tinybench
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🔎 A simple, tiny and lightweight benchmarking library!
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# Tinybench 🔎
[](https://github.com/tinylibs/tinybench/actions/workflows/qa.yml)
[](https://www.npmjs.com/package/tinybench)
[](https://discord.gg/c3UUYNcHrU)
[](https://github.com/neostandard/neostandard)
A simple, tiny and lightweight benchmarking library!
You can run your benchmarks in multiple JavaScript runtimes, Tinybench is completely based on the Web APIs with proper timing using
`process.hrtime` or `performance.now`.
- Accurate and precise timing based on the environment
- Statistically analyzed latency and throughput values: standard deviation, margin of error, variance, percentiles, etc.
- Concurrency support
- `Event` and `EventTarget` compatible events
- No dependencies
_In case you need more tiny libraries like tinypool or tinyspy, please consider submitting an [RFC](https://github.com/tinylibs/rfcs)_
## Installing
```shell
$ npm install -D tinybench
```
## Usage
You can start benchmarking by instantiating the `Bench` class and adding benchmark tasks to it.
```js
import { Bench } from 'tinybench'
const bench = new Bench({ name: 'simple benchmark', time: 100 })
bench
.add('faster task', () => {
console.log('I am faster')
})
.add('slower task', async () => {
await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 1)) // we wait 1ms :)
console.log('I am slower')
})
await bench.run()
console.log(bench.name)
console.table(bench.table())
// Output:
// simple benchmark
// ┌─────────┬───────────────┬───────────────────┬───────────────────────┬────────────────────────┬────────────────────────┬─────────┐
// │ (index) │ Task name │ Latency avg (ns) │ Latency med (ns) │ Throughput avg (ops/s) │ Throughput med (ops/s) │ Samples │
// ├─────────┼───────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────────────────┼────────────────────────┼────────────────────────┼─────────┤
// │ 0 │ 'faster task' │ '63768 ± 4.02%' │ '58954 ± 15255.00' │ '18562 ± 1.67%' │ '16962 ± 4849' │ 1569 │
// │ 1 │ 'slower task' │ '1542543 ± 7.14%' │ '1652502 ± 167851.00' │ '808 ± 19.65%' │ '605 ± 67' │ 65 │
// └─────────┴───────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────────────────┴────────────────────────┴────────────────────────┴─────────┘
```
The `add` method accepts a task name and a task function, so it can benchmark
it! This method returns a reference to the Bench instance, so it's possible to
use it to create an another task for that instance.
Note that the task name should always be unique in an instance, because Tinybench stores the tasks based
on their names in a `Map`.
Also note that `tinybench` does not log any result by default. You can extract the relevant stats
from `bench.tasks` or any other API after running the benchmark, and process them however you want.
More usage examples can be found in the [examples](./examples/) directory.
## Docs
### [FAQ](./FAQ.md)
### [`Bench`](https://tinylibs.github.io/tinybench/classes/Bench.html)
### [`Task`](https://tinylibs.github.io/tinybench/classes/Task.html)
### [`TaskResult`](https://tinylibs.github.io/tinybench/types/TaskResult.html)
### `Events`
Both the `Task` and `Bench` classes extend the `EventTarget` object. So you can attach listeners to different types of events in each class instance using the universal `addEventListener` and `removeEventListener` methods.
#### [`BenchEvents`](https://tinylibs.github.io/tinybench/types/BenchEvents.html)
```js
// runs on each benchmark task's cycle
bench.addEventListener('cycle', (evt) => {
const task = evt.task;
});
// runs when timer saturation is detected for a task's measured samples
bench.addEventListener('warning', (evt) => {
const task = evt.task;
const reason = evt.reason; // 'zero-dominated' | 'low-distinct' | 'zero-mad'
});
```
#### [`TaskEvents`](https://tinylibs.github.io/tinybench/types/TaskEvents.html)
```js
// runs only on this benchmark task's cycle
task.addEventListener('cycle', (evt) => {
const task = evt.task;
});
```
### [`BenchEvent`](https://tinylibs.github.io/tinybench/interfaces/BenchEvent.html)
## Async Detection
Tinybench automatically detects if a task function is asynchronous by
checking if provided function is an `AsyncFunction` or if it returns a
`Promise`, by calling the provided function once.
