.. meta:: :description: Getting started guide for Neuron Explorer — capture profiles, launch the UI, and start performance investigation. :date_updated: 06/29/2026 .. _new-neuron-profiler-setup: Get started with Neuron Explorer ================================= Overview -------- In this guide, you'll capture a profile of your Neuron workload, launch Neuron Explorer, and upload the profile for interactive analysis. By the end you will have: * Captured a system or device profile * Launched Neuron Explorer (browser or VS Code) * Uploaded and viewed your profile in the interactive timeline Prerequisites ------------- * A Trainium or Inferentia EC2 instance (e.g., trn2.48xlarge, inf2.xlarge) with the :ref:`AWS Neuron DLAMI ` * SSH key pair (``.pem`` file) for connecting to your instance * Local machine with SSH client and a web browser (or VS Code) Step 1: Connect and verify installation ----------------------------------------- Launch an EC2 instance with a Neuron DLAMI. See the :doc:`setup guide ` for details. Then, SSH into your EC2 instance and verify Neuron Explorer is installed: .. code-block:: bash neuron-explorer --version If not installed: .. code-block:: bash sudo apt install aws-neuronx-tools .. _neuron-explorer-step2-ssh-tunneling: Step 2: Set up SSH tunneling ------------------------------ Neuron Explorer serves a web UI on port 3001 and an API backend on port 3002. You access both from your local machine through SSH tunnels. From your **local machine**, open the tunnels: .. code-block:: bash ssh -i ~/path/to/your-key.pem \ -L 3001:localhost:3001 \ -L 3002:localhost:3002 \ ubuntu@ -fN .. list-table:: :widths: 40 60 * - ``-i ~/path/to/your-key.pem`` - Path to your EC2 key pair * - ``-L 3001:localhost:3001`` - Forwards the UI port * - ``-L 3002:localhost:3002`` - Forwards the API port * - ``ubuntu@`` - Instance login (use ``ec2-user`` for Amazon Linux) * - ``-fN`` - Runs tunnel in background (no shell) .. important:: You must forward **both** ports. The UI on 3001 calls the API on 3002. If you only forward one, the page loads but shows no data. See :doc:`Troubleshooting ` if you run into issues. Step 3: Capture your profile ------------------------------ Profile types at a glance ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ .. list-table:: :header-rows: 1 :widths: 15 40 25 20 * - Type - What it captures - When to use - Output files * - **System** - Runtime events, API calls, model loads, CPU/memory - End-to-end execution flow - ``ntrace.pb``, ``trace_info.pb``, ``cpu_util.pb``, ``host_mem.pb`` * - **Device** - Hardware-level NeuronCore instruction traces - On-device compute bottlenecks - Matched ``.neff`` + ``.ntff`` pair * - **Both** - Combined system + device view - Full optimization picture - All of the above .. note:: Device profiles require a matched pair: the ``.neff`` and ``.ntff`` share a numeric hash in their filename (e.g., ``neff_395760075800974.neff`` pairs with ``395760075800974_instid_0_vnc_0.ntff``). For instructions on how to capture a profile, see :doc:`Capture Profiles in Neuron Explorer ` or :doc:`Profile a NKI Kernel `. After profiling, ``./profile_output`` will contain trace artifacts organized per process. Verify the output matches the :ref:`Expected Output ` section. Step 4: Launch Neuron Explorer -------------------------------- On the EC2 instance, run: .. code-block:: bash neuron-explorer view # Expected Output: View a list of profiles at http://localhost:3001/ ctrl-c to exit This starts the **UI server** on port 3001 (web interface) and the **API server** on port 3002 (data backend). In your local browser, navigate to ``http://localhost:3001``: .. image:: /tools/images/neuron-explorer-browser-landing.png .. _get-started-vscode: Using VS Code instead of the browser ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 1. Install: Search for **AWS Neuron Explorer** (publisher: Amazon Web Services) in VS Code Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X), or install from the `VS Code Marketplace `_. .. image:: /tools/images/VSCode_marketplace.png **Option A — Local Binary (no tunnel needed)** From the Neuron Explorer view in VS Code, and after you have connected to the Neuron EC2 instance with Remote-SSH: 1. Configure the endpoint: click the extension in the left activity bar, select **Local Binary** on the bottom bar. .. image:: /tools/images/VSCode_marketplace2.png 2. Access Profile Manager from the extension sidebar. .. image:: /tools/images/neuron-explorer-profile-manager-page.png 3. Click **Upload Profile** and paste the path to the profile directory on the instance. .. note:: No SSH tunnel is required when running Neuron Explorer on the remote device. The extension starts the ``neuron-explorer`` server for you automatically when you select **Local Binary**. **Option B — Custom endpoint (SSH tunnel)** 1. Ensure SSH tunnels are active (see :ref:`Step 2: Set up SSH tunneling `). 