diff --git a/docs/perfetto.rst b/docs/perfetto.rst
index dd78db564b4..17379e6f770 100644
--- a/docs/perfetto.rst
+++ b/docs/perfetto.rst
@@ -104,6 +104,22 @@ the steps above :
 
    # Back in the perfetto tmux, press enter to start the capture
 
+Vulkan data sources
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The Vulkan API gives the application control over recording of command
+buffers as well as when they are submitted to the hardware. As a
+consequence, we need to ensure command buffers are properly
+instrumented for the perfetto driver data sources prior to Perfetto
+actually collecting traces.
+
+This can be achieved by setting the ``GPU_TRACE_INSTRUMENT``
+environment variable before starting a Vulkan application :
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+   GPU_TRACE_INSTRUMENT=1 ./build/my_vulkan_app
+
 Driver Specifics
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
diff --git a/src/freedreno/vulkan/tu_drm.c b/src/freedreno/vulkan/tu_drm.c
index ae8c037beb9..591115e738e 100644
--- a/src/freedreno/vulkan/tu_drm.c
+++ b/src/freedreno/vulkan/tu_drm.c
@@ -950,7 +950,7 @@ tu_queue_submit_create_locked(struct tu_queue *queue,
       }
    }
 
-   bool u_trace_enabled = u_trace_context_tracing(&queue->device->trace_context);
+   bool u_trace_enabled = u_trace_context_actively_tracing(&queue->device->trace_context);
    bool has_trace_points = false;
 
    uint32_t entry_count = 0;
diff --git a/src/util/perf/u_trace.c b/src/util/perf/u_trace.c
index 1252897688b..aae22856c20 100644
--- a/src/util/perf/u_trace.c
+++ b/src/util/perf/u_trace.c
@@ -38,6 +38,8 @@
 #define TIMESTAMP_BUF_SIZE 0x1000
 #define TRACES_PER_CHUNK   (TIMESTAMP_BUF_SIZE / sizeof(uint64_t))
 
+bool ut_trace_instrument;
+
 #ifdef HAVE_PERFETTO
 int ut_perfetto_enabled;
 
@@ -217,6 +219,7 @@ get_chunk(struct u_trace *ut, size_t payload_size)
    return chunk;
 }
 
+DEBUG_GET_ONCE_BOOL_OPTION(trace_instrument, "GPU_TRACE_INSTRUMENT", false)
 DEBUG_GET_ONCE_BOOL_OPTION(trace, "GPU_TRACE", false)
 DEBUG_GET_ONCE_FILE_OPTION(trace_file, "GPU_TRACEFILE", NULL, "w")
 
@@ -232,6 +235,8 @@ get_tracefile(void)
          tracefile = stdout;
       }
 
+      ut_trace_instrument = debug_get_option_trace_instrument();
+
       firsttime = false;
    }
 
@@ -281,7 +286,7 @@ u_trace_context_init(struct u_trace_context *utctx,
    list_add(&utctx->node, &ctx_list);
 #endif
 
-   if (!u_trace_context_tracing(utctx))
+   if (!u_trace_context_actively_tracing(utctx))
       return;
 
    queue_init(utctx);
@@ -425,7 +430,7 @@ u_trace_init(struct u_trace *ut, struct u_trace_context *utctx)
 {
    ut->utctx = utctx;
    list_inithead(&ut->trace_chunks);
-   ut->enabled = u_trace_context_tracing(utctx);
+   ut->enabled = u_trace_context_instrumenting(utctx);
 }
 
 void
diff --git a/src/util/perf/u_trace.h b/src/util/perf/u_trace.h
index 7e3f7aaa2e2..8f21c4941dc 100644
--- a/src/util/perf/u_trace.h
+++ b/src/util/perf/u_trace.h
@@ -267,6 +267,12 @@ void u_trace_disable_event_range(struct u_trace_iterator begin_it,
  */
 void u_trace_flush(struct u_trace *ut, void *flush_data, bool free_data);
 
+/**
+ * Whether command buffers should be instrumented even if not collecting
+ * traces.
+ */
+extern bool ut_trace_instrument;
+
 #ifdef HAVE_PERFETTO
 extern int ut_perfetto_enabled;
 
@@ -277,11 +283,17 @@ void u_trace_perfetto_stop(void);
 #endif
 
 static inline bool
-u_trace_context_tracing(struct u_trace_context *utctx)
+u_trace_context_actively_tracing(struct u_trace_context *utctx)
 {
    return !!utctx->out || (ut_perfetto_enabled > 0);
 }
 
+static inline bool
+u_trace_context_instrumenting(struct u_trace_context *utctx)
+{
+   return !!utctx->out || ut_trace_instrument || (ut_perfetto_enabled > 0);
+}
+
 #ifdef  __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/src/util/perf/u_trace.py b/src/util/perf/u_trace.py
index f80b253d899..374ec790c52 100644
--- a/src/util/perf/u_trace.py
+++ b/src/util/perf/u_trace.py
@@ -212,9 +212,9 @@ static inline void trace_${trace_name}(struct u_trace *ut, void *cs
 %    endfor
 ) {
 %    if trace.tp_perfetto is not None:
-   if (!unlikely(ut->enabled || ut_perfetto_enabled))
+   if (!unlikely(ut->enabled || ut_trace_instrument || ut_perfetto_enabled))
 %    else:
-   if (!unlikely(ut->enabled))
+   if (!unlikely(ut->enabled || ut_trace_instrument))
 %    endif
       return;
    __trace_${trace_name}(ut, cs