21 KiB
Performance Analysis Guide
Comprehensive guide to analyzing web performance using Chrome DevTools Protocol, Puppeteer, and chrome-devtools skill.
Table of Contents
- Core Web Vitals
- Performance Tracing
- Network Analysis
- JavaScript Performance
- Rendering Performance
- Memory Analysis
- Optimization Strategies
Core Web Vitals
Overview
Core Web Vitals are Google's standardized metrics for measuring user experience:
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) - Loading performance (< 2.5s good)
- FID (First Input Delay) - Interactivity (< 100ms good)
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) - Visual stability (< 0.1 good)
Measuring with chrome-devtools-mcp
// Start performance trace
await useTool('performance_start_trace', {
categories: ['loading', 'rendering', 'scripting']
});
// Navigate to page
await useTool('navigate_page', {
url: 'https://example.com'
});
// Wait for complete load
await useTool('wait_for', {
waitUntil: 'networkidle'
});
// Stop trace and get data
await useTool('performance_stop_trace');
// Get AI-powered insights
const insights = await useTool('performance_analyze_insight');
// insights will include:
// - LCP timing
// - FID analysis
// - CLS score
// - Performance recommendations
Measuring with Puppeteer
import puppeteer from 'puppeteer';
const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
const page = await browser.newPage();
// Measure Core Web Vitals
await page.goto('https://example.com', {
waitUntil: 'networkidle2'
});
const vitals = await page.evaluate(() => {
return new Promise((resolve) => {
const vitals = {
LCP: null,
FID: null,
CLS: 0
};
// LCP
new PerformanceObserver((list) => {
const entries = list.getEntries();
vitals.LCP = entries[entries.length - 1].renderTime ||
entries[entries.length - 1].loadTime;
}).observe({ entryTypes: ['largest-contentful-paint'] });
// FID
new PerformanceObserver((list) => {
vitals.FID = list.getEntries()[0].processingStart -
list.getEntries()[0].startTime;
}).observe({ entryTypes: ['first-input'] });
// CLS
new PerformanceObserver((list) => {
list.getEntries().forEach((entry) => {
if (!entry.hadRecentInput) {
vitals.CLS += entry.value;
}
});
}).observe({ entryTypes: ['layout-shift'] });
// Wait 5 seconds for metrics
setTimeout(() => resolve(vitals), 5000);
});
});
console.log('Core Web Vitals:', vitals);
Other Important Metrics
TTFB (Time to First Byte)
const ttfb = await page.evaluate(() => {
const [navigationEntry] = performance.getEntriesByType('navigation');
return navigationEntry.responseStart - navigationEntry.requestStart;
});
FCP (First Contentful Paint)
const fcp = await page.evaluate(() => {
const paintEntries = performance.getEntriesByType('paint');
const fcpEntry = paintEntries.find(e => e.name === 'first-contentful-paint');
return fcpEntry ? fcpEntry.startTime : null;
});
TTI (Time to Interactive)
// Requires lighthouse or manual calculation
const tti = await page.evaluate(() => {
// Complex calculation based on network idle and long tasks
// Best to use Lighthouse for accurate TTI
});
Performance Tracing
Chrome Trace Categories
Loading:
- Page load events
- Resource loading
- Parser activity
Rendering:
- Layout calculations
- Paint operations
- Compositing
Scripting:
- JavaScript execution
- V8 compilation
- Garbage collection
Network:
- HTTP requests
- WebSocket traffic
- Resource fetching
Input:
- User input processing
- Touch/scroll events
GPU:
- GPU operations
- Compositing work
Record Performance Trace
Using chrome-devtools-mcp:
// Start trace with specific categories
await useTool('performance_start_trace', {
categories: ['loading', 'rendering', 'scripting', 'network']
});
// Perform actions
await useTool('navigate_page', { url: 'https://example.com' });