You can also explicitly set the `async` option to `true` or `false` when adding
a task, thus avoiding the detection. Set `async: false` only for a genuinely
synchronous task; to measure the synchronous cost of a function that returns a
`Promise`, record it via `overriddenDuration` instead (see
[Task-Supplied Measurements](#task-supplied-measurements)).
```ts
const bench = new Bench()
bench.add('asyncTask', async () => {}, { async: true })
bench.add('syncTask', () => {}, { async: false })
bench.add(
'syncTaskReturningPromiseAsAsync',
() => {
return Promise.resolve()
},
{ async: true }
)
await bench.run()
```
## Concurrency
- When `mode` is set to `null` (default), concurrency is disabled.
- When `mode` is set to 'task', each task's iterations (calls of a task function) run concurrently.
- When `mode` is set to 'bench', different tasks within the bench run concurrently. Concurrent cycles.
```ts
const bench = new Bench({
concurrency: 'task', // The concurrency mode to determine how tasks are run.
threshold: 10, // Maximum concurrent iterations within a task. Defaults to Infinity.
})
await bench.run()
```
With `concurrency: null` or `'bench'`, each task runs until both its time
budget and minimum iteration count are met. With `concurrency: 'task'`,
iterations stop being scheduled when either positive limit is reached;
`threshold` limits concurrent iterations within that task, not concurrent
benchmark tasks. Disabling the iteration limit with `iterations: 0` requires
a finite `threshold` (for example, `threshold: 10`), not the default
`Infinity`. These rules also apply to `warmupTime` and `warmupIterations`
in `warmup()`. `Task.warmupSync()` always uses the sequential rules, regardless
of the configured concurrency.
## Convert task results for `console.table()`
You can convert the benchmark results to a table format suitable for
`console.table()` using the `bench.table()` method.
```ts
const table = bench.table()
console.table(table)
```
You can also customize the table output by providing a convert-function to the `table` method.
```ts
import { Bench, type ConsoleTableConverter, formatNumber, mToNs, type Task } from 'tinybench'
/**
* The default converter function for console.table output.
* Modify it as needed to customize the table format.
*/
const defaultConverter: ConsoleTableConverter = (task: Task): Record<string, number | string> => {
const state = task.result.state
return {
'Task name': task.name,
...(state === 'aborted-with-statistics' || state === 'completed'
? {
'Latency avg (ns)': `${formatNumber(mToNs(task.result.latency.mean))} \xb1 ${formatNumber(task.result.latency.rme)}%`,
'Latency med (ns)': `${formatNumber(mToNs(task.result.latency.p50))} \xb1 ${formatNumber(mToNs(task.result.latency.mad))}`,
'Throughput avg (ops/s)': `${Math.round(task.result.throughput.mean).toString()} \xb1 ${formatNumber(task.result.throughput.rme)}%`,
'Throughput med (ops/s)': `${Math.round(task.result.throughput.p50).toString()} \xb1 ${Math.round(task.result.throughput.mad).toString()}`,
Samples: task.result.latency.samplesCount,
}
: state !== 'errored'
? {
'Latency avg (ns)': 'N/A',
'Latency med (ns)': 'N/A',
'Throughput avg (ops/s)': 'N/A',
'Throughput med (ops/s)': 'N/A',
Samples: 'N/A',
Remarks: state,
}
: {
Error: task.result.error.message,
Stack: task.result.error.stack ?? 'N/A',
}),
...(state === 'aborted-with-statistics' && {
Remarks: state,
}),
}
}
const bench = new Bench({ name: 'custom table benchmark', time: 100 })
// add tasks...
console.table(bench.table(defaultConverter))
```
## Retaining Samples
By default Tinybench does not keep the samples for `latency` and `throughput` to
minimize memory usage. Enable sample retention if you need the raw samples for
plotting, custom analysis, or exporting results.
