CI Memory footprint tracking with MemBrowse

[membrowse]

Hey everyone,

I've been working on a tool called MemBrowse that tracks firmware memory footprint across commits,
and I thought it might be useful for TinyUSB given the project's focus on resource-constrained devices.

To demonstrate how it works, I set up a public dashboard with ~100 builds across 3 targets from the TinyUSB examples:
https://membrowse.com/public/membrowse/tinyusb

What it does:

• Runs automatically on pull request updates and on merges to the main branch
• Tracks FLASH and RAM usage per commit with historical trends
• Creates a PR comment with detailed memory footprint changes for all tracked targets
• Shows diffs between any two commits so you can see exactly what changed
• Breaks down memory usage by region, section and symbol
• Supports feature budgets using thresholds defined via commit message keywords

Why this might matter for TinyUSB:

I noticed the project already posts average memory usage in PR comments, which is great.
MemBrowse builds on that by adding history, diffs, and deeper attribution.

This could help catch regressions earlier, especially when contributors are testing on different boards or only a single target.

Integration:

It runs as a GitHub Action and parses ELF files and linker scripts directly.
There’s no runtime dependency, no code changes required in the project, and very little ongoing maintenance once set up.
If there’s interest, I’d be happy to help set up and maintain it when needed.

Would such memory tracking be useful for the project?

[membrowse]

Here is an example of the build comparison page:

https://membrowse.com/public/membrowse/tinyusb/target/stm32h743nucleo/compare?base=3eafddb02a3347873dc1816f53b428518eb97c61&head=593dce28349cf5b1299c2cf1193312cb783574f3

And the symbol analysis page:

https://membrowse.com/public/membrowse/tinyusb/target/stm32h743nucleo/symbols?base=3eafddb02a3347873dc1816f53b428518eb97c61&head=593dce28349cf5b1299c2cf1193312cb783574f3

[hathach]

The dashboard look awesome, I would love to integrate it. The current metrics which posts PR comment is not ideal. Since TinyUSB footprint depends on various configuration and/or MCUs, the current approach is just average sum, since it is not easy to show each port/configuration footprint (there are too many). Your dash board with multiple browsable targets will make it easier to focus on a specific port.

I am in, let me know which step you I take. I guess I have to create a account/sign in to your site first ?

PS: Is there file/folder filter for the symbol analysis since I mostly care about tinyusb/src (nothing to optimize with the mcu vendor lib).

[membrowse]

Thanks Ha Thach, excited to get this integrated!
I'll prepare a PR for TinyUSB.

To get it working, you'll need to:

• Create an account at membrowse.com
• Create a project for TinyUSB (this will generate your API key)
• Add the generated MEMBROWSE_API_KEY to your GitHub repository secrets

For symbol filtering: yes, there's search and filtering by filename in the symbol analysis page.
If you have ideas for improving the UI to better fit TinyUSB's workflow, I'm open to suggestions.

Which targets/configurations should I include in the PR? I know there are many, so let me know which ones you'd like to track first.

[hathach]

thanks for the detail, which permission the MEMBROWSE_API_KEY would need, for the target, ideally it would be 1 board per family which is build by ci's cmake https://github.com/hathach/tinyusb/blob/master/.github/workflows/build.yml#L66. it is essentially build by tools/build.py. https://github.com/hathach/tinyusb/blob/master/.github/workflows/build_util.yml#L54 . If you are not familliar with tinyusb codebase, no problem, I can try to figure out as well with the PR.

[membrowse]

The API key just needs to be added as a repository secret (Settings → Secrets → Actions). No special permissions beyond that - the workflow will read it as an environment variable.

I'll take a look at the build files you linked. If I get stuck on how the families are structured, I may take you up on that offer to collaborate.

I will have a draft PR up soon.

[hathach]

thank you, just added MEMBROWSE_API_KEY as repo secret.