await useTool('wait_for', { waitUntil: 'networkidle' });
// Optional: Interact with page
await useTool('click', { uid: 'button-uid' });
// Stop trace
const traceData = await useTool('performance_stop_trace');
// Analyze trace
const insights = await useTool('performance_analyze_insight');
Using Puppeteer:
// Start tracing
await page.tracing.start({
path: 'trace.json',
categories: [
'devtools.timeline',
'disabled-by-default-devtools.timeline',
'disabled-by-default-v8.cpu_profiler'
]
});
// Navigate
await page.goto('https://example.com', {
waitUntil: 'networkidle2'
});
// Stop tracing
await page.tracing.stop();
// Analyze in Chrome DevTools (chrome://tracing)
Analyze Trace Data
Key Metrics from Trace:
-
Main Thread Activity
- JavaScript execution time
- Layout/reflow time
- Paint time
- Long tasks (> 50ms)
-
Network Waterfall
- Request start times
- DNS lookup
- Connection time
- Download time
-
Rendering Pipeline
- DOM construction
- Style calculation
- Layout
- Paint
- Composite
Common Issues to Look For:
- Long tasks blocking main thread
- Excessive JavaScript execution
- Layout thrashing
- Unnecessary repaints
- Slow network requests
- Large bundle sizes
Network Analysis
Monitor Network Requests
Using chrome-devtools-mcp:
// Navigate to page
await useTool('navigate_page', { url: 'https://example.com' });
// Wait for all requests
await useTool('wait_for', { waitUntil: 'networkidle' });
// List all requests
const requests = await useTool('list_network_requests', {
resourceTypes: ['Document', 'Script', 'Stylesheet', 'Image', 'XHR', 'Fetch'],
pageSize: 100
});
// Analyze specific request
for (const req of requests.requests) {
const details = await useTool('get_network_request', {
requestId: req.id
});
console.log({
url: details.url,
method: details.method,
status: details.status,
size: details.encodedDataLength,
time: details.timing.receiveHeadersEnd - details.timing.requestTime,
cached: details.fromCache
});
}
Using Puppeteer:
const requests = [];
// Capture all requests
page.on('request', (request) => {
requests.push({
url: request.url(),
method: request.method(),
resourceType: request.resourceType(),
headers: request.headers()
});
});
// Capture responses
page.on('response', (response) => {
const request = response.request();
console.log({
url: response.url(),
status: response.status(),
size: response.headers()['content-length'],
cached: response.fromCache(),
timing: response.timing()
});
});
await page.goto('https://example.com');
Network Performance Metrics
Calculate Total Page Weight:
let totalBytes = 0;
let resourceCounts = {};
page.on('response', async (response) => {
const type = response.request().resourceType();
const buffer = await response.buffer();
totalBytes += buffer.length;
resourceCounts[type] = (resourceCounts[type] || 0) + 1;
});
await page.goto('https://example.com');
console.log('Total size:', (totalBytes / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2), 'MB');
console.log('Resources:', resourceCounts);
Identify Slow Requests:
page.on('response', (response) => {
const timing = response.timing();
const totalTime = timing.receiveHeadersEnd - timing.requestTime;
if (totalTime > 1000) { // Slower than 1 second
console.log('Slow request:', {
url: response.url(),
time: totalTime.toFixed(2) + 'ms',
size: response.headers()['content-length']
});
}
});
Network Throttling
Simulate Slow Connection:
// Using chrome-devtools-mcp
await useTool('emulate_network', {
throttlingOption: 'Slow 3G' // or 'Fast 3G', 'Slow 4G'
});
// Using Puppeteer
const client = await page.createCDPSession();
await client.send('Network.emulateNetworkConditions', {
offline: false,
downloadThroughput: 400 * 1024 / 8, // 400 Kbps
uploadThroughput: 400 * 1024 / 8,