You can enable samples retention at the bench level by setting the
`retainSamples` option to `true` when creating a `Bench` instance:
```ts
const bench = new Bench({ retainSamples: true })
```
You can also enable samples retention by setting the `retainSamples` option to
`true` when adding a task:
```ts
bench.add(
'task with samples',
() => {
// Task logic here
},
{ retainSamples: true }
)
```
## Timestamp Providers
Tinybench can utilize different timestamp providers for measuring time intervals.
By default it uses `performance.now()`.
The `timestampProvider` option can be set when creating a `Bench` instance. It
accepts either a `TimestampProvider` object or shorthands for the common
providers `hrtimeNow` and `performanceNow`.
If you use `bun` runtime, you can also use `bunNanoseconds` shorthand.
You can set the `timestampProvider` to `auto` to let Tinybench choose the most
precise available timestamp provider based on the runtime.
```ts
import { Bench } from 'tinybench'
const bench = new Bench({
timestampProvider: 'hrtimeNow', // or 'performanceNow', 'bunNanoseconds', 'auto'
})
```
If you want to provide a custom timestamp provider, you can create an object that implements
the `TimestampProvider` interface:
```ts
import { Bench, type TimestampProvider } from 'tinybench'
// Custom timestamp provider using Date.now()
const dateNowTimestampProvider: TimestampProvider = {
name: 'dateNow', // name of the provider
fn: Date.now, // function that returns the current timestamp
toMs: ts => Number(ts), // convert the timestamp to milliseconds
fromMs: ts => ts, // convert milliseconds to the format used by fn()
}
const bench = new Bench({
timestampProvider: dateNowTimestampProvider,
})
```
You can also set the `now` option to a function that returns the current timestamp.
It will be converted to a `TimestampProvider` internally.
```ts
import { Bench } from 'tinybench'
const bench = new Bench({
now: Date.now,
})
```
## Timer Overhead Correction
Each timer call (`performance.now()`, `process.hrtime.bigint()`, …) has a
non-zero call cost `C`. For a task whose true duration `X` is comparable
to `C`, the raw measured sample `X + C` is dominated by the timer rather
than the task.
When `subtractTimerOverhead: true` is set, an estimate `Ĉ` is computed
once at construction time via [`calibrateTimerOverhead`](https://tinylibs.github.io/tinybench/functions/calibrateTimerOverhead.html),
and `Math.max(0, raw_sample - Ĉ)` is used as each non-overridden sample
before statistics are computed.
```ts
const bench = new Bench({ subtractTimerOverhead: true })
console.log(bench.timerOverhead) // calibrated Ĉ in ms (or undefined)
```
The calibration helper is also exported for direct use, with a
configurable estimator strategy (`'median'` default, or `'min'` / `'p05'`):
```ts
import { calibrateTimerOverhead, hrtimeNowTimestampProvider } from 'tinybench'
const overhead = calibrateTimerOverhead(hrtimeNowTimestampProvider, {
estimator: 'p05',
pairs: 1024,
warmupPairs: 64,
})
```
**Caveats.**
- Incompatible with `concurrency: 'task'` — overhead is calibrated
sequentially and does not reflect concurrent execution cost.
Construction (and `run()`) throws if both are set.
- For sub-overhead measurements (`X ≈ Ĉ`) the `max(0, …)` clamp
truncates the lower tail and biases statistics; prefer
`overriddenDuration`.
- When the timer is too coarse to resolve the call cost — fewer than half
of the calibration pairs produce a positive delta (call cost `C < R / 2`,
e.g. a `Date.now`-class timer with `>= 1 ms` resolution) — the calibration
returns `0` and the option becomes a no-op.
- Each sample brackets a single task call rather than a batched loop, so the
per-sample timer floor `C` is not amortized. This is a deliberate trade-off:
it yields a real per-sample distribution (percentiles, MAD, saturation
detection) at the cost of a higher sub-`C` noise floor. For work below the
timer grain, use `overriddenDuration`.
- `Ĉ` does not cover an async task's `await` microtask turn — that overhead is
inside the measured window but absent from the calibration pairs — so async
sub-microsecond samples stay over-measured even with `subtractTimerOverhead`.
