Executive Summary
Stylus Trace Studio — Final Grant Report
Project Summary
Stylus Trace Studio set out to fill a critical observability gap for developers building on Arbitrum
Stylus: the absence of a clear, developer-friendly way to visualize how Stylus (Wasm)
transactions actually execute alongside the EVM. Over the grant period, the team delivered a
full suite of tooling — a cross-platform CLI, a diff engine with CI regression gating, a static web
viewer, comprehensive documentation, a starter repository, and ongoing maintenance. All six
milestones have been completed and delivered in full.
The project is publicly available at:
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GitHub:
https://crates.io/crates/stylus-trace-studio/0.1.2
Milestone 1 — Trace Ingest and Flamegraph
What Was Delivered
The foundation of the entire toolchain: a command-line interface (CLI) that connects to a local
Nitro dev node and calls debug_traceTransaction with {“tracer”:“stylusTracer”}
to fetch raw Stylus execution traces. The CLI aggregates HostIO events and Wasm to EVM
boundaries into collapsed stacks, then renders them as SVG flamegraphs and emits a
structured JSON summary.
Deliverables
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CLI — reads stylusTracer output via debug_traceTransaction from the local
Nitro dev node or any tracing-enabled RPC
SVG Flamegraph Generator — visual representation of execution hot paths and HostIO
activity
JSON Summary Schema — versioned schema capturing top hot paths, HostIO event
counts, and storage-related signals where available
Cross-Platform Builds — release packages for macOS arm64, macOS x86
64, Linux
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x86
64, and Windows x86
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Unit Tests + Smoke Test — end-to-end test using a sample Stylus transaction against
the Nitro dev node
KPI Results
KPI Target Result
Generate flamegraph and JSON for 3 sample transactions with no
Achieved
errors
Cross-platform builds published with a green CI matrix Process a 5 MB trace in under ~5 seconds on a typical CI runner Achieved
Achieved
Links
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GitHub:
https://crates.io/crates/stylus-trace-studio/0.1.2
Milestone 2 — Diff Engine and CI Action
What Was Delivered
A before-and-after profile comparison engine and a GitHub Action that fully automates Stylus
performance regression checks within any CI pipeline. Teams can now block pull requests
automatically when HostIO counts or execution costs exceed defined thresholds, without
requiring paid RPC endpoints or any secrets.
Deliverables
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Diff Engine — deterministic comparison of two Stylus execution profiles; produces a
machine-readable diff report highlighting increases and decreases in HostIO usage and
execution weight
Threshold Policy — configurable gating on HostIO totals and time-based metrics
GitHub Action — starts the Nitro dev node inside CI, runs a scripted transaction,
captures profiles, uploads artifacts, and fails the pull request when thresholds are
breached
Example Workflows + Caching Guidance — reusable workflow files demonstrating
passing and failing cases
KPI Results
KPI Target Result
Diff engine flags synthetic regressions reliably in test cases End-to-end Action run completes in under ~6 minutes on
ubuntu-latest
Example workflow produces one passing and one failing case Achieved
Achieved
Achieved
Links
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GitHub:
Video Presentation:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R27NuX5d4dctfRLIQ-67i
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MoqVLTgEUe/view
Milestone 3 — Static Web Viewer and Source Hints
What Was Delivered
A fully static, zero-backend single-page web application that allows developers and reviewers to
open Stylus execution profiles locally in a browser. The viewer supports zooming into
flamegraph sections, searching by function or HostIO label, and placing two profiles side by side
for a visual before-and-after comparison.
Deliverables
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Single-Page Viewer — opens local profile files with zoom and search; no server or
cloud dependency
Side-by-Side Diff View — visual comparison of two profiles highlighting regression
areas
Source Hints — best-effort file and function labels when debug symbols are present;
graceful category labels when symbols are absent
Published Static Bundle + Public Demo Site — exportable and hostable anywhere
(GitHub Pages or equivalent)
KPI Results
KPI Target Result
Viewer loads a 10 MB profile in a few seconds on a laptop-class
machine
Achieved
Basic accessibility and performance checks pass with high scores Works in Chrome and Firefox for sample profiles Fallback labels render correctly when symbols are absent Achieved
Achieved
Achieved
Links
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GitHub:
Milestone 4 — Docs, Starter Repo, Onboarding, and polish
What Was Delivered
A complete onboarding layer for the tool: a ready-to-clone starter repository, step-by-step
documentation, a CI cookbook, an education template, an Orbit-chain example, a demo video,
and a published tutorial post. Any developer can go from zero to a green CI pipeline producing
Stylus flamegraphs in under 10 minutes.