latency: 2000 // 2000ms RTT
});
JavaScript Performance
Identify Long Tasks
Using Performance Observer:
await page.evaluate(() => {
return new Promise((resolve) => {
const longTasks = [];
const observer = new PerformanceObserver((list) => {
list.getEntries().forEach((entry) => {
longTasks.push({
name: entry.name,
duration: entry.duration,
startTime: entry.startTime
});
});
});
observer.observe({ entryTypes: ['longtask'] });
// Collect for 10 seconds
setTimeout(() => {
observer.disconnect();
resolve(longTasks);
}, 10000);
});
});
CPU Profiling
Using Puppeteer:
// Start CPU profiling
const client = await page.createCDPSession();
await client.send('Profiler.enable');
await client.send('Profiler.start');
// Navigate and interact
await page.goto('https://example.com');
await page.click('.button');
// Stop profiling
const { profile } = await client.send('Profiler.stop');
// Analyze profile (flame graph data)
// Import into Chrome DevTools for visualization
JavaScript Coverage
Identify Unused Code:
// Start coverage
await Promise.all([
page.coverage.startJSCoverage(),
page.coverage.startCSSCoverage()
]);
// Navigate
await page.goto('https://example.com');
// Stop coverage
const [jsCoverage, cssCoverage] = await Promise.all([
page.coverage.stopJSCoverage(),
page.coverage.stopCSSCoverage()
]);
// Calculate unused bytes
function calculateUnusedBytes(coverage) {
let usedBytes = 0;
let totalBytes = 0;
for (const entry of coverage) {
totalBytes += entry.text.length;
for (const range of entry.ranges) {
usedBytes += range.end - range.start - 1;
}
}
return {
usedBytes,
totalBytes,
unusedBytes: totalBytes - usedBytes,
unusedPercentage: ((totalBytes - usedBytes) / totalBytes * 100).toFixed(2)
};
}
console.log('JS Coverage:', calculateUnusedBytes(jsCoverage));
console.log('CSS Coverage:', calculateUnusedBytes(cssCoverage));
Bundle Size Analysis
Analyze JavaScript Bundles:
page.on('response', async (response) => {
const url = response.url();
const type = response.request().resourceType();
if (type === 'script') {
const buffer = await response.buffer();
const size = buffer.length;
console.log({
url: url.split('/').pop(),
size: (size / 1024).toFixed(2) + ' KB',
gzipped: response.headers()['content-encoding'] === 'gzip'
});
}
});
Rendering Performance
Layout Thrashing Detection
Monitor Layout Recalculations:
// Using Performance Observer
await page.evaluate(() => {
return new Promise((resolve) => {
const measurements = [];
const observer = new PerformanceObserver((list) => {
list.getEntries().forEach((entry) => {
if (entry.entryType === 'measure' &&
entry.name.includes('layout')) {
measurements.push({
name: entry.name,
duration: entry.duration,
startTime: entry.startTime
});
}
});
});
observer.observe({ entryTypes: ['measure'] });
setTimeout(() => {
observer.disconnect();
resolve(measurements);
}, 5000);
});
});
Paint and Composite Metrics
Get Paint Metrics:
const paintMetrics = await page.evaluate(() => {
const paints = performance.getEntriesByType('paint');
return {
firstPaint: paints.find(p => p.name === 'first-paint')?.startTime,
firstContentfulPaint: paints.find(p => p.name === 'first-contentful-paint')?.startTime
};
});
Frame Rate Analysis
Monitor FPS:
await page.evaluate(() => {
return new Promise((resolve) => {
let frames = 0;
let lastTime = performance.now();
function countFrames() {
frames++;
requestAnimationFrame(countFrames);
}
countFrames();
setTimeout(() => {
const now = performance.now();
const elapsed = (now - lastTime) / 1000;
const fps = frames / elapsed;
resolve(fps);
}, 5000);
});
});
Layout Shifts (CLS)
Track Individual Shifts:
await page.evaluate(() => {
return new Promise((resolve) => {
const shifts = [];
let totalCLS = 0;