2. Configure the endpoint: click the extension in the left activity bar, select **Endpoint** on the bottom bar, choose **Custom endpoint**, and enter ``localhost:3002``. .. image:: /tools/images/VSCode_marketplace2.png .. image:: /tools/images/VSCode_marketplace3.png 3. Access the **Profile Manager** from the Neuron Explorer extension sidebar. .. image:: /tools/images/neuron-explorer-profile-manager-page.png .. note:: The VS Code extension uses the same API server. All upload methods (CLI, web UI) work interchangeably — once a profile is uploaded, it's visible in both interfaces. Step 5: Upload your profile ----------------------------- Choose the method that fits your workflow: Option A: CLI upload ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ If you're already SSH'd into the instance, this is the quickest path: .. code-block:: bash neuron-explorer view \ -d ./profile_output \ --ingest-only \ --display-name "my-profile-run" **Expected outcome:** After processing, the CLI outputs a direct link to your profile. Open it in your browser (via the tunnel) to view. .. image:: /tools/images/neuron-explorer-cli-upload-output.png **Useful flags:** .. list-table:: :widths: 30 70 :header-rows: 1 * - Flag - Description * - ``--ignore-device-profile`` - Skip device-level traces (faster processing) * - ``--system-trace-secondary-group worker_gid,lnc_idx`` - Reduce tracks for a cleaner view Option B: Web UI upload ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 1. If your profile output is on the EC2 instance and you want to use the browser uploader locally, transfer the files first: .. code-block:: bash # Compress for faster transfer (recommended for large profiles) # Run on EC2: tar -czf profile_output.tar.gz ./profile_output # Transfer to local machine: scp -i ~/your-key.pem ubuntu@:./profile_output.tar.gz . tar -xzf profile_output.tar.gz 2. Use your local browser or VSCode to open ``http://localhost:3001``. The **Profile Manager** page is displayed. .. image:: /tools/images/profile-workload.png Click the **Upload Profile** button on the top right to open the upload dialog: .. image:: /tools/images/upload-profile.png :width: 65% 3. Enter a **Profile Name** (required). 4. Choose your upload method based on profile type: * **For system profiles (or system + device):** click **Upload Profile** and select **Directory Upload For System Profile**. Then select the directory containing your ``.pb`` files (must include ``trace_info.pb``). .. image:: /tools/images/system-only-profile.png :width: 65% * **For device-only profiles:** click **Upload Profile** and select **Individual Files**. Upload your ``.neff`` and ``.ntff`` files in the designated boxes. .. image:: /tools/images/device-only-profile.png :width: 65% **Expected outcome:** The profile appears in the **User Uploaded** table. Click **Refresh** to check processing status. Once complete, click the profile name to open the interactive timeline. .. image:: /tools/images/profile-expected-outcome.png .. note:: **Why two upload methods?** Directory Upload requires a system profile (``ntrace.pb`` + ``trace_info.pb``). It does not work with device-only profiles. For device-only profiles (just ``.neff`` + ``.ntff``), use **Individual Files**. If you have both system + device files, use **Directory Upload** as it picks up everything. Option C: Export to JSON ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For programmatic analysis (custom scripts, coding agents), export to JSON. This generates ``system_profile.json`` and ``device_profile_model_.json`` per compiled model. .. code-block:: bash neuron-explorer view \ --session-dir ./profile_output \ --output-format json \ --output-file ./integrated_trace.json **Quick text summary (no UI needed):** .. code-block:: bash neuron-explorer view -d ./profile_output --output-format summary-text **JSON schema (system_profile.json):** The file contains event objects. It also includes ``mem_usage`` (sampled host memory) and ``cpu_util`` (CPU utilization per core). .. code-block:: json { "Neuron_Runtime_API_Event": { "duration": 27094, "group": "nrt-nc-000", "id": 1, "instance_id": "i-0f207fb2a99bd2d08", "name": "nrt_tensor_write", "timestamp": 1729888371056597613, "type": 11 }, "Framework_Event": { "duration": 3758079, "group": "framework-80375131", "instance_id": "i-0f207fb2a99bd2d08", "name": "PjitFunction(matmul_allgather)", "timestamp": 1729888382798557372 } } .. _neuron-explorer-get-started-troubleshooting: .. note:: **Share your view with teammates.** After you open a profile, Neuron Explorer encodes your current time range, selected event, and active annotation in the page URL. Copy the URL and share it to give others the same view with no additional setup. The shared URL only works for users connected to the same Neuron Explorer instance. Troubleshooting --------------- For troubleshooting connection issues, upload errors, profiling results problems, and frequently asked questions, see the full :doc:`Troubleshooting & FAQs ` guide. Next steps ---------- * :doc:`Capture Profiles in Neuron Explorer ` — Full capturing and profiling reference (PyTorch, JAX, environment variables, CLI, filtering) * :doc:`Neuron Explorer Full Documentation ` — Complete viewer and feature reference * :doc:`Profile Parquet Schema Reference ` — Complete profile data reference, matching ``neuron-explorer --show-profile-schema``