media/docs/pythonDSL/guides/debugging.rst
.. _debugging:
This page provides an overview of debugging techniques and tools for CuTe DSL programs.
Before diving into comprehensive debugging capabilities, it's important to understand the limitations of CuTe DSL. Understanding these limitations will help you avoid potential pitfalls from the start.
Please refer to :doc:../limitations for more details.
CuTe DSL can emit line information so NVIDIA developer tools can correlate generated PTX/SASS back to the Python source that produced it. This is useful when profiling generated kernels or debugging them with CUDA tools.
You can enable line information globally with CUTE_DSL_LINEINFO=1.
Alternatively, use compilation options to enable it per kernel. Refer to
:doc:../cute_dsl_general/dsl_jit_compilation_options for more details.
To turn on a broad set of debugging aids at once, set the CUTE_DSL_DEBUG
environment variable. It is a convenience switch for diagnosing problems and for
reporting issues to the CUTLASS team:
.. code:: bash
# Enable debug mode (default: False)
export CUTE_DSL_DEBUG=1
When debug mode is enabled, CuTe DSL raises the defaults of several individual debugging settings so you get more diagnostics from a single switch:
CUTE_DSL_LINEINFO=1).Each of these behaviors is also controlled by its own environment variable, so debug mode only changes their defaults, and setting a variable explicitly takes precedence -- except trace-time operation verification, which stays on while debug mode is enabled. For example, to enable debug mode but keep line info off:
.. code:: bash
export CUTE_DSL_DEBUG=1
export CUTE_DSL_LINEINFO=0
.. note::
Debug mode adds extra checks and diagnostics that increase compile time and
may affect the generated code (for example, by embedding line info). Enable
it while debugging, not for production runs.
.. note::
The settings debug mode raises -- line info in particular -- change the
emitted IR/PTX, and every one of these settings is folded into the JIT
kernel cache key. A kernel compiled with debug mode on is therefore cached
separately from the same kernel compiled with it off: toggling
``CUTE_DSL_DEBUG`` forces a recompile instead of reusing a cached kernel,
and the kernel you inspect or profile under debug mode is not identical to
the one produced for a normal (debug-off) run. Validate performance and
generated-code conclusions with debug mode disabled. Because these settings
are part of the cache key, a debug-built kernel is never silently reused for
a production run. See :doc:`JIT caching <../cute_dsl_general/dsl_jit_caching>`
for how the cache key is formed.
CuTe DSL also provides compiler diagnostic passes for catching invalid
primitive protocols and resource issues at compile time. These checks are useful
when a kernel fails before launch, when synchronization around primitives is
unclear, or when ptxas reports resource pressure that is hard to map back to
the generated kernel.
Enable diagnostics with CUTE_DSL_COMPILER_OPT or the options= argument
to cute.compile. Diagnostic controls have two axes: the severity level to
show and the diagnostic category to collect. Bare warnings or remarks
selects all available categories; selector braces restrict the request to one
category.
.. list-table:: Diagnostic levels :header-rows: 1
remarks or remarks{<category>}warnings or warnings{<category>}errors{...} option. Enable the relevant category with
warnings{<category>} or remarks{<category>}... list-table:: Diagnostic categories :header-rows: 1
nvvmwarnings{nvvm}, remarks{nvvm}mbarrier, bulk copy, TMA multicast, and tcgen05.ptxas (selector: ptx)remarks{ptx}ptxas resource diagnostics surfaced through the remark stream,
including register spills and local-memory usage.For example, enable NVVM primitive diagnostics with:
.. code:: bash
export CUTE_DSL_COMPILER_OPT='warnings{nvvm},remarks{nvvm}'
The warnings{nvvm} and remarks{nvvm} selectors enable NVVM-level
primitive diagnostics for protocol rules around primitives such as mbarrier,
bulk copy, TMA multicast, and tcgen05 operations. For example, these
diagnostics can report missing transaction completion for
mbarrier.arrive.expect_tx, tcgen05.commit calls that are not guarded by
elect.sync, missing tcgen05.fence::after_thread_sync before TMEM loads,
and CTA-pair restrictions for CTA_2 TMA multicast.
