PYCALLGRAPH(1)

📦 version 2.1.6, in fedora 43, fedora 44

👑 PYCALLGRAPH — the Python Call Graph era

okay bestie, gather round, because this is the pycallgraph(1) manual page and it's literally about to make your Python scripts ✨visible✨. it's a whole program that creates call graph visualizations from your Python scripts. yes. you get to see the call graph. iconic behaviour honestly. 💖

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

pycallgraph [OPTION]… OUTPUT_MODE [OUTPUT_OPTIONS] python_file.py

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

so pycallgraph is a program that creates call graph visualization from Python scripts. that's the whole vibe. 🦋

OUTPUT_MODE can be one of graphviz or gephi. and python_file.py is a python script that will be traced — and afterwards, a call graph visualization will be generated. periodt. 🌸

🎀 GENERAL ARGUMENTS 🎀

  • <OUTPUT_MODE> — a choice of graphviz or gephi. pick your fighter. 🥊
  • -h, --help — shows a list of possible options for the command line. your little cheat sheet, no cap.
  • -v, --verbose — turns on verbose mode which will print out information of pycallgraph's state and processing. she's chatty and we love that for her. 💬
  • -d, --debug — turns on debug mode which will print out debugging information such as the raw Graphviz generated files. maximum transparency, we stan. 🔍
  • -ng, --no-groups — do not group modules in the results. by default this is turned on, and it will visually group together methods of the same module. heads up though: the technique of grouping does rely on the type of output used. 👯
  • -s, --stdlib — when running a trace, also include the Python standard library. let the whole stdlib come to the function, fr fr. 🐍
  • -m, --memory — an experimental option which includes memory tracking in the trace. experimental, bestie — you've been warned. 🧪
  • -t, --threaded — an experimental option which processes the trace in another thread. this may or may not be faster. she's giving chaos, she's giving mystery. 😭

🦋 FILTERING ARGUMENTS 🦋

  • -i, --include <pattern> — wildcard pattern of modules to include in the output. you can have multiple include arguments. stack 'em. 🫶
  • -e, --exclude <pattern> — wildcard pattern of modules to exclude in the output. you can have multiple include arguments. (yes, the original says "include" there too — we keep it exactly as it is, no notes. 💀)
  • --include-pycallgraph — by default pycallgraph filters itself out of the trace. enabling this will include pycallgraph in the trace. main character wants to be in her own movie. 👑
  • --max-depth — maximum stack depth to trace. any calls made past this stack depth are not included in the trace. draw the line, bestie. ✋

🌈 GRAPHVIZ ARGUMENTS 🌈

  • -l <tool>, --tool <tool> — modify the default Graphviz tool used by pycallgraph. it uses "dot", but can be changed to either neato, fdp, sfdp, twopi, or circo. five whole alternates, pick your vibe. 🎡

💖 EXAMPLES 💖

create a call graph image called pycallgraph.png on myprogram.py:

pycallgraph graphviz -- ./myprogram.py

create a call graph of a standard Python installation script with command line parameters:

pycallgraph graphviz --output-file=setup.png -- setup.py --dry-run install

run Django's manage.py script, but since there are many calls within Django, and will cause a massively sized generated image, we can filter it to only trace the core Django modules:

pycallgraph -v --stdlib --include "django.core.*" graphviz -- ./manage.py syncdb --noinput

🫶 AUTHOR 🫶

pycallgraph was written by Gerald Kaszuba <pycallgraph@slowchop.com>. absolute legend, we are obsessed. 🌟

this manual page was originally written by Jan Alonzo <jmalonzo@unpluggable.com>, for the Debian GNU/Linux system. thank you for your service. 🎀

2007-2024 Gerald Kaszuba, et al.

okay that's the whole page bestie, go trace something gorgeous 💅

and one last thing before you close the tab — this was pycallgraph 2.1.6, dated Jun 06, 2025. mwah. 🍓✨

📦 where this page comes from