(N/A)
  jdk.CompilerConfiguration (N/A)
  jdk.CompilerInlining (N/A)
  jdk.CompilerPhase (N/A)
  jdk.CompilerStatistics(N/A)
• jdk.ConcurrentModeFailure
• jdk.ContainerCPUThrottling (since 23.0, GraalVM for JDK 17 / 20)
• jdk.ContainerCPUUsage (since 23.0, GraalVM for JDK 17 / 20)
• jdk.ContainerConfiguration (since 23.0, GraalVM for JDK 17 / 20)
• jdk.ContainerIOUsage (since 23.0, GraalVM for JDK 17 / 20)
• jdk.ContainerMemoryUsage (since 23.0, GraalVM for JDK 17 / 20)
• jdk.CPUInformation
• jdk.CPULoad
• jdk.CPUTimeStampCounter
• jdk.DataLoss (since 22.1)
  jdk.Deoptimization (N/A)
• jdk.Deserialization
• jdk.DumpReason
• jdk.DirectBufferStatistics
jdk.DoubleFlag (N/A)
  jdk.DoubleFlagChanged (N/A)
• jdk.EvacuationFailed
• jdk.EvacuationInformation
• jdk.ExceptionStatistics
• jdk.ExecutionSample (since 23.0, GraalVM for JDK 17 / 20)
• jdk.ExecuteVMOperation (since 22.1)
• jdk.FileForce
• jdk.FileRead
• jdk.FileWrite
• jdk.FinalizerStatistics
• jdk.Flush
jdk.G1AdaptiveIHOP (N/A)
  jdk.G1BasicIHOP (N/A)
  jdk.G1EvacuationOldStatistics (N/A)
  jdk.G1EvacuationYoungStatistics (N/A)
  jdk.G1GarbageCollection (N/A)
  jdk.G1HeapSummary (N/A)
  jdk.G1HeapRegionInformation (N/A)
  jdk.G1HeapRegionTypeChange (N/A)
  jdk.G1HeapSummary (N/A)
  jdk.G1MMU (N/A)
• jdk.GarbageCollection (since 22.1)
• jdk.GCConfiguration
• jdk.GCHeapConfiguration
• jdk.GCHeapSummary (since 23.1, GraalVM for JDK 21)
• jdk.GCLocker
jdk.GCPhaseConcurrent (N/A)
• jdk.GCPhasePause (since 22.1)
• jdk.GCPhasePauseLevel1 (since 22.1)
• jdk.GCPhasePauseLevel2 (since 22.1)
• jdk.GCPhasePauseLevel3 (since 22.1)
• jdk.GCPhasePauseLevel4 (since 22.1)
• jdk.GCPhaseParallel
• jdk.GCReferenceStatistics
• jdk.GCSurvivorConfiguration
• jdk.GCTLABConfiguration
• jdk.HeapDump
• jdk.InitialEnvironmentVariable (since 22.1)
• jdk.InitialSystemProperty (since 22.1)
  jdk.IntFlag (N/A)
  jdk.IntFlagChanged (N/A)
• jdk.JavaErrorThrow
• jdk.JavaExceptionThrow
• jdk.JavaMonitorEnter (since 22.3)
• jdk.JavaMonitorInflate (since 23.0, GraalVM for JDK 17 / 20)
• jdk.JavaMonitorWait (since 22.3)
• jdk.JavaThreadStatistics (since 22.1)
• jdk.JVMInformation (since 22.1)
• jdk.LoaderConstraintsTableStatistics
jdk.LongFlag (N/A)
  jdk.LongFlagChanged (N/A)
  jdk.MetaspaceAllocationFailure (N/A)
  jdk.MetaspaceChunkFreeListSummary (N/A)
  jdk.MetaspaceGCThreshold (N/A)
  jdk.MetaspaceOOM (N/A)
  jdk.MetaspaceSummary (N/A)
• jdk.ModuleExport
• jdk.ModuleRequire
• jdk.NativeLibrary
• jdk.NativeMethodSample
• jdk.NativeMemoryUsage (since JDK 23)
• jdk.NativeMemoryUsageTotal (since JDK 23)
• jdk.NativeMemoryUsagePeak (since JDK 23)
• jdk.NativeMemoryUsageTotalPeak (since JDK 23)
• jdk.NetworkUtilization
• jdk.ObjectAllocationInNewTLAB (since 23.0, GraalVM for JDK 17 / 20)
  jdk.ObjectAllocationOutsideTLAB (N/A)
• jdk.ObjectAllocationSample (since JDK 23)
• jdk.ObjectCount
• jdk.ObjectCountAfterGC
• jdk.OldGarbageCollection
• jdk.OldObjectSample
• jdk.OSInformation (since 22.1)
  jdk.ParallelOldGarbageCollection (N/A)
• jdk.PhysicalMemory (since 22.1)