The diagnostic examples are compile-only negative cases under
examples/python/CuTeDSL/experimental/compiler_diagnostic in the public
CUTLASS tree. From a built checkout, run all primitive diagnostic examples with:
.. code:: bash
CUTE_DSL_COMPILER_OPT='warnings{nvvm},remarks{nvvm}' \
python examples/python/CuTeDSL/experimental/compiler_diagnostic/prims_negative_cases.py
Run a single case by name when you want a small reproducer:
.. code:: bash
CUTE_DSL_COMPILER_OPT='warnings{nvvm},remarks{nvvm}' \
python examples/python/CuTeDSL/experimental/compiler_diagnostic/prims_negative_cases.py \
--case expect_tx_without_complete_tx
The expect_tx_without_complete_tx case intentionally initializes a
transaction-counting barrier and calls mbarrier_arrive_expect_tx without a
matching completion source:
.. code:: python
import cutlass
import cutlass.cute as cute
from cutlass.cute.runtime import make_fake_stream
from cutlass.experimental import primitives as prims
@cute.kernel
def expect_tx_without_complete_tx_kernel() -> None:
mbar = cutlass.Array(
cutlass.Int64, 1, space=cutlass.AddressSpace.smem, alignment=8
)
if prims.elect_sync():
prims.mbarrier_init(mbar, 1)
prims.fence_mbarrier_init()
prims.barrier_cta_sync(0)
if prims.elect_sync():
prims.mbarrier_arrive_expect_tx(mbar, 16_384)
prims.mbarrier_try_wait_parity(mbar, 0, time_limit=10_000_000)
@cute.jit
def host_expect_tx_without_complete_tx(stream) -> None:
expect_tx_without_complete_tx_kernel().launch(
grid=(1, 1, 1), block=(32, 1, 1), stream=stream
)
cute.compile(
host_expect_tx_without_complete_tx,
make_fake_stream(),
options="warnings{nvvm},remarks{nvvm}",
)
The emitted diagnostic points back to the Python source and names the protocol rule that failed:
.. code:: text
===== expect_tx_without_complete_tx =====
error[E####]: mbarrier.arrive.expect_tx has no completion source for 16384 registered transaction bytes
--> examples/python/CuTeDSL/experimental/compiler_diagnostic/prims_negative_cases.py:94:8
in function `_expect_tx_without_complete_tx_kernel(...)`:
|
92 |
93 | if prims.elect_sync():
> 94 | prims.mbarrier_arrive_expect_tx(mbar, 16_384)
| ^
95 | prims.mbarrier_try_wait_parity(mbar, 0, time_limit=_WAIT_TICKS)
96 |
error: arrive.expect_tx increments the barrier transaction count, but no explicit
mbarrier.complete_tx or TMA complete_tx source targets this barrier. The transaction count
can never be retired.
suggestion: add a matching nvvm.mbarrier_complete_tx(...) on this barrier, or issue a TMA
operation whose completion targets the same barrier
note: PTX ISA mbarrier.arrive.expect_tx
docs: https://docs.nvidia.com/cuda/parallel-thread-execution/index.html#parallel-synchronization-and-communication-instructions-mbarrier-expect-tx-operation
PASS expect_tx_without_complete_tx
For ptxas resource diagnostics, pass remarks{ptx} through the JIT
compile options. This selector surfaces resource remarks such as register spills
and local-memory usage:
.. code:: python
cute.compile(my_host_fn, *args, options="remarks{ptx}")
If a kernel only spills under a tighter register budget, combine the selector
with --ptxas-options. The DSL automatically enables verbose ptxas output
for remarks{ptx}, so spill and local-memory remarks are available to the
diagnostic formatter:
.. code:: python
cute.compile(
my_host_fn,
*args,
options=(
"remarks{ptx} "
"--ptxas-options '--maxrregcount=128 --override-directive-values'"
),
)
Keep --remark-output unset when you want terminal diagnostics with source
frames. The YAML remark-output path is intended for raw LLVM remark export and
does not use the Python source-frame renderer.
The companion ptxas_spill_cases.py helper in the same directory contains
compile-only examples for two common symptoms:
dynamic_index_local_memory: dynamic indexing of a register array forces
local-memory accesses.global_reverse_register_spill: high register pressure creates ptxas
register spills when constrained with --maxrregcount.Run it from a built checkout to confirm the ptxas remark pipeline and inspect the rendered source frames:
.. code:: bash
python examples/python/CuTeDSL/experimental/compiler_diagnostic/ptxas_spill_cases.py
Use these helpers when a kernel's generated SASS shows unexpected local-memory
traffic, when ptxas reports spills, or when you need a minimal reproducer
for register-pressure regressions. Register-spill source frames are best-effort:
ptxas reports spill totals at kernel granularity, so the frame identifies
the reported kernel / likely pressure region rather than an exact spill
instruction.
