hermes-agent/apps/desktop/scripts/perf/lib/launch.mjs
brooklyn! 8142331616
bench(desktop): measure representative (warm-cache) cold start (#67733)
Profiling the boot answered "is there a real cold-start win?": no wasteful
hotspot — the renderer does only ~tens of ms of work at mount, no heavy library
(shiki/mermaid/katex/d3/motion) initializes at startup; the rest is Electron
runtime + waiting, near the Electron floor.

It also exposed that the cold-start number was pessimistic: a fresh
--user-data-dir per run means a COLD V8 code cache and worst-case bundle
recompile every launch. Real users reuse their profile. Measured delta:
  fresh (cold cache):  spawn→interactive ~1.48s
  reused (warm cache): ~1.0s
So representative launch is ~1.0s; only first-launch-after-install pays ~+400ms.

- coldStartSamples() reuses one profile (run 0 warms the cache, discarded;
  runs 1..N are warm samples), stepping ports + pausing so the single-instance
  lock releases. `--cold-fresh` measures the first-launch worst case.
- Re-baselined cold-start with the representative warm numbers.

Net: nothing high-ROI left to optimize. The only lever is shipping a pre-warmed
V8 code cache to make first launch match warm (~400ms, once per update) — real
packaging complexity for a marginal win, deliberately not pursued.
2026-07-19 23:21:45 +00:00

