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Python Performance Optimization

Seth HobsonCommunityCreated by Seth Hobson

  • Skill
  • Guidelines
  • Software development
  • MIT
  • Low risk

From the author

Profile and optimize Python code using cProfile, memory profilers, and performance best practices. Use when debugging slow Python code, optimizing bottlenecks, or improving application performance.
— the description by Seth Hobson

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill provides a structured approach to identifying and resolving performance bottlenecks in Python applications. It covers essential profiling techniques, including CPU, memory, and line-by-line analysis, alongside practical optimization strategies such as algorithmic improvements, caching, parallelization, and the use of efficient data structures. The guide emphasizes a data-driven approach, advocating for profiling before optimization to ensure efforts are focused on the most impactful areas of the codebase.

What it does

  • Provides methods for CPU, memory, and line-by-line profiling.
  • Offers strategies for reducing latency and memory consumption.
  • Demonstrates how to use caching to avoid redundant computations.
  • Explains techniques for parallelizing CPU-bound tasks.
  • Guides the use of native extensions and vectorized operations for performance.
  • Outlines best practices for writing high-performance Python code.

When to use it

  • When debugging slow Python applications or identifying bottlenecks.
  • When reducing application latency and response times.
  • When optimizing memory usage or addressing memory leaks.
  • When scaling data processing pipelines.
  • When profiling production applications to understand real-world performance.

Advantages

  • Promotes evidence-based optimization through profiling.
  • Provides actionable patterns for common performance issues.
  • Covers both development-time and production-time profiling tools.
  • Encourages efficient coding habits and data structure selection.

Usage examples

“How can I identify which functions are slowing down my Python script?”
The skill explains how to use cProfile to generate performance statistics and sort them by cumulative time to pinpoint bottlenecks.
“My application is consuming too much memory. How can I optimize it?”
The skill suggests using memory_profiler to track usage and implementing __slots__ in classes to reduce memory overhead.
“How do I speed up a CPU-intensive task in Python?”
The skill provides patterns for using the multiprocessing module to parallelize tasks and NumPy for vectorized numerical operations.
“How can I cache the results of an expensive recursive function?”
The skill demonstrates the use of the functools.lru_cache decorator to store and reuse function results.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/wshobson/python-performance-optimization/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip python-performance-optimization.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Seth Hobson

Python Performance Optimization

Comprehensive guide to profiling, analyzing, and optimizing Python code for better performance, including CPU profiling, memory optimization, and implementation best practices.

When to Use This Skill

  • Identifying performance bottlenecks in Python applications

  • Reducing application latency and response times

  • Optimizing CPU-intensive operations

  • Reducing memory consumption and memory leaks

  • Improving database query performance

  • Optimizing I/O operations

  • Speeding up data processing pipelines

  • Implementing high-performance algorithms

  • Profiling production applications

Core Concepts

1. Profiling Types
  • CPU Profiling: Identify time-consuming functions

  • Memory Profiling: Track memory allocation and leaks

  • Line Profiling: Profile at line-by-line granularity

  • Call Graph: Visualize function call relationships

2. Performance Metrics
  • Execution Time: How long operations take

  • Memory Usage: Peak and average memory consumption

  • CPU Utilization: Processor usage patterns

  • I/O Wait: Time spent on I/O operations

3. Optimization Strategies
  • Algorithmic: Better algorithms and data structures

  • Implementation: More efficient code patterns

  • Parallelization: Multi-threading/processing

  • Caching: Avoid redundant computation

  • Native Extensions: C/Rust for critical paths

Quick Start

Basic Timing
import time

def measure_time():
    """Simple timing measurement."""
    start = time.time()

    # Your code here
    result = sum(range(1000000))

    elapsed = time.time() - start
    print(f"Execution time: {elapsed:.4f} seconds")
    return result

# Better: use timeit for accurate measurements
import timeit

execution_time = timeit.timeit(
    "sum(range(1000000))",
    number=100
)
print(f"Average time: {execution_time/100:.6f} seconds")

Detailed patterns and worked examples

Detailed pattern documentation lives in references/details.md. Read that file when the navigation tier above is insufficient.