Use `overriddenDuration` for such sub-resolution work.
## Task-Supplied Measurements
### Per-sample duration (`overriddenDuration`)
A task function may return an object containing `overriddenDuration`
(in ms). That value is recorded in place of the timer-measured sample:
the timer still brackets the task function, but its measurement is
discarded and overhead correction is not applied to the substituted
value. Useful for externally-timed work or sub-overhead measurements
that the timer cannot resolve.
```ts
import type { FnReturnedObject } from 'tinybench'
bench.add('externally-timed', (): FnReturnedObject => {
const start = process.hrtime.bigint()
doWork()
const elapsedMs = Number(process.hrtime.bigint() - start) / 1e6
return { overriddenDuration: elapsedMs }
})
```
Overridden samples are excluded from `Task.detectedResolution` and
from timer-saturation detection.
### Iteration cost (`overriddenIterationCost`)
When one iteration batches several inner calls, the per-call value you
want in the statistics differs from what the iteration actually costs
the `time` / `warmupTime` budget. Return `overriddenIterationCost`
(in ms) to declare the whole iteration's wall-clock cost:
```ts
import type { FnReturnedObject } from 'tinybench'
bench.add('batched', () => {
const innerCalls = 100
const start = process.hrtime.bigint()
for (let i = 0; i < innerCalls; i++) parse(input)
const elapsedMs = Number(process.hrtime.bigint() - start) / 1e6
return {
overriddenDuration: elapsedMs / innerCalls, // mean per call in this batch
overriddenIterationCost: elapsedMs, // budget cost of the iteration
} satisfies FnReturnedObject
})
```
Each sample is the mean duration per call in one batch. Percentiles and
dispersion describe these batch means, not the individual calls within a batch.
Semantics:
- The sample uses a valid `overriddenDuration`, otherwise the timer-measured
duration. The sequential budget uses a valid `overriddenIterationCost`,
otherwise the sample before timer-overhead correction. Returning only
`overriddenDuration` therefore keeps the historical behavior.
- Task-concurrent `run()` and `warmup()` use the real clock for their budgets
and do not inspect `overriddenIterationCost` (neither presence nor value).
The cost applies per task with `concurrency: 'bench'` and in
`Task.warmupSync()` regardless of concurrency.
- Both fields are validated the same way (finite number ≥ 0, `-0`
included); an invalid value is treated as absent.
- The cost field must be reported as present by the `in` operator (own or
inherited). A proxy default for an absent key is not a declared cost. Errors
while checking or reading this field are treated as an absent cost.
- The cost does not affect timer-overhead correction or timer diagnostics;
these operate on samples. `result.totalTime` and `period` also remain
sample-derived. Returning only the cost leaves samples timer-measured,
so timer-saturation warnings may still occur.
- The declared cost is not verified against reality: an iteration whose real
wall-clock cost is `C` but declared as `O` stretches the run to about
`time × C / O` when `O < C`, and shortens it when `O > C`, provided
the time budget dominates the minimum iteration count.
- **Warning.** Repeated costs of `0` (or `-0`) cannot satisfy a positive
sequential time budget; tiny positive costs can make it impractical to reach.
With `time: 0`, the run can finish at the minimum iteration count. The same
rules apply to warmup. Cancellation from an external timer requires yielding
to the event loop and cannot interrupt `runSync()`; see
[Abort During Execution](#abort-during-execution).
## Timer Diagnostics
After `bench.run()` (or `runSync()`), each task exposes
`detectedResolution`: the smallest positive latency sample occurring at least
twice, or the smallest positive sample if none repeats. Only timer-measured
samples after any overhead correction are considered; if none is positive,
the result is `undefined`. This is a sample-based heuristic, not a guaranteed
bound on the timer's resolution.
