--- name: "pt-sift" section: "1p" platform: "linux" package: "percona-toolkit" version: "3.7.1_4-1" release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/pt-sift" --- # pt-sift(1p) Browses files created by pt-stalk. ## NAME pt-sift - Browses files created by pt-stalk. ## SYNOPSIS Usage: pt-sift FILE\|PREFIX\|DIRECTORY pt-sift browses files created by pt-stalk. If no options are given, the tool browses all pt-stalk files in `"/var/lib/pt-stalk"` if that directory exists, else the current working directory is used. If a FILE is given, the tool browses files with the same prefix in the given file's directory. If a PREFIX is given, the tool browses files in `"/var/lib/pt-stalk"` (or the current working directory) with the same prefix. If a DIRECTORY is given, the tool browses all pt-stalk files in it. ## RISKS Percona Toolkit is mature, proven in the real world, and well tested, but all database tools can pose a risk to the system and the database server. Before using this tool, please: - • Read the tool's documentation - • Review the tool's known "BUGS" - • Test the tool on a non-production server - • Backup your production server and verify the backups ## DESCRIPTION pt-sift downloads other tools that it might need, such as pt-diskstats, and then makes a list of the unique timestamp prefixes of all the files in the directory, as written by the pt-stalk tool. If the user specified a timestamp on the command line, then it begins with that sample of data; otherwise it begins by showing a list of the timestamps and prompting for a selection. Thereafter, it displays a summary of the selected sample, and the user can navigate and inspect with keystrokes. The keystroke commands you can use are as follows: - • d Sets the action to start the pt-diskstats tool on the sample's disk performance statistics. - • i Sets the action to view the first INNODB STATUS sample in less. - • m Displays the first 4 samples of SHOW STATUS counters side by side with the pt-mext tool. - • n Summarizes the first sample of netstat data in two ways: by originating host, and by connection state. - • j Select the next timestamp as the active sample. - • k Select the previous timestamp as the active sample. - • q Quit the program. - • 1 Sets the action for each sample to the default, which is to view a summary of the sample. - • Sets the action to just list the files in the sample. - • \* Sets the action to view all of the sample's files in the less program. ## OPTIONS - \--help Show help and exit. - \--version Show version and exit. ## ENVIRONMENT This tool does not use any environment variables. ## SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS This tool requires Bash v3 and the following programs: pt-diskstats, pt-pmp, pt-mext, and pt-align. If these programs are not in your PATH, they will be fetched from the Internet if curl is available. ## BUGS For a list of known bugs, see \. Please report bugs at \. Include the following information in your bug report: - • Complete command-line used to run the tool - • Tool "--version" - • MySQL version of all servers involved - • Output from the tool including STDERR - • Input files (log/dump/config files, etc.) If possible, include debugging output by running the tool with `"PTDEBUG"`; see "ENVIRONMENT". ## ATTENTION Using \ might expose passwords. When debug is enabled, all command line parameters are shown in the output. ## DOWNLOADING Visit \ to download the latest release of Percona Toolkit. Or, get the latest release from the command line: ``` wget percona.com/get/percona-toolkit.tar.gz wget percona.com/get/percona-toolkit.rpm wget percona.com/get/percona-toolkit.deb ``` You can also get individual tools from the latest release: ``` wget percona.com/get/TOOL ``` Replace `"TOOL"` with the name of any tool. ## AUTHORS Baron Schwartz ## ABOUT PERCONA TOOLKIT This tool is part of Percona Toolkit, a collection of advanced command-line tools for MySQL developed by Percona. Percona Toolkit was forked from two projects in June, 2011: Maatkit and Aspersa. Those projects were created by Baron Schwartz and primarily developed by him and Daniel Nichter. Visit \ to learn about other free, open-source software from Percona. ## COPYRIGHT, LICENSE, AND WARRANTY This program is copyright 2011-2026 Percona LLC and/or its affiliates, 2010-2011 Baron Schwartz. THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, version 2; OR the Perl Artistic License. On UNIX and similar systems, you can issue \`man perlgpl' or \`man perlartistic' to read these licenses. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License, version 2 along with this program; if not, see \. ## VERSION pt-sift 3.7.1-4