Best Practices

  1. Profile before optimizing - Measure to find real bottlenecks

  2. Focus on hot paths - Optimize code that runs most frequently

  3. Use appropriate data structures - Dict for lookups, set for membership

  4. Avoid premature optimization - Clarity first, then optimize

  5. Use built-in functions - They're implemented in C

  6. Cache expensive computations - Use lru_cache

  7. Batch I/O operations - Reduce system calls

  8. Use generators for large datasets

  9. Consider NumPy for numerical operations

  10. Profile production code - Use py-spy for live systems

Common Pitfalls

  • Optimizing without profiling

  • Using global variables unnecessarily

  • Not using appropriate data structures

  • Creating unnecessary copies of data

  • Not using connection pooling for databases

  • Ignoring algorithmic complexity

  • Over-optimizing rare code paths

  • Not considering memory usage

Files

references/advanced-patterns.md

Python Performance Optimization — Advanced Reference

Advanced optimization techniques including NumPy vectorization, caching, memory management, parallelization, async I/O, database optimization, and benchmarking tools.

Advanced Optimization

Pattern 11: NumPy for Numerical Operations
import timeit
import numpy as np

def python_sum(n):
    """Sum using pure Python."""
    return sum(range(n))

def numpy_sum(n):
    """Sum using NumPy."""
    return np.arange(n).sum()

n = 1000000

python_time = timeit.timeit(lambda: python_sum(n), number=100)
numpy_time = timeit.timeit(lambda: numpy_sum(n), number=100)

print(f"Python: {python_time:.4f}s")
print(f"NumPy: {numpy_time:.4f}s")
print(f"Speedup: {python_time/numpy_time:.2f}x")

# Vectorized operations
def python_multiply():
    """Element-wise multiplication in Python."""
    a = list(range(100000))
    b = list(range(100000))
    return [x * y for x, y in zip(a, b)]

def numpy_multiply():
    """Vectorized multiplication in NumPy."""
    a = np.arange(100000)
    b = np.arange(100000)
    return a * b

py_time = timeit.timeit(python_multiply, number=100)
np_time = timeit.timeit(numpy_multiply, number=100)

print(f"\nPython multiply: {py_time:.4f}s")
print(f"NumPy multiply: {np_time:.4f}s")
print(f"Speedup: {py_time/np_time:.2f}x")
Pattern 12: Caching with functools.lru_cache
from functools import lru_cache
import timeit

def fibonacci_slow(n):
    """Recursive fibonacci without caching."""
    if n < 2:
        return n
    return fibonacci_slow(n-1) + fibonacci_slow(n-2)

@lru_cache(maxsize=None)
def fibonacci_fast(n):
    """Recursive fibonacci with caching."""
    if n < 2:
        return n
    return fibonacci_fast(n-1) + fibonacci_fast(n-2)

# Massive speedup for recursive algorithms
n = 30

slow_time = timeit.timeit(lambda: fibonacci_slow(n), number=1)
fast_time = timeit.timeit(lambda: fibonacci_fast(n), number=1000)

print(f"Without cache (1 run): {slow_time:.4f}s")
print(f"With cache (1000 runs): {fast_time:.4f}s")

# Cache info
print(f"Cache info: {fibonacci_fast.cache_info()}")
Pattern 13: Using slots for Memory
import tracemalloc

class RegularClass:
    """Regular class with __dict__."""
    def __init__(self, x, y, z):
        self.x = x
        self.y = y
        self.z = z

class SlottedClass:
    """Class with __slots__ for memory efficiency."""
    __slots__ = ['x', 'y', 'z']

    def __init__(self, x, y, z):
        self.x = x
        self.y = y
        self.z = z

