What methods and tools do you use to detect memory leaks in applications?

The following methods and tools are used to detect memory leaks in Java applications:

• Memory profiling using tools such as VisualVM, YourKit, JProfiler. They allow tracking memory usage and finding objects that are not released.

• Heap dump analysis — creating a heap snapshot and analyzing it with Eclipse MAT (Memory Analyzer Tool) to identify object retention chains.

• Garbage collector (GC) monitoring — analyzing GC logs helps understand how often and how effectively memory is cleaned.

• Using Java Flight Recorder (JFR) — an integrated tool for performance and memory monitoring.

• Code review and static analysis — searching for potential leak points, such as unclosed resources, static collections.

Example of using VisualVM:

1. Run the application with profiling parameters.
2. Connect to the process via VisualVM.
3. Open the "Memory" tab and observe the growth of used memory.
4. Perform a heap dump and analyze objects that are not released.