# Rust Performance > Performance optimization expert covering profiling, benchmarking, memory allocation, SIMD, cache optimization, false sharing, lock contention, and NUMA-aware programming. Use when this capability is needed. - Skill: `tomevault-io/rust-performance` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/rust-performance` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/rust-performance/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/rust-performance --- ## Optimization Priority ``` 1. Algorithm choice (10x - 1000x) ← Biggest impact 2. Data structure (2x - 10x) 3. Reduce allocations (2x - 5x) 4. Cache optimization (1.5x - 3x) 5. SIMD/parallelism (2x - 8x) ``` **Warning**: Premature optimization is the root of all evil. Make it work first, then optimize hot paths. ## Solution Patterns ### Pattern 1: Pre-allocation ```rust // ❌ Bad: grows dynamically let mut vec = Vec::new(); for i in 0..1000 { vec.push(i); } // ✅ Good: pre-allocate known size let mut vec = Vec::with_capacity(1000); for i in 0..1000 { vec.push(i); } ``` ### Pattern 2: Avoid Unnecessary Clones ```rust // ❌ Bad: unnecessary clone fn process(item: &Item) { let data = item.data.clone(); // use data... } // ✅ Good: use reference fn process(item: &Item) { let data = &item.data; // use data... } ``` ### Pattern 3: Batch Operations ```rust // ❌ Bad: multiple database calls for user_id in user_ids { db.update(user_id, status)?; } // ✅ Good: batch update db.update_all(user_ids, status)?; ``` ### Pattern 4: Small Object Optimization ```rust use smallvec::SmallVec; // ✅ No heap allocation for ≤16 items let mut vec: SmallVec<[u8; 16]> = SmallVec::new(); ``` ### Pattern 5: Parallel Processing ```rust use rayon::prelude::*; let sum: i32 = data .par_iter() .map(|x| expensive_computation(x)) .sum(); ``` ## Profiling Tools | Tool | Purpose | |------|---------| | `cargo bench` | Criterion benchmarks | | `perf` / `flamegraph` | CPU flame graphs | | `heaptrack` | Allocation tracking | | `valgrind --tool=cachegrind` | Cache analysis | | `dhat` | Heap allocation profiling | ## Common Optimizations ### Anti-Patterns to Fix | Anti-Pattern | Why Bad | Correct Approach | |--------------|---------|------------------| | Clone to avoid lifetimes | Performance cost | Proper ownership design | | Box everything | Indirection overhead | Prefer stack allocation | | HashMap for small data | Hash overhead too high | Vec + linear search | | String concatenation in loop | O(n²) | `with_capacity` or `format!` | | LinkedList | Cache-unfriendly | `Vec` or `VecDeque` | ## Advanced: False Sharing ### Symptom ```rust // ❌ Problem: multiple AtomicU64 in one struct struct ShardCounters { inflight: AtomicU64, completed: AtomicU64, } ``` - One CPU core at 90%+ - High LLC miss rate in perf - Many atomic RMW operations - Adding threads makes it slower ### Diagnosis ```bash # Perf analysis perf stat -d your_program # Look for LLC-load-misses and locked-instrs # Flamegraph cargo flamegraph # Find atomic fetch_add hotspots ``` ### Solution: Cache Line Padding ```rust // ✅ Each field in separate cache line #[repr(align(64))] struct PaddedAtomicU64(AtomicU64); struct ShardCounters { inflight: PaddedAtomicU64, completed: PaddedAtomicU64, } ``` ## Lock Contention Optimization ### Symptom ```rust // ❌ All threads compete for single lock let shared: Arc>> = Arc::new(Mutex::new(HashMap::new())); ``` - Most time spent in mutex lock/unlock - Performance degrades with more threads - High system time percentage ### Solution: Thread-Local Sharding ```rust // ✅ Each thread has local HashMap, merge at end pub fn parallel_count(data: &[String], num_threads: usize) -> HashMap { let mut handles = Vec::new(); for chunk in data.chunks(data.len() / num_threads) { handles.push(thread::spawn(move || { let mut local = HashMap::new(); for key in chunk { *local.entry(key.clone()).or_insert(0) += 1; } local // Return local counts })); } // Merge all local results let mut result = HashMap::new(); for handle