• jdk.PlaceholderTableStatistics
• jdk.ProcessStart
• jdk.PromotionFailed
jdk.PromoteObjectInNewPLAB (N/A)
  jdk.PromoteObjectOutsidePLAB (N/A)
• jdk.ProtectionDomainCacheTableStatistics
jdk.PSHeapSummary (N/A)
  jdk.RedefineClasses (N/A)
• jdk.ReservedStackActivation
jdk.RetransformClasses (N/A)
• jdk.SafepointBegin
• jdk.SafepointCleanup
• jdk.SafepointCleanupTask
• jdk.SafepointEnd (since 22.1)
• jdk.SafepointStateSynchronization
• jdk.SecurityPropertyModification
jdk.ShenandoahHeapRegionInformation (N/A)
  jdk.ShenandoahHeapRegionStateChange (N/A)
• jdk.Shutdown
• jdk.SocketRead (since JDK 23)
• jdk.SocketWrite(since JDK 23)
  jdk.StringFlag (N/A)
  jdk.StringFlagChanged (N/A)
• jdk.StringTableStatistics
• jdk.SymbolTableStatistics
• jdk.SyncOnValueBasedClass
• jdk.SystemGC (since 24.0, GraalVM for JDK 22)
• jdk.SystemProcess
• jdk.TenuringDistribution
• jdk.ThreadAllocationStatistics (since 24.0, GraalVM for JDK 22)
• jdk.ThreadContextSwitchRate
• jdk.ThreadCPULoad (since 23.1, GraalVM for JDK 21)
• jdk.ThreadEnd (since 22.1)
• jdk.ThreadDump
• jdk.ThreadPark (since 23.0, GraalVM for JDK 17 / 20)
• jdk.ThreadSleep (since 22.3)
• jdk.ThreadStart (since 22.1)
• jdk.TLSHandshake
jdk.UnsignedIntFlag (N/A)
  jdk.UnsignedIntFlagChanged (N/A)
  jdk.UnsignedLongFlag (N/A)
  jdk.UnsignedLongFlagChanged (N/A)
• jdk.VirtualizationInformation
• jdk.VirtualThreadEnd (since 23.1, GraalVM for JDK 21)
• jdk.VirtualThreadPinned (since 23.1, GraalVM for JDK 21)
• jdk.VirtualThreadStart (since 23.1, GraalVM for JDK 21)
• jdk.VirtualThreadSubmitFailed
• jdk.X509Certificate
• jdk.X509Validation
• jdk.YoungGarbageCollection
• jdk.YoungGenerationConfiguration
jdk.ZAllocationStall (N/A)
  jdk.ZPageAllocation (N/A)
  jdk.ZRelocationSet (N/A)
  jdk.ZRelocationSetGroup (N/A)
  jdk.ZStatisticsCounter (N/A)
  jdk.ZStatisticsSampler (N/A)
  jdk.ZThreadPhase (N/A)
  jdk.ZUncommit (N/A)
  jdk.ZUnmap (N/A)

Features

Feature	Native Image	JIT	Description
Event Streaming	Supported (experimental) (since 23.0, GraalVM for JDK 17 / 20)	Supported
Leak profiling	In progress	Supported	Via old object sampling
Remote JMX	Supported (experimental) (since 23.0, GraalVM for JDK 17 / 20)	Supported	Manage beans over JMX connection
Stacktrace data for events	Supported (since 23.0, GraalVM for JDK 17 / 20)	Supported
In-memory chunk rotation	Not Supported	Supported
Custom Events API	Supported (since 22.3)	Supported	Create and emit custom events using the Events API
Control JFR via jcmd	Supported in JDK24 EA	Supported
Tuning via -XX:FlightRecorderOptions	Supported (since JDK 23)	Supported
Emergency Dumping on OOM	Not Supported	Supported	Generated a JFR dump on out of memory error

Optimizations

Optimization	Native Image	JIT	Description
String pool	Not implemented	Implemented	Constant pool to deduplicate strings
Event Throttling	Supported (since JDK 23)	Implemented	Subsample frequent events to have deterministic overhead.

Footnotes

1. The only exception to this are GraalVM languages, which do contain the Graal compiler for guest language-level jitting. ↩