# Memory comparison: sys.getsizeof is shallow and leaves out each
# instance's __dict__, so measure real allocations with tracemalloc
def measure(cls, n=10000):
    tracemalloc.start()
    objects = [cls(i, i+1, i+2) for i in range(n)]
    current, _ = tracemalloc.get_traced_memory()
    tracemalloc.stop()
    return current

print(f"Memory for 10000 regular objects: {measure(RegularClass)} bytes")
print(f"Memory for 10000 slotted objects: {measure(SlottedClass)} bytes")
Pattern 14: Multiprocessing for CPU-Bound Tasks
import multiprocessing as mp
import time

def cpu_intensive_task(n):
    """CPU-intensive calculation."""
    return sum(i**2 for i in range(n))

def sequential_processing():
    """Process tasks sequentially."""
    start = time.time()
    results = [cpu_intensive_task(1000000) for _ in range(4)]
    elapsed = time.time() - start
    return elapsed, results

def parallel_processing():
    """Process tasks in parallel."""
    start = time.time()
    with mp.Pool(processes=4) as pool:
        results = pool.map(cpu_intensive_task, [1000000] * 4)
    elapsed = time.time() - start
    return elapsed, results

if __name__ == "__main__":
    seq_time, seq_results = sequential_processing()
    par_time, par_results = parallel_processing()

    print(f"Sequential: {seq_time:.2f}s")
    print(f"Parallel: {par_time:.2f}s")
    print(f"Speedup: {seq_time/par_time:.2f}x")
Pattern 15: Async I/O for I/O-Bound Tasks
import asyncio
import aiohttp
import time
import requests

urls = [
    "https://httpbin.org/delay/1",
    "https://httpbin.org/delay/1",
    "https://httpbin.org/delay/1",
    "https://httpbin.org/delay/1",
]

def synchronous_requests():
    """Synchronous HTTP requests."""
    start = time.time()
    results = []
    for url in urls:
        response = requests.get(url)
        results.append(response.status_code)
    elapsed = time.time() - start
    return elapsed, results

async def async_fetch(session, url):
    """Async HTTP request."""
    async with session.get(url) as response:
        return response.status

async def asynchronous_requests():
    """Asynchronous HTTP requests."""
    start = time.time()
    async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
        tasks = [async_fetch(session, url) for url in urls]
        results = await asyncio.gather(*tasks)
    elapsed = time.time() - start
    return elapsed, results

# Async is much faster for I/O-bound work
sync_time, sync_results = synchronous_requests()
async_time, async_results = asyncio.run(asynchronous_requests())

print(f"Synchronous: {sync_time:.2f}s")
print(f"Asynchronous: {async_time:.2f}s")
print(f"Speedup: {sync_time/async_time:.2f}x")

Database Optimization

Pattern 16: Batch Database Operations
import sqlite3
import time

def create_db():
    """Create test database."""
    conn = sqlite3.connect(":memory:")
    conn.execute("CREATE TABLE users (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT)")
    return conn

def slow_inserts(conn, count):
    """Insert records one at a time."""
    start = time.time()
    cursor = conn.cursor()
    for i in range(count):
        cursor.execute("INSERT INTO users (name) VALUES (?)", (f"User {i}",))
        conn.commit()  # Commit each insert
    elapsed = time.time() - start
    return elapsed

def fast_inserts(conn, count):
    """Batch insert with single commit."""
    start = time.time()
    cursor = conn.cursor()
    data = [(f"User {i}",) for i in range(count)]
    cursor.executemany("INSERT INTO users (name) VALUES (?)", data)
    conn.commit()  # Single commit
    elapsed = time.time() - start
    return elapsed

# Benchmark
conn1 = create_db()
slow_time = slow_inserts(conn1, 1000)

conn2 = create_db()
fast_time = fast_inserts(conn2, 1000)

print(f"Individual inserts: {slow_time:.4f}s")
print(f"Batch insert: {fast_time:.4f}s")
print(f"Speedup: {slow_time/fast_time:.2f}x")
Pattern 17: Query Optimization
# Use indexes for frequently queried columns
"""
-- Slow: No index
SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = '[email protected]';