const observer = new PerformanceObserver((list) => {
list.getEntries().forEach((entry) => {
if (!entry.hadRecentInput) {
totalCLS += entry.value;
shifts.push({
value: entry.value,
time: entry.startTime,
elements: entry.sources?.map(s => s.node)
});
}
});
});
observer.observe({ entryTypes: ['layout-shift'] });
setTimeout(() => {
observer.disconnect();
resolve({ totalCLS, shifts });
}, 10000);
});
});
Memory Analysis
Memory Metrics
Get Memory Usage:
// Using chrome-devtools-mcp
await useTool('evaluate_script', {
expression: `
({
usedJSHeapSize: performance.memory?.usedJSHeapSize,
totalJSHeapSize: performance.memory?.totalJSHeapSize,
jsHeapSizeLimit: performance.memory?.jsHeapSizeLimit
})
`,
returnByValue: true
});
// Using Puppeteer
const metrics = await page.metrics();
console.log({
jsHeapUsed: (metrics.JSHeapUsedSize / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2) + ' MB',
jsHeapTotal: (metrics.JSHeapTotalSize / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2) + ' MB',
domNodes: metrics.Nodes,
documents: metrics.Documents,
jsEventListeners: metrics.JSEventListeners
});
Memory Leak Detection
Monitor Memory Over Time:
async function detectMemoryLeak(page, duration = 30000) {
const samples = [];
const interval = 1000; // Sample every second
const samples_count = duration / interval;
for (let i = 0; i < samples_count; i++) {
const metrics = await page.metrics();
samples.push({
time: i,
heapUsed: metrics.JSHeapUsedSize
});
await page.waitForTimeout(interval);
}
// Analyze trend
const firstSample = samples[0].heapUsed;
const lastSample = samples[samples.length - 1].heapUsed;
const increase = ((lastSample - firstSample) / firstSample * 100).toFixed(2);
return {
samples,
memoryIncrease: increase + '%',
possibleLeak: increase > 50 // > 50% increase indicates possible leak
};
}
const leakAnalysis = await detectMemoryLeak(page, 30000);
console.log('Memory Analysis:', leakAnalysis);
Heap Snapshot
Capture Heap Snapshot:
const client = await page.createCDPSession();
// Take snapshot
await client.send('HeapProfiler.enable');
const { result } = await client.send('HeapProfiler.takeHeapSnapshot');
// Snapshot is streamed in chunks
// Save to file or analyze programmatically
Optimization Strategies
Image Optimization
Detect Unoptimized Images:
const images = await page.evaluate(() => {
const images = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('img'));
return images.map(img => ({
src: img.src,
naturalWidth: img.naturalWidth,
naturalHeight: img.naturalHeight,
displayWidth: img.width,
displayHeight: img.height,
oversized: img.naturalWidth > img.width * 1.5 ||
img.naturalHeight > img.height * 1.5
}));
});
const oversizedImages = images.filter(img => img.oversized);
console.log('Oversized images:', oversizedImages);
Font Loading
Detect Render-Blocking Fonts:
const fonts = await page.evaluate(() => {
return Array.from(document.fonts).map(font => ({
family: font.family,
weight: font.weight,
style: font.style,
status: font.status,
loaded: font.status === 'loaded'
}));
});
console.log('Fonts:', fonts);
Third-Party Scripts
Measure Third-Party Impact:
const thirdPartyDomains = ['googletagmanager.com', 'facebook.net', 'doubleclick.net'];
page.on('response', async (response) => {
const url = response.url();
const isThirdParty = thirdPartyDomains.some(domain => url.includes(domain));
if (isThirdParty) {
const buffer = await response.buffer();
console.log({
url: url,
size: (buffer.length / 1024).toFixed(2) + ' KB',
type: response.request().resourceType()
});
}
});
Critical Rendering Path
Identify Render-Blocking Resources:
await page.goto('https://example.com');
const renderBlockingResources = await page.evaluate(() => {
const resources = performance.getEntriesByType('resource');