in handles { for (k, v) in handle.join().unwrap() { *result.entry(k).or_insert(0) += v; } } result } ``` ## NUMA Awareness ### Problem ```rust // Multi-socket server, memory allocated on remote NUMA node let pool = ArenaPool::new(num_threads); // Rayon work-stealing causes tasks to run on any thread // Cross-NUMA access causes severe memory migration latency ``` ### Solution ```rust // 1. NUMA node binding let numa_node = detect_numa_node(); let pool = NumaAwarePool::new(numa_node); // 2. Use unified allocator (jemalloc) #[global_allocator] static ALLOC: jemallocator::Jemalloc = jemallocator::Jemalloc; // 3. Avoid cross-NUMA object clones // Borrow directly, don't copy data ``` ### Tools ```bash # Check NUMA topology numactl --hardware # Bind to NUMA node numactl --cpunodebind=0 --membind=0 ./my_program ``` ## Data Structure Selection | Scenario | Choice | Reason | |----------|--------|--------| | High-concurrency writes | DashMap or sharding | Reduces lock contention | | Read-heavy, few writes | RwLock | Read locks don't block | | Small dataset | Vec + linear search | HashMap overhead higher | | Fixed keys | Enum + array | Zero hash overhead | ### Read-Heavy Example ```rust // ✅ Many reads, few updates struct Config { map: RwLock>, } impl Config { pub fn get(&self, key: &str) -> Option { self.map.read().unwrap().get(key).cloned() } pub fn update(&self, key: String, value: ConfigValue) { self.map.write().unwrap().insert(key, value); } } ``` ## Common Performance Traps | Trap | Symptom | Solution | |------|---------|----------| | Adjacent atomic variables | False sharing | `#[repr(align(64))]` | | Global Mutex | Lock contention | Thread-local + merge | | Cross-NUMA allocation | Memory migration | NUMA-aware allocation | | Frequent small allocations | Allocator pressure | Object pooling | | Dynamic string keys | Extra allocations | Use integer IDs | ## Review Checklist When optimizing performance: - [ ] Profiled to identify bottleneck - [ ] Bottleneck confirmed with measurements - [ ] Algorithm is optimal for use case - [ ] Data structure appropriate - [ ] Unnecessary allocations removed - [ ] Parallelism exploited where beneficial - [ ] Cache-friendly data layout - [ ] Lock contention minimized - [ ] Benchmarks show improvement - [ ] Code still readable and maintainable ## Verification Commands ```bash # Benchmark cargo bench # Profile with perf perf stat -d ./target/release/your_program # Generate flamegraph cargo flamegraph --release # Heap profiling valgrind --tool=dhat ./target/release/your_program # Cache analysis valgrind --tool=cachegrind ./target/release/your_program # NUMA topology numactl --hardware ``` ## Common Pitfalls ### 1. Premature Optimization **Symptom**: Optimizing before profiling **Fix**: Profile first, optimize hot paths only ### 2. Micro-optimizing Cold Paths **Symptom**: Spending time on code that rarely runs **Fix**: Focus on hot loops (90% of time in 10% of code) ### 3. Trading Readability for Minimal Gains **Symptom**: Complex code for <5% improvement **Fix**: Only optimize if gain is significant (>20%) ## Performance Diagnostic Workflow ``` 1. Identify symptom (slow, high CPU, high memory) ↓ 2. Profile with appropriate tool - CPU → perf/flamegraph - Memory → heaptrack/dhat - Cache → cachegrind ↓ 3. Find hotspot (function/line) ↓ 4. Understand why it's slow - Algorithm? Data structure? Allocation? ↓ 5. Apply targeted optimization ↓ 6. Benchmark to confirm improvement ↓ 7. Repeat if not fast enough ``` ## Related Skills - **rust-concurrency** - Parallel processing patterns - **rust-async** - Async performance optimization - **rust-unsafe** - Zero-cost abstractions with unsafe - **rust-coding** - Writing performant idiomatic code - **rust-anti-pattern** - Performance anti-patterns to avoid ## Localized Reference - **Chinese version**: [SKILL_ZH.md](./SKILL_ZH.md) - 完整中文版本，包含所有内容 --- > Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/huiali) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.