-- Fast: With index
CREATE INDEX idx_users_email ON users(email);
SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = '[email protected]';
"""

# Use query planning
import sqlite3

conn = sqlite3.connect("example.db")
cursor = conn.cursor()

# Analyze query performance
cursor.execute("EXPLAIN QUERY PLAN SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = ?", ("[email protected]",))
print(cursor.fetchall())

# Use SELECT only needed columns
# Slow: SELECT *
# Fast: SELECT id, name

Memory Optimization

Pattern 18: Detecting Memory Leaks
import tracemalloc
import gc

def memory_leak_example():
    """Example that leaks memory."""
    leaked_objects = []

    for i in range(100000):
        # Objects added but never removed
        leaked_objects.append([i] * 100)

    # In real code, this would be an unintended reference

def track_memory_usage():
    """Track memory allocations."""
    tracemalloc.start()

    # Take snapshot before
    snapshot1 = tracemalloc.take_snapshot()

    # Run code
    memory_leak_example()

    # Take snapshot after
    snapshot2 = tracemalloc.take_snapshot()

    # Compare
    top_stats = snapshot2.compare_to(snapshot1, 'lineno')

    print("Top 10 memory allocations:")
    for stat in top_stats[:10]:
        print(stat)

    tracemalloc.stop()

# Monitor memory
track_memory_usage()

# Force garbage collection
gc.collect()
Pattern 19: Iterators vs Lists
import sys

def process_file_list(filename):
    """Load entire file into memory."""
    with open(filename) as f:
        lines = f.readlines()  # Loads all lines
        return sum(1 for line in lines if line.strip())

def process_file_iterator(filename):
    """Process file line by line."""
    with open(filename) as f:
        return sum(1 for line in f if line.strip())

# Iterator uses constant memory
# List loads entire file into memory
Pattern 20: Weakref for Caches
import weakref

class CachedResource:
    """Resource that can be garbage collected."""
    def __init__(self, data):
        self.data = data

# Regular cache prevents garbage collection
regular_cache = {}

def get_resource_regular(key):
    """Get resource from regular cache."""
    if key not in regular_cache:
        regular_cache[key] = CachedResource(f"Data for {key}")
    return regular_cache[key]

# Weak reference cache allows garbage collection
weak_cache = weakref.WeakValueDictionary()

def get_resource_weak(key):
    """Get resource from weak cache."""
    resource = weak_cache.get(key)
    if resource is None:
        resource = CachedResource(f"Data for {key}")
        weak_cache[key] = resource
    return resource

# When no strong references exist, objects can be GC'd

Benchmarking Tools

Custom Benchmark Decorator
import time
from functools import wraps

def benchmark(func):
    """Decorator to benchmark function execution."""
    @wraps(func)
    def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
        start = time.perf_counter()
        result = func(*args, **kwargs)
        elapsed = time.perf_counter() - start
        print(f"{func.__name__} took {elapsed:.6f} seconds")
        return result
    return wrapper

@benchmark
def slow_function():
    """Function to benchmark."""
    time.sleep(0.5)
    return sum(range(1000000))

result = slow_function()
Performance Testing with pytest-benchmark
# Install: pip install pytest-benchmark

def test_list_comprehension(benchmark):
    """Benchmark list comprehension."""
    result = benchmark(lambda: [i**2 for i in range(10000)])
    assert len(result) == 10000

def test_map_function(benchmark):
    """Benchmark map function."""
    result = benchmark(lambda: list(map(lambda x: x**2, range(10000))))
    assert len(result) == 10000

# Run with: pytest test_performance.py --benchmark-compare

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs Python

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Attribution and licence

Created by
Seth Hobson
Publisher
Seth Hobson (Community)
Source
wshobson/agents · plugins/python-development/skills/python-performance-optimization · commit 4bde316
Licence
MIT License (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
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