return resources.filter(resource => {
return (resource.initiatorType === 'link' &&
resource.name.includes('.css')) ||
(resource.initiatorType === 'script' &&
!resource.name.includes('async'));
}).map(r => ({
url: r.name,
duration: r.duration,
startTime: r.startTime
}));
});
console.log('Render-blocking resources:', renderBlockingResources);
Lighthouse Integration
Run Lighthouse Audit:
import lighthouse from 'lighthouse';
import { launch } from 'chrome-launcher';
// Launch Chrome
const chrome = await launch({ chromeFlags: ['--headless'] });
// Run Lighthouse
const { lhr } = await lighthouse('https://example.com', {
port: chrome.port,
onlyCategories: ['performance']
});
// Get scores
console.log({
performanceScore: lhr.categories.performance.score * 100,
metrics: {
FCP: lhr.audits['first-contentful-paint'].displayValue,
LCP: lhr.audits['largest-contentful-paint'].displayValue,
TBT: lhr.audits['total-blocking-time'].displayValue,
CLS: lhr.audits['cumulative-layout-shift'].displayValue,
SI: lhr.audits['speed-index'].displayValue
},
opportunities: lhr.audits['opportunities']
});
await chrome.kill();
Performance Budgets
Set Performance Budgets
const budgets = {
// Core Web Vitals
LCP: 2500, // ms
FID: 100, // ms
CLS: 0.1, // score
// Other metrics
FCP: 1800, // ms
TTI: 3800, // ms
TBT: 300, // ms
// Resource budgets
totalPageSize: 2 * 1024 * 1024, // 2 MB
jsSize: 500 * 1024, // 500 KB
cssSize: 100 * 1024, // 100 KB
imageSize: 1 * 1024 * 1024, // 1 MB
// Request counts
totalRequests: 50,
jsRequests: 10,
cssRequests: 5
};
async function checkBudgets(page, budgets) {
// Measure actual values
const vitals = await measureCoreWebVitals(page);
const resources = await analyzeResources(page);
// Compare against budgets
const violations = [];
if (vitals.LCP > budgets.LCP) {
violations.push(`LCP: ${vitals.LCP}ms exceeds budget of ${budgets.LCP}ms`);
}
if (resources.totalSize > budgets.totalPageSize) {
violations.push(`Page size: ${resources.totalSize} exceeds budget of ${budgets.totalPageSize}`);
}
// ... check other budgets
return {
passed: violations.length === 0,
violations
};
}
Automated Performance Testing
CI/CD Integration
// performance-test.js
import puppeteer from 'puppeteer';
async function performanceTest(url) {
const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
const page = await browser.newPage();
// Measure metrics
await page.goto(url, { waitUntil: 'networkidle2' });
const metrics = await page.metrics();
const vitals = await measureCoreWebVitals(page);
await browser.close();
// Check against thresholds
const thresholds = {
LCP: 2500,
FID: 100,
CLS: 0.1,
jsHeapSize: 50 * 1024 * 1024 // 50 MB
};
const failed = [];
if (vitals.LCP > thresholds.LCP) failed.push('LCP');
if (vitals.FID > thresholds.FID) failed.push('FID');
if (vitals.CLS > thresholds.CLS) failed.push('CLS');
if (metrics.JSHeapUsedSize > thresholds.jsHeapSize) failed.push('Memory');
if (failed.length > 0) {
console.error('Performance test failed:', failed);
process.exit(1);
}
console.log('Performance test passed');
}
performanceTest(process.env.TEST_URL);
Best Practices
Performance Testing Checklist
-
Measure Multiple Times
- Run tests 3-5 times
- Use median values
- Account for variance
-
Test Different Conditions
- Fast 3G
- Slow 3G
- Offline
- CPU throttling
-
Test Different Devices
- Mobile (low-end)
- Mobile (high-end)
- Desktop
- Tablet
-
Monitor Over Time
- Track metrics in CI/CD
- Set up alerts for regressions
- Create performance dashboards
-
Focus on User Experience
- Prioritize Core Web Vitals
- Test real user journeys
- Consider perceived performance
-
Optimize Critical Path
- Minimize render-blocking resources
- Defer non-critical JavaScript
- Optimize font loading
- Lazy load images