Deliverables
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Starter Repository — includes a Stylus contract (Rust), a Solidity caller, and a fully
green CI pipeline that produces flamegraph artifacts on every push
Quickstart Docs — Nitro dev node setup, local profiling walkthrough, CI cookbook,
troubleshooting guide, and provider notes on debug_
- availability
Education Template — a lesson plan and walkthrough designed for workshops, DevRel
sessions, and Stylus onboarding
Orbit-Oriented Template — example configured with a custom chain ID and RPC to
demonstrate usage on app-specific L3s
Demo Video — full workflow walkthrough from clone to flamegraph:
Tutorial Post — published on Medium:
https://medium.com/@creativesonchain/profiling-arbitrum-stylus-contracts-with-stylus-tra
ce-6e04ca99fd5d
KPI Results
KPI Target Result
Time to first profile under ~10 minutes following the Quickstart Achieved
Starter repo CI green on first run with artifacts visible Achieved
Education template published Achieved
Orbit template example published Achieved
Demo video and tutorial post published Achieved
Milestone 5 — Ops and Maintenance Buffer
What Was Delivered
Post-release support covering ongoing reliability, community enablement, and ecosystem
engagement for the 6-month window following v1 launch. All support obligations under this
milestone have been fulfilled.
Deliverables
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Monthly Smoke Tests — completed each month against the local Nitro dev node and at
least one public tracing provider; results logged publicly
Issue Triage — all issues responded to within 72 hours, with acknowledgement,
categorization, and reproduction guidance
Patch Releases — dependency updates and compatibility fixes shipped as needed
throughout the support window
Workshops and Posts — at least 3 demonstrations of the tool completed during the
support window through community posts, workshops, and collaborative sessions
Operational Coverage — CI minutes, code signing where applicable, and minor release
chores handled throughout the period
KPI Results
KPI Target Result
Monthly smoke tests completed and logged Achieved
Issue response within 72-hour target Achieved
At least 3 workshops or posts during support window Achieved
At least one patch per two months Achieved
Milestone 6 — Final Report
What Was Delivered
This document is the final milestone deliverable: a comprehensive review confirming 100%
completion across all milestones, with verified links, KPI outcomes, and a full summary of
ecosystem impact.
Overall Project Impact
Delivery Summary
Milestone Deliverable Status
M1 CLI + Flamegraph Generator Complete
M2 Diff Engine + GitHub CI Action Complete
M3 Static Web Viewer + Source Hints Complete
M4 Docs, Starter Repo, Demo,
Tutorial
Complete
M5 Post-Release Support Complete
M6 Final Report Complete
What the Tool Delivers for the Arbitrum Ecosystem
For developers: Flamegraphs, before-and-after diffs, and CI-integrated regression gating
replace hours of manual JSON inspection with seconds of visual review.
For reviewers and auditors: Stable, shareable SVG and JSON artifacts can be attached to
pull requests and audit reports, providing readable execution evidence without requiring any
external tooling or credentials.
For protocol and DeFi teams: HostIO hotspot visibility and cross-VM execution profiling allow
teams to proactively optimize gas cost and latency before hitting testnet or mainnet.
For Orbit chain builders: Custom chain ID and RPC support means any L3 team can adopt
the tool without modification.
For educators and DevRel: Visual, local-first flamegraphs with a sub-10-minute setup time
make Stylus concepts tangible in workshops and documentation.
Privacy and Cost Principles Met
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Default workflow runs entirely on the local Nitro dev node — no paid RPC plan required
No telemetry collected unless explicitly enabled
No backend, no keys, no secrets in CI
Fully open source under the MIT license with semantic versioning
Team
Timilehin Olowu
Victor Onoja
Micheal Dean
Akeem Adelanke
Name Role GitHub
Full-Stack and Tooling Engineer — CLI,
viewer, JSON schema
Infrastructure and Automation — GitHub
Action, Nitro workflows, CI
Blockchain and Stylus Developer —
contracts, test transactions, validation
Project Manager and Dev Onboarding —
coordination, community, workshops
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Key Links
Resource URL
GitHub
Repository
Package
Milestone
2 Video
Milestone
4 Demo
Video
Tutorial
Post
https://crates.io/crates/stylus-trace-studio/0.1.2
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R27NuX5d4dctfRLIQ-67i
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MoqVLTgEUe/view