418 lines
14 KiB
JavaScript

// Connect the harness to a renderer — either an already-running debug instance
// (`attach`) or a freshly spawned, fully isolated one (`startIsolatedInstance`).
//
// The isolated instance is what makes the harness self-contained and unblocks
// the measurement that the single-instance lock used to prevent:
// · its own --user-data-dir → its own Electron single-instance lock, so it
// never collides with (or steals focus from) the user's running `hgui`.
// · its own HERMES_HOME → its own backend + sessions, no shared state.
// · its own --remote-debugging-port → a private CDP endpoint.
// · HERMES_DESKTOP_BOOT_FAKE=1 → deterministic boot overlay.
// The synthetic scenarios drive `$messages` directly, so no LLM credits are
// spent regardless of the isolated backend.
import { spawn } from 'node:child_process'
import { copyFileSync, existsSync, mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync } from 'node:fs'
import { createRequire } from 'node:module'
import { homedir, tmpdir } from 'node:os'
import { dirname, join, resolve } from 'node:path'
import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
import { CDP, requireDriver, sleep } from './cdp.mjs'
const require = createRequire(import.meta.url)
const DESKTOP_DIR = resolve(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), '..', '..', '..')
async function reachable(url) {
try {
await fetch(url)
return true
} catch {
return false
}
}
async function waitFor(fn, { timeoutMs, label }) {
const deadline = Date.now() + timeoutMs
while (Date.now() < deadline) {
if (await fn()) {
return
}
await sleep(300)
}
throw new Error(`timed out after ${timeoutMs}ms waiting for ${label}`)
}
// Seed an isolated HERMES_HOME with just enough config (NOT sessions) so the
// spawned instance reaches an empty chat view instead of the onboarding wizard.
// A separate HERMES_HOME dir means a separate gateway lock — no collision with
// the user's running app, which keeps its own sessions DB and state.
function seedConfigFrom(sourceHome, targetHome) {
if (!existsSync(sourceHome)) {
return
}
for (const name of ['config.yaml', '.env', 'auth.json']) {
const from = join(sourceHome, name)
if (existsSync(from)) {
try {
copyFileSync(from, join(targetHome, name))
} catch {
// best-effort — a missing file just means onboarding may appear.
}
}
}
}
// Resolve the vite CLI entry via its package.json `bin` (Vite 8's `exports`
// blocks importing `vite/bin/vite.js` directly).
function resolveViteBin() {
const pkgPath = require.resolve('vite/package.json')
const pkg = JSON.parse(readFileSync(pkgPath, 'utf8'))
const rel = typeof pkg.bin === 'string' ? pkg.bin : pkg.bin?.vite
if (!rel) {
throw new Error('could not resolve the vite CLI from vite/package.json')
}
return join(dirname(pkgPath), rel)
}
// Poll the perf driver's `connected()` until the gateway socket is open.
// Returns false if the probe predates this helper or the timeout elapses.
async function waitForConnected(cdp, timeoutMs) {
const hasProbe = await cdp.eval('typeof window.__PERF_DRIVE__.connected === "function"')
if (!hasProbe) {
return false
}
const deadline = Date.now() + timeoutMs
while (Date.now() < deadline) {
if (await cdp.eval('window.__PERF_DRIVE__.connected()')) {
return true
}
await sleep(500)
}
return false
}
function runProcess(command, args, { env } = {}) {
return new Promise((resolveRun, reject) => {
const child = spawn(command, args, {
cwd: DESKTOP_DIR,
stdio: 'inherit',
env: env ? { ...process.env, ...env } : process.env
})
child.on('error', reject)
child.on('exit', code => (code === 0 ? resolveRun() : reject(new Error(`${command} ${args[0]} exited ${code}`))))
})
}
function runNode(scriptRelPath, args = []) {
return runProcess(process.execPath, [join(DESKTOP_DIR, scriptRelPath), ...args])
}
// Build a production renderer WITH the perf probe included (VITE_PERF_PROBE=1),
// plus the prod electron-main bundle, so the harness can measure a real,
// minified React build instead of the ~3x-slower dev build. Slow (a full vite
// build); do it once, then run/attach many times.
export async function buildProdRenderer() {
const viteBin = resolveViteBin()
await runProcess(process.execPath, [viteBin, 'build'], { env: { VITE_PERF_PROBE: '1' } })
await runNode('scripts/bundle-electron-main.mjs')
}
/** Attach to a renderer already listening on `port` (launched via perf:serve or with --remote-debugging-port). */
export async function attach({ port = 9222, match } = {}) {
const cdp = await CDP.connect({ port, match })
await requireDriver(cdp)
return { cdp, teardown: () => cdp.close() }
}
/**
* Spawn an isolated dev instance (vite + electron), wait for the perf driver,
* and return `{ cdp, teardown, devUrl, port }`. `teardown` kills both children
* and removes any temp dirs it created.
*/
// Chromium switches that stop frame-production throttling for a window that
// isn't foregrounded (the perf window usually sits behind the IDE/terminal).
const ANTI_THROTTLE_FLAGS = [
'--disable-background-timer-throttling',
'--disable-renderer-backgrounding',
'--disable-backgrounding-occluded-windows',
'--disable-features=CalculateNativeWinOcclusion'
]
/**
* Spawn an isolated instance and connect the perf driver. Two render modes:
* · dev (default): vite dev server + dev electron-main bundle.
* · prod (`prod: true`): a production build (call buildProdRenderer first);
* electron loads dist/index.html — representative, minified React.
* `coldStart: true` skips the gateway-connect wait and settle (for launch-time
* measurement) and returns `timings` (spawn→CDP, spawn→driver) plus renderer
* boot marks (FCP, time-to-composer).
*/
export async function startIsolatedInstance({
port = 9222,
devPort = 5174,
prod = false,
coldStart = false,
hermesHome,
userDataDir,
seedConfig = true,
settleMs = 2500,
connectTimeoutMs = 90000
} = {}) {
const children = []
const tempDirs = []
const mkTemp = prefix => {
const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), prefix))
tempDirs.push(dir)
return dir
}
const home = hermesHome ?? mkTemp('hermes-perf-home-')
const userData = userDataDir ?? mkTemp('hermes-perf-ud-')
const devUrl = prod ? null : `http://127.0.0.1:${devPort}`
if (seedConfig && !hermesHome) {
seedConfigFrom(join(homedir(), '.hermes'), home)
}
const teardown = () => {
for (const child of children) {
try {
child.kill('SIGTERM')
} catch {
// already gone
}
}
for (const dir of tempDirs) {
try {
rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true })