```ts
const task = bench.getTask('foo')
console.log(task?.detectedResolution) // e.g. 0.000041 (≈ 41 ns)
```
With at least 10 such samples, tinybench dispatches a `'warning'` event on
both the task and the bench when more than half are zero, fewer than
`max(3, min(10, ⌊n / 1000⌋))` distinct values occur, or MAD is zero with
`n > 100`. The event carries the matching
[`TimerSaturationReason`](https://tinylibs.github.io/tinybench/types/TimerSaturationReason.html):
```ts
bench.addEventListener('warning', evt => {
console.warn(`timer-saturated: ${evt.task?.name} — ${evt.reason}`)
})
```
The same heuristic and estimator are exposed as standalone helpers for
custom analysis: [`detectTimerSaturation`](https://tinylibs.github.io/tinybench/functions/detectTimerSaturation.html),
[`classifyTimerSaturation`](https://tinylibs.github.io/tinybench/functions/classifyTimerSaturation.html),
and [`estimateResolution`](https://tinylibs.github.io/tinybench/functions/estimateResolution.html).
## Aborting Benchmarks
Tinybench supports aborting benchmarks using `AbortSignal` at both the bench and task levels:
### Bench-level Abort
Abort all tasks in a benchmark by passing a signal to the `Bench` constructor:
```ts
const controller = new AbortController()
const bench = new Bench({ signal: controller.signal })
bench
.add('task1', () => {
// This will be aborted
})
.add('task2', () => {
// This will also be aborted
})
// Abort all tasks
controller.abort()
await bench.run()
// Both tasks will be aborted
```
### Task-level Abort
Abort individual tasks without affecting other tasks by passing a signal to the task options:
```ts
const controller = new AbortController()
const bench = new Bench()
bench
.add(
'abortable task',
() => {
// This task can be aborted independently
},
{ signal: controller.signal }
)
.add('normal task', () => {
// This task will continue normally
})
// Abort only the first task
controller.abort()
await bench.run()
// Only 'abortable task' will be aborted, 'normal task' continues
```
### Abort During Execution
You can abort benchmarks while they're running:
```ts
const controller = new AbortController()
const bench = new Bench({ time: 10000 }) // Long-running benchmark
bench.add(
'long task',
async () => {
await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 100))
},
{ signal: controller.signal }
)
// Abort after 1 second
setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 1000)
await bench.run()
// Task will stop after ~1 second instead of running for 10 seconds
```
Timer-triggered cancellation requires the task or a hook to yield to the
event loop, for example by awaiting I/O. Awaiting an already-resolved promise
is not sufficient. In `runSync()`, a task or synchronous hook can call
`controller.abort()` on the associated controller, but an external timer
cannot interrupt the run.
### Abort Events
Both `Bench` and `Task` emit `abort` events when aborted:
```ts
const controller = new AbortController()
const bench = new Bench()
bench.add(
'task',
() => {
// Task function
},
{ signal: controller.signal }
)
const task = bench.getTask('task')
if (!task) {
throw new Error('Task not found')
}
// Listen for abort events
task.addEventListener('abort', () => {
console.log('Task aborted!')
})
bench.addEventListener('abort', () => {
console.log('Bench received abort event!')
})
controller.abort()
await bench.run()
```
**Note:** An aborted task has `task.result.state` equal to `'aborted'` or
`'aborted-with-statistics'`. Iterations already in progress may finish before
the run returns.
## Prior art
- [Benchmark.js](https://github.com/bestiejs/benchmark.js)
- [mitata](https://github.com/evanwashere/mitata/)
- [tatami-ng](https://github.com/poolifier/tatami-ng)
- [Bema](https://github.com/prisma-labs/bema)
## Authors
| <a href="https://github.com/Aslemammad"> <img width='150' src="https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/37929992?v=4" /><br> Mohammad Bagher </a> |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
## Credits
| <a href="https://github.com/uzlopak"> <img width='150' src="https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/5059100?v=4" /><br> Uzlopak </a> | <a href="https://github.com/poyoho"> <img width='150' src="https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/36070057?v=4" /><br> poyoho </a> |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
## Contributing
Feel free to create issues/discussions and then PRs for the project!
## Sponsors
Your sponsorship can make a huge difference in continuing our work in open source!
<p align="center">
<a href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/aslemammad/static/sponsors.svg">
<img src='https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/aslemammad/static/sponsors.svg'/>
</a>
</p>