CuTe DSL provides built-in logging mechanisms to help you understand the code execution flow and some of the internal state.
Enabling Logging
CuTe DSL provides environment variables to control logging level:
.. code:: bash
# Enable console logging (default: False)
export CUTE_DSL_LOG_TO_CONSOLE=1
# Log to file instead of console (default: False).
# Set to 1/True to enable; the log file path is chosen automatically by the DSL.
export CUTE_DSL_LOG_TO_FILE=1
# Control log verbosity (0=disabled, 1=all messages (debug and above), 10=debug, 20=info, 30=warning, 40=error, 50=critical; default: 1)
export CUTE_DSL_LOG_LEVEL=20
Log Categories and Levels
Similar to standard Python logging, different log levels provide varying degrees of detail:
.. list-table:: :header-rows: 1
Save generated artifacts to files
CuTe DSL can save generated artifacts (IR, PTX, CUBIN, …) to files for offline inspection.
Use ``CUTE_DSL_KEEP`` with a comma-separated list of artifact tokens. Prefer
this consolidated option over deprecated per-artifact variables such as
``CUTE_DSL_KEEP_PTX=1``.
.. code:: bash
# Save clean IR (after canonicalize+cse, human-readable) to a .mlir file
export CUTE_DSL_KEEP=ir
# Save raw IR (before any passes) to a .mlir file
export CUTE_DSL_KEEP=ir-debug
# Save PTX assembly to a .ptx file
export CUTE_DSL_KEEP=ptx
# Save CUBIN binary to a .cubin file
export CUTE_DSL_KEEP=cubin
# Save SASS disassembly to a .sass file
export CUTE_DSL_KEEP=sass
# Save multiple artifacts at once
export CUTE_DSL_KEEP=ir,ptx,cubin,sass
# Save all supported artifacts
export CUTE_DSL_KEEP=all
Files are written to the current working directory by default. Use
``CUTE_DSL_DUMP_DIR`` to redirect them (see `Change the dump directory`_
below).
.. note::
The ``sass`` token disassembles the CUBIN with ``nvdisasm``. Starting
with CUTLASS 4.7, ``nvdisasm`` is no longer installed by default. To
dump SASS, do one of the following:
- install the ``sass`` extra (recommended — its ``nvdisasm`` version
is guaranteed to match the toolchain the DSL ships):
``pip install nvidia-cutlass-dsl[sass]``
- install a local CUDA Toolkit and expose it via ``CUDA_HOME`` /
``CUDA_PATH``
A locally-provided ``nvdisasm`` must come from a CUDA Toolkit at least
as new as the toolchain that produced the CUBIN; an older one (e.g.
from CUDA 12.x) may fail to disassemble it.
SASS dumping can also be controlled per compilation with ``KeepSASS``
and ``NvdisasmOptions``; see :ref:`JIT_Compilation_Options`.
Print the generated IR to the console
To print the IR directly to the console (without writing a file):
.. code:: bash
# Print generated IR to stdout (default: False)
export CUTE_DSL_PRINT_IR=1
Access the dumped contents programmatically
For compiled kernels, the generated PTX/CUBIN/IR can also be accessed
programmatically through the following attributes:
- ``__ptx__``: The generated PTX code of the compiled kernel.
- ``__cubin__``: The generated CUBIN data of the compiled kernel.
- ``__sass__``: The generated SASS disassembly of the compiled kernel, when
SASS was requested.
- ``__mlir__``: The generated IR code of the compiled kernel.
.. code:: python
compiled_foo = cute.compile(foo, ...)
print(f"PTX: {compiled_foo.__ptx__}")
with open("foo.cubin", "wb") as f:
f.write(compiled_foo.__cubin__)
Change the dump directory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By default, all dumped files are saved in the current working directory. To specify a different directory for the dumped files, please set the environment variable CUTE_DSL_DUMP_DIR accordingly.
Kernel Functional Debugging
----------------------------
Using Python's ``print`` and CuTe's ``cute.printf``
CuTe DSL programs can use both Python's native print() and cute.printf() to
print debug information during kernel generation and execution. They differ in a few key ways:
print() executes during compile-time only (no effect on the generated kernel) and is
typically used for printing static values, such as fully static layouts.cute.printf() executes at runtime on the GPU itself and changes the PTX being generated. This
can be used for printing values of tensors at runtime for diagnostics, but comes at a performance
overhead similar to that of printf() in CUDA C.For detailed examples of using these functions for debugging, please refer to the associated
notebook referenced in :doc:notebooks.
