> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.xbox.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # PIX on XBOX and Windows for GDK titles > PIX performance-tuning and debugging tool for XBOX and Windows GDK titles, including GPU captures, GPU traces, shader explorer, and PIX extensibility. Documentation for PIX. ## Subtopics > [card] [Extensibility](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/extensibility/index.md) > > Documentation for extensibility. > [card] [Gpu](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/gpu/index.md) > > Documentation for gpu. > [card] [Gpu trace](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/gpu-trace/index.md) > > Documentation for gpu trace. > [card] [Shader explorer](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/shader-explorer/index.md) > > Documentation for shader explorer. ## Guides > [card] [Analyzing title performance](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/analyzing-system-performance.md) > > Overview Describes PIX as a performance tuning and debugging tool for game developers who are building DirectX 12 titles. > [card] [Configuring the PIX UI](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/configuring-pix.md) > > The default window layout that PIX uses for the device connection tabs and for each capture type can be customized. > [card] [Analyzing cpu performance](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/cpu-performance.md) > > PIX includes several features and capture types for helping you solve CPU performance issues. > [card] [Analyzing directstorage and Win32 file](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/fileio-performance.md) > > PIX Timing Captures include features for analyzing the performance of your title's file accesses. > [card] [Launching PIX, connecting to consoles,](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/launching-and-connecting.md) > > The Gaming eXtensions Development Kit (GXDK) setup program installs PIX to the C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft GDK\bin folder on your… > [card] [Analyzing memory usage and performance](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/memory-performance.md) > > PIX includes a variety of features and capture types to help you diagnose issues that are related to memory usage and performance. > [card] [PIX timing captures](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/new-timing-captures.md) > > Record CPU and GPU timing events in PIX to analyze how a title's work is distributed over time. > [card] [Opening programmatic timing captures](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/open-offline-timing-captures.md) > > Captures taken with the PIXBeginCapture API must go through a conversion process before they can be viewed in PIX. > [card] [PIX API](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-api-reference.md) > > PIX includes set of APIs that can be used for a number of tasks, including the recording of timing data, providing software counters,… > [card] [Profiling a title's initialization and](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-capture-from-launch.md) > > A title's startup sequence typically involves numerous memory allocations and file IO operations, along with other initialization tasks. > [card] [Analyzing stalls and context switches](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-context-switches.md) > > This topic describes how to use PIX to analyze stalls and context switches. > [card] [Converting an etl file to a timing](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-convert-etl-files.md) > > The Convert menu under the Home tab in PIX can be used to create a Timing Capture by converting an etl file collected using xbPerf, xperf… > [card] [Converting previous versions of timing](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-convert-timing-captures.md) > > In some releases of PIX, the Timing Capture file format must be changed as new features are added. > [card] [Configuring PIX to access pdbs for cpu](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-cpu-pdb-config.md) > > CPU captures in PIX require access to your title's Program Databases (PDBs) to properly display functions names in callstacks, sampled… > [card] [Analyzing the critical path for a PIX](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-critical-path.md) > > PIX analyzes the context switch data collected during a Timing Capture to compute the critical path for a selected PIX event. > [card] [PIX custom memory allocators](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-custom-memory-allocators.md) > > PIX timing captures can track memory allocations and frees made by your custom memory allocators. > [card] [Analyzing directstorage performance](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-directstorage.md) > > PIX Timing Captures include an option to collect data on your title's use of DirectStorage. > [card] [Gpu debugging guidelines](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-gpu-debugging.md) > > You may see various issues such as rendering corruption, glitches, GPU hangs, page faults and so on during game development. > [card] [Analyzing dynamic latency input](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-input-sync.md) > > PIX Timing Captures include an option to collect data on input readings and Dynamic Latency Input (DLI). > [card] [Instruction trace captures](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-instruction-trace-captures.md) > > Use PIX instruction traces and cache simulation to analyze a title's memory and instruction cache usage. > [card] [Memory pies](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-live-memory-pies.md) > > When a title is paused, the Memory Pies view in PIX can be used. > [card] [PIX live](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-live.md) > > When connected to a console in PIX, PIX has the ability to pause and unpause a running title via the pause/play button located both next to… > [card] [Analyzing file accesses that occur](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-mappingfiles.md) > > Provide PIX with mapping files to