} catch {
// best-effort
}
}
}
try {
if (prod) {
// Renderer + main are expected pre-built (buildProdRenderer). Cheap to
// re-bundle main so an isolated run always matches current source.
await runNode('scripts/bundle-electron-main.mjs')
} else {
if (!(await reachable(devUrl))) {
const viteBin = resolveViteBin()
const vite = spawn(process.execPath, [viteBin, '--host', '127.0.0.1', '--port', String(devPort)], {
cwd: DESKTOP_DIR,
stdio: ['ignore', 'inherit', 'inherit']
})
children.push(vite)
await waitFor(() => reachable(devUrl), { timeoutMs: 60000, label: `vite dev server on :${devPort}` })
}
await runNode('scripts/bundle-electron-main.mjs', ['--dev'])
}
// Isolated Electron: own --user-data-dir (single-instance lock scope) + own
// HERMES_HOME (backend + sessions). No DEV_SERVER env in prod → dist load.
const electronBin = require('electron')
// NB: do NOT set HERMES_DESKTOP_BOOT_FAKE here — it injects artificial
// per-phase sleeps into the boot overlay, which inflates cold-start timing
// (and adds pointless startup latency to the steady-state runs). We want the
// real boot sequence.
const env = {
...process.env,
HERMES_HOME: home,
XCURSOR_SIZE: '24'
}
if (devUrl) {
env.HERMES_DESKTOP_DEV_SERVER = devUrl
}
const spawnAt = Date.now()
const electron = spawn(
electronBin,
['.', `--user-data-dir=${userData}`, `--remote-debugging-port=${port}`, ...ANTI_THROTTLE_FLAGS],
{ cwd: DESKTOP_DIR, stdio: ['ignore', 'inherit', 'inherit'], env }
)
children.push(electron)
// Wait for the renderer + perf driver. In prod the target URL is file://,
// so don't match on the dev port.
let cdp = null
let cdpAt = 0
await waitFor(
async () => {
try {
cdp = await CDP.connect({ port, match: devUrl ? String(devPort) : undefined, timeoutMs: 2000 })
cdpAt = cdpAt || Date.now()
return await cdp.eval('!!(window.__PERF_DRIVE__ && window.__PERF_DRIVE__.stream)')
} catch {
if (cdp) {
cdp.close()
cdp = null
}
return false
}
},
{ timeoutMs: 120000, label: 'isolated renderer + __PERF_DRIVE__' }
)
const driverAt = Date.now()
try {
await cdp.send('Emulation.setFocusEmulationEnabled', { enabled: true })
} catch {
// Older CDP / not supported — fall back to the anti-throttle flags.
}
// Renderer-side boot marks (relative to its own navigation start).
const bootMarks = await readBootMarks(cdp)
const timings = {
spawn_to_cdp_ms: cdpAt ? cdpAt - spawnAt : null,
spawn_to_driver_ms: driverAt - spawnAt,
...bootMarks
}
let connected = true
if (!coldStart) {
// Steady-state scenarios: wait for the gateway to connect (reconnect churn
// contaminates frame pacing) and let residual cold-start work drain.
connected = await waitForConnected(cdp, connectTimeoutMs)
if (!connected) {
console.warn(
`[perf] gateway did not connect within ${connectTimeoutMs}ms — ` +
'stream/frame numbers may be inflated by reconnect churn.'
)
}
await sleep(settleMs)
}
return {
connected,
cdp,
devUrl,
port,
prod,
timings,
teardown: () => {
cdp?.close()
teardown()
}
}
} catch (err) {
teardown()
throw err
}
}
// Representative cold-start sampling. A fresh --user-data-dir means a COLD V8
// code cache and worst-case bundle recompile every run (~+400ms measured); real
// users reuse their profile, so a warm cache is the representative case. We reuse
// ONE profile across runs: run 0 warms the cache (discarded), runs 1..N are the
// warm samples. Each run steps the port so a just-killed instance can't be
// re-attached, and we pause between runs so the single-instance lock releases.
export async function coldStartSamples({ runs = 3, port = 9222, devPort = 5174, prod = false, warm = true } = {}) {
const pickNumeric = timings => Object.fromEntries(Object.entries(timings).filter(([, v]) => typeof v === 'number'))
const samples = []
if (warm) {
// Shared profile across runs: run 0 warms the V8 code cache (discarded),
// runs 1..N are the representative warm samples.
const home = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'hermes-perf-cold-home-'))
const userDataDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'hermes-perf-cold-ud-'))
seedConfigFrom(join(homedir(), '.hermes'), home)
try {
for (let i = 0; i <= runs; i++) {
const inst = await startIsolatedInstance({
port: port + i,
devPort: devPort + i,
prod,
coldStart: true,
hermesHome: home,
userDataDir,
seedConfig: false
})
if (i > 0) {
samples.push(pickNumeric(inst.timings))
}
inst.teardown()
await sleep(2500) // let the single-instance lock release before reuse
}
} finally {
for (const dir of [home, userDataDir]) {
try {
rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true })
} catch {
// best-effort
}
}
}
} else {
// Worst case: a fresh profile per run → cold code cache every launch
// (first-launch-after-install). startIsolatedInstance makes+removes its dirs.
for (let i = 0; i < runs; i++) {
const inst = await startIsolatedInstance({ port: port + i, devPort: devPort + i, prod, coldStart: true })
samples.push(pickNumeric(inst.timings))
inst.teardown()
await sleep(2500)
}
}
return samples
}
// Read First Contentful Paint + time-to-composer from the renderer, relative to
// its navigation start (the process-spawn deltas live in `timings`).
async function readBootMarks(cdp) {
try {
return await cdp.eval(`(() => {
const paints = performance.getEntriesByType('paint')
const fcp = paints.find(p => p.name === 'first-contentful-paint')
const nav = performance.getEntriesByType('navigation')[0]
const composer = document.querySelector('[data-slot="composer-rich-input"]')
// Largest script resource ≈ the (intentionally single) renderer bundle.
// responseEnd → the script's own decode; the eval cost shows up as the gap
// between the bundle's responseEnd and domInteractive.
const scripts = performance.getEntriesByType('resource').filter(r => r.initiatorType === 'script')
const mainScript = scripts.sort((a, b) => (b.encodedBodySize || 0) - (a.encodedBodySize || 0))[0]
const round = n => (typeof n === 'number' ? Math.round(n) : null)
return {
fcp_ms: fcp ? round(fcp.startTime) : null,
dom_interactive_ms: nav ? round(nav.domInteractive) : null,
dom_content_loaded_ms: nav ? round(nav.domContentLoadedEventEnd) : null,
main_script_kb: mainScript ? round((mainScript.encodedBodySize || 0) / 1024) : null,
main_script_response_end_ms: mainScript ? round(mainScript.responseEnd) : null,
nav_to_read_ms: round(performance.now()),
composer_present: !!composer
}
})()`)
} catch {
return { fcp_ms: null, dom_interactive_ms: null, composer_present: false }
}
}
export { DESKTOP_DIR }