Stop linking testify into production binaries via testsignal - #1342
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added 2 commits
August 4, 2026 23:15
`testsignal` is production code — its own doc comment says it's designed
to have "minimal impact on the production code that calls into it" — but
it imported `riversharedtest` for a single function, `WaitTimeout`.
Go initializes every imported package, so nothing in that graph can be
eliminated by the linker. The result is that testify, go-spew, goleak,
and yaml end up in every binary that uses River. Measured with
`go tool nm -size` on a minimal program importing `river` and
`riverdriver/riverpgxv5`:
github.com/stretchr/testify 18 symbols / 1168 bytes
github.com/davecgh/go-spew 11 symbols / 1312 bytes
go.uber.org/goleak 8 symbols / 896 bytes
gopkg.in/yaml 22 symbols / 4320 bytes
riversharedtest 13 symbols / 2248 bytes
`WaitTimeout` depends only on `os` and `time`, so move it to
`rivershared/util/testutil`, which `testsignal` already imports and which
has no dependencies outside the standard library. `riversharedtest.WaitTimeout`
stays as a wrapper so no public API changes, and its two internal callers,
`WaitOrTimeout` and `WaitOrTimeoutN`, are untouched. Its test moves
alongside the implementation.
After the move, the same program links no testify, go-spew, goleak, yaml,
or riversharedtest symbols at all: 951 fewer symbols and 957 KB less
binary.
Contributor
|
@e-yavuz-1 Dang great find. Do you think could sign our CLA? https://github.com/riverqueue/rivercla Otherwise, LGTM. |
Contributor
|
Also adding #1343 for a more structural fix by checking for this problem during linting. |
Contributor
Author
|
@brandur CLA signed. |
brandur
approved these changes
Aug 5, 2026
brandur
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Aug 6, 2026
This one's aimed at producing a more permanent structural fix for #1342 by keeping an eye out for the same problematic condition using the depguard lint. As a summary of the problem corrected by #1342: * We use the `testsignal` package in all kinds of non-test code, so packages including River always build against it. * `testsignal` was importing `riversharedtest`, which imports Testify, Goleak, YAML (through Testify). * This was causing all packages built against River to pick up an extra ~10 kB worth of dependencies in their production builds, which is bad. Here, add some new rules for depguard: * Don't allow `testsignal` to have any dependencies beyond stdlib and `testutil`. * Don't allow `testutil` to have any non-stdlib dependencies. This rule is so that `testsignal` doesn't pick up unexpected dependencies transitively through `testutil`.
brandur
added a commit
that referenced
this pull request
Aug 6, 2026
This one's aimed at producing a more permanent structural fix for #1342 by keeping an eye out for the same problematic condition using the depguard lint. As a summary of the problem corrected by #1342: * We use the `testsignal` package in all kinds of non-test code, so packages including River always build against it. * `testsignal` was importing `riversharedtest`, which imports Testify, Goleak, YAML (through Testify). * This was causing all packages built against River to pick up an extra ~10 kB worth of dependencies in their production builds, which is bad. Here, add some new rules for depguard: * Don't allow test packages like Goleak or Testify to be imported by any non-test Go files. We make an exception for internal test support packages like `riverdbtest` and `riverdrivertest`. * Don't allow `testsignal` to have any dependencies beyond stdlib and `testutil`. * Don't allow `testutil` to have any non-stdlib dependencies. This rule is so that `testsignal` doesn't pick up unexpected dependencies transitively through `testutil`.
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testsignalis production code — its own doc comment says it's designed to have "minimal impact on the production code that calls into it" — but it importedriversharedtestfor a single function,WaitTimeout.Go initializes every imported package, so nothing in that graph can be eliminated by the linker. The result is that testify, go-spew, goleak, and yaml end up in every binary that uses River. Measured with
go tool nm -sizeon a minimal program importingriverandriverdriver/riverpgxv5:WaitTimeoutdepends only onosandtime, so move it torivershared/util/testutil, whichtestsignalalready imports and which has no dependencies outside the standard library.riversharedtest.WaitTimeoutstays as a wrapper so no public API changes, and its two internal callers,WaitOrTimeoutandWaitOrTimeoutN, are untouched. Its test moves alongside the implementation.After the move, the same program links no testify, go-spew, goleak, yaml, or riversharedtest symbols at all: 951 fewer symbols and 957 KB less binary.