identify which assets are accessed within composite archive files. > [card] [The metrics view in PIX timing captures](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-metrics-view.md) > > The Metrics View is a graphical tool that helps you analyze large volumes of data to quickly find areas of interest as they relate to… > [card] [Detecting violations of write](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-nvme-write-monitor.md) > > This topic describes how to use PIX to detect when too much data has been written to local storage. > [card] [PIX on-demand live debugging](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-on-demand-live-debugging.md) > > On-demand live debugging can be used to debug XBOX GPU in real-time outside of hang and exception scenarios. > [card] [Analyzing cpu samples in timing captures](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-sampling-profiler.md) > > PIX includes a CPU sampling profiler that can optionally be run when taking a Timing Capture. > [card] [Saving and loading PIX settings](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-save-load-settings.md) > > The Settings layout, accessible from the PIX Home tab, provides several controls for configuring various aspects of the PIX user interface… > [card] [Shader exception detection in gpu](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-shader-exception-detection.md) > > Shaders throwing exceptions can be detected in GPU captures starting with the June 2023 GDK. > [card] [PIX live debugging on shader exceptions](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-shader-exceptions-live-debugging.md) > > Live debugging can be used to detect shaders throwing exceptions and debug them in real-time. > [card] [System monitor](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-system-monitor.md) > > PIX System Monitor allows for real-time profiling of a title by viewing counter data live as it's streamed off the console. > [card] [Timing capture bookmarks](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-timing-capture-bookmarks.md) > > Starting with the June 2024 version of the Microsoft Game Development Kit, developers can add bookmarks, or annotations, to lanes in the… > [card] [Timing capture comparison features](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-timing-capture-compare.md) > > Timing Captures include a Comparison Layout that can produce a statistical comparison of the average duration for the points that represent… > [card] [Querying the timing capture file format](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-timing-capture-sqlite-queries.md) > > The Timing Capture file format is a Sqlite database. > [card] [The timing capture summary layout](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-timing-capture-summary-layout.md) > > When a Timing Capture is opened, PIX performs an initial analysis that produces capture statistics and a set of potential candidates for… > [card] [Analyzing d3d API object usage in](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-timing-captures-d3d-objects.md) > > PIX Timing Captures include an option to record information on all D3D resource and heap objects allocated and freed while the capture is… > [card] [Analyzing memory usage and performance](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-timing-captures-memory.md) > > PIX Timing Captures include options to record information on memory allocation, accesses and freeing that occurs while the capture is… > [card] [PIX videos](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-videos.md) > > PIX on Windows Overview > [card] [Analyzing Win32 file io performance](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-win32-fileio.md) > > This article describes how to use PIX to analyze the performance of Win32 file IO operations. > [card] [PIX](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix.md) > > Performance Investigator for XBOX (PIX) is a performance tuning and debugging tool for game developers who are building DirectX12 titles. > [card] [Configuring a console for use with PIX](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/required-xconfig-settings.md) > > Taking captures with PIX requires the Profiling mode console setting to be On as shown in the following figure. > [card] [Setting up and getting started](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/setup-getting-started.md) > > This section covers how to do the following with PIX. ## See also * [Commandlinetools](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/commandlinetools/index.md) * [Console commandlinetools](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/console_commandlinetools/index.md) * [Devhome](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/devhome/index.md) * [Devkitagent](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/devkitagent/index.md) * [Hix](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/hix/index.md) * [PGO](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pgo/index.md) * [Shadercompiler](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/shadercompiler/index.md) * [Titleperfoverlay](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/titleperfoverlay/index.md) * [Visualstudio](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/visualstudio/index.md) * [Wdp](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/wdp/index.md) * [Xbom](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/xbom/index.md) * [Xbwatson](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/xbWatson/index.md) * [Xhit](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/xhit/index.md) ## Related topics - [Using PIX to profile Windows titles](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-pc/pix-for-windows.md) - [PIX videos](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-console/pix/pix-videos.md) - [PIX3 (API contents)](https://docs.xbox.com/reference/tools/pix3/pix3_members.md) - [PC game development: environment and tools (contents)](https://docs.xbox.com/tools/tools-pc/gc-tools-pc-toc.md) - [Microsoft Game Development Kit (GDK) porting guides](https://docs.xbox.com/home/build-first-title/porting-guides.md)