Handling Unresponsive/Hung Kernels
When a kernel becomes unresponsive and ``SIGINT`` (``CTRL+C``) fails to terminate it,
you can follow these steps to forcefully terminate the process:
1. Use ``CTRL+Z`` to suspend the unresponsive kernel
2. Execute the following command to terminate the suspended process:
.. code:: bash
# Terminate the most recently suspended process
kill -9 $(jobs -p | tail -1)
CuTe DSL can also be debugged using standard NVIDIA CUDA tools.
Using Compute-Sanitizer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For detecting memory errors:
.. code:: bash
compute-sanitizer --tool memcheck python your_dsl_code.py
For detecting race conditions:
.. code:: bash
compute-sanitizer --tool racecheck python your_dsl_code.py
Please refer to the `compute-sanitizer documentation <https://developer.nvidia.com/compute-sanitizer>`_ for more details.
Set function name prefix
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By default, the generated IR name of a host or kernel function is based on the
Python function name and its parameters. Call ``set_name_prefix`` on a JIT or
kernel function before invoking it to add runtime context or customize that IR
name.
``set_name_prefix`` also accepts two optional keyword-only parameters:
* ``remove_cutlass_symbol=False`` removes the ``cutlass`` component that CuTe
DSL automatically inserts. It does not modify the user-provided prefix, the
Python function name, or text derived from mangled arguments.
* ``keep_mangled_name=True`` retains the framework-generated function and
argument components. When set to ``False``, those components are omitted,
while the ``cutlass`` marker remains unless ``remove_cutlass_symbol=True``.
The per-kernel numeric uniqueness suffix is always retained.
Calling ``set_name_prefix("")`` with the optional arguments left at their
defaults restores all default naming behavior. An empty prefix can also be
combined with non-default component options; for example,
``set_name_prefix("", remove_cutlass_symbol=True)`` removes the CuTe DSL marker
without adding a user prefix. A non-empty prefix is required when
``remove_cutlass_symbol=True`` and ``keep_mangled_name=False`` so that at least
one textual name component remains.
.. code:: python
@cute.kernel
def kernel(arg1, arg2, ...):
...
@cute.jit
def launch_kernel():
kernel.set_name_prefix(
"my_op",
remove_cutlass_symbol=True,
keep_mangled_name=False,
)
kernel(arg1, arg2, ...).launch(
grid=[1, 1, 1], block=[1, 1, 1], ...
)
For a first kernel trace whose default name resembles
``kernel_cutlass_kernel_<arguments>_0``, representative results are:
* ``set_name_prefix("my_op")``:
``my_op_kernel_cutlass_kernel_<arguments>_0``
* ``set_name_prefix("my_op", remove_cutlass_symbol=True)``:
``my_op_kernel_kernel_<arguments>_0``
* ``set_name_prefix("my_op", keep_mangled_name=False)``:
``my_op_cutlass_0``
* Enabling both options, as above: ``my_op_0``
The numeric suffix can differ when the same kernel is traced more than once.
Host JIT function names do not have the per-kernel numeric suffix.
To produce a generated IR name without ``cutlass``, use a prefix that does not
contain it. If ``keep_mangled_name=True``, also ensure that the Python function
name and mangled argument text do not contain it; setting
``keep_mangled_name=False`` omits those components.
The kernel suffix prevents collisions between traces in one generated module.
It does not make names unique across separately compiled modules, and host JIT
names have no such suffix. When ``keep_mangled_name=False``, use a prefix that
is unique in every final link or load scope where modules can be combined.
``set_name_prefix`` does not truncate the user prefix, so do not rely on
truncation to remove text from it. Keep the resulting name within the limits of
the tools that consume the generated artifact.
This API controls traced MLIR function names, not ABI wrappers added by later
export stages such as ``cutlass_call_<function-name>``.
Conclusion
----------
Effective CuTe DSL debugging typically combines source correlation, artifact
dumps, runtime prints, and CUDA tooling. When reporting an issue, include the
minimal reproducer, relevant generated artifacts, and logs collected with the
debugging options above, and share it with the CUTLASS team as a GitHub issue.