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AI agents can take on much of the repetitive work in graphics debugging and performance tuning, such as triaging GPU crashes, finding expensive shaders, and trying out a fix. PIX supports these agentic workflows by exposing its functionality programmatically, so that agents and the tools you build can drive PIX directly, without the PIX UI.
Build your own agentic workflows with the PIX API
PIX doesn't prescribe a particular agent, MCP server, or CLI. Agentic development is changing quickly, and every team's workflow is different. Instead, the PIX API is the foundation that you build on. The PIX API is a stable, programmatic interface to the functionality in the PIX UI, available from C++, C#, and Python. Use it to integrate PIX into whatever agentic workflow suits you, for example:
- An MCP server that exposes the PIX operations your agent needs, shaped to your engine and conventions.
- A command-line tool or script that an agent can call.
- An automated pipeline, such as crash triage that runs on every incoming dump file.
To get you started, PIX ships with example Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers built on the PIX API. You can use them as they are with agents and assistants such as GitHub Copilot. You can also treat them as starting points to adapt or replace. The source for these example servers will be available on GitHub, so that they can improve as the community and the PIX team learn what works best.
Timing Captures
Timing Captures are the exception, because they don't need the PIX API. Timing Captures use an open, SQLite-based file format. You can query a capture with any SQLite tool or library, such as sqlite3.exe. Some tables are compressed, so load the PixStorage.dll SQLite extension from your PIX installation folder before you query them. For details and example queries, see Querying the PIX Timing Capture file format.
PIX ships with MCP servers for Timing Captures. Because the file format is open, these servers are written in C# and query the capture file directly instead of using the PIX API. You can take the same approach in your own tools, in any language that can read SQLite.
Current status
| Area | Foundation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX Dump Files | PIX API | DxDmp CLI and MCP server available now. To get started, see Analyze DirectX Dump Files with AI agents. |
| Timing Captures | SQLite capture file | MCP server available now. |
| Shader Explorer | PIX API | PIX API available now. Example MCP server coming in the near future. |
| GPU Captures | PIX API | PIX API support in progress. |
More scenarios
The PIX team is extending the PIX API to support agentic workflows across more of PIX, starting with GPU Captures. To find out about new capabilities as they become available, follow the PIX blog.
Looking ahead
Today, PIX agentic tools work independently of the PIX UI. Over time, the PIX team plans to connect them more closely, so that you and an agent can work in the same capture. For example, an agent could find a problem region in performance data and highlight that range in PIX for you to investigate.