Rust Code Review

SKILL.md

---
name: rust-code-review
description: Reviews Rust code for ownership, borrowing, lifetime, error handling, trait design, unsafe usage, and common mistakes. Use when reviewing .rs files, checking borrow checker issues, error handling patterns, or trait implementations. Covers Rust 2024 edition patterns and modern idioms.
---

# Rust Code Review

## Review Workflow

Follow this sequence to avoid false positives and catch edition-specific issues:

1. **Check `Cargo.toml`** — Note the Rust edition (2018, 2021, 2024) and MSRV if set. Edition 2024 introduces breaking changes to unsafe semantics, RPIT lifetime capture, temporary scoping, and `!` type fallback. This determines which patterns apply. Check workspace structure if present.
2. **Check dependencies** — Note key crates (thiserror vs anyhow, tokio features, serde features). These inform which patterns are expected.
3. **Scan changed files** — Read full functions, not just diffs. Many Rust bugs hide in ownership flow across a function.
4. **Check each category** — Work through the checklist below, loading references as needed.
5. **Verify before reporting** — Complete **Gates** (below), including the verification-protocol gate, before submitting findings.

## Gates

These steps are **sequenced**: do not skip ahead with “mental verification.” Each step has an objective **Pass** you can satisfy from files on disk and your own read path.

1. **Crate context** — Before relying on edition-specific checklist rows (Edition 2024, MSRV-sensitive APIs) or dependency assumptions. **Pass:** You opened the relevant `Cargo.toml` (package or workspace manifest) and can state `edition` and `rust-version` (if set) in one line.
2. **Expanded read** — Before reporting a **Major** or **Critical** finding. **Pass:** You read the full function, `unsafe` block, or `impl` / trait item that contains the cited line (not only a diff hunk).
3. **Severity match** — Before each finding line in the report. **Pass:** The **Severity** label matches **Severity Calibration** for that issue class, or you use **Informational** and give a one-line rationale.
4. **Verification protocol** — Before finalizing the report. **Pass:** the [review-verification-protocol](../review-verification-protocol/SKILL.md) skill is loaded and every step in it that applies to this review is completed (do not substitute a vague “I checked”).

## Output Format

Report findings as:

```text
[FILE:LINE] ISSUE_TITLE
Severity: Critical | Major | Minor | Informational
Description of the issue and why it matters.
```

## Quick Reference

| Issue Type | Reference |
|------------|-----------|
| Ownership transfers, borrowing, lifetimes, clone traps, iterators | [references/ownership-borrowing.md](references/ownership-borrowing.md) |
| Lifetime variance, covariance/invariance, memory regions | [references/lifetime-variance.md](references/lifetime-variance.md) |
| Result/Option handling, thiserror, anyhow, opaque vs enumerated errors, deferred-cleanup with `?` | [references/error-handling.md](references/error-handling.md) |
| Async pitfalls, Send/Sync bounds, poll contract, Pin mechanics, cancellation soundness | [references/async-concurrency.md](references/async-concurrency.md) |
| Send/Sync semantics, atomics, memory ordering, lock patterns | [references/concurrency-primitives.md](references/concurrency-primitives.md) |
| Memory ordering decision tree, fences, ABA, out-of-thin-air | [references/memory-ordering.md](references/memory-ordering.md) |
| Hand-rolled spinlocks, channels, Arc, seqlock, CAS retry patterns | [references/lock-free-patterns.md](references/lock-free-patterns.md) |
| Shared-memory vs worker-pool vs actor design, async vs threads, race-condition vs data race | [references/concurrency-models.md](references/concurrency-models.md) |
| Type layout, alignment, repr, PhantomData, generics vs dyn Trait, wide pointers, auto-trait leakage | [references/types-layout.md](references/types-layout.md) |
| Object safety, ergonomic trait impls, Deref discipline, fallible destructors, hidden contracts, is_normal | [references/interface-design.md](references/interface-design.md) |
| Index pointers, drop guards, extension traits, crate preludes | [references/patterns-in-the-wild.md](references/patterns-in-the-wild.md) |
| Unsafe code, API design, derive patterns, clippy patterns | [references/common-mistakes.md](references/common-mistakes.md) |
| Validity vs safety, drop check, may_dangle, provenance, panic safety in unsafe, MaybeUninit, Miri | [references/unsafe-deep.md](references/unsafe-deep.md) |

> For development guidance on performance, pointer types, type state, clippy config, iterators, generics, and documentation, load the [rust-best-practices](../rust-best-practices/SKILL.md) skill.

## Review Checklist

### Ownership and Borrowing
- [ ] No unnecessary `.clone()` to silence the borrow checker (hiding design issues)
- [ ] No `.clone()` inside loops — prefer `.cloned()` or `.copied()` on iterators
- [ ] No cloning to avoid lifetime annotations (take ownership explicitly or restructure)
- [ ] References have appropriate lifetimes (not overly broad `'static` when shorter lifetime works)
- [ ] **Edition 2024**: RPIT (`-> impl Trait`) captures all in-scope lifetimes by default; use `+ use<'a>` for precise capture control
- [ ] `&str` preferred over `String`, `&[T]` over `Vec<T>` in function parameters
- [ ] `impl AsRef<T>` or `Into<T>` used for flexible API parameters
- [ ] No dangling references or use-after-move
- [ ] Interior mutability (`Cell`, `RefCell`, `Mutex`) used only when shared mutation is genuinely needed
- [ ] Small types (≤24 bytes) derive `Copy` and are passed by value
- [ ] `Cow<'_, T>` used when ownership is ambiguous
- [ ] Iterator chains preferred over index-based loops for collection transforms
- [ ] No premature `.collect()` — pass iterators directly when the consumer accepts them
- [ ] `.sum()` preferred over `.fold()` for summation (compiler optimizes better)
- [ ] `_or_else` variants used when fallbacks involve allocation
- [ ] **Edition 2024**: `if let` temporaries drop at end of the `if let` — code relying on temporaries living through the else branch needs restructuring
- [ ] **Edition 2024**: `Box<[T]>` implements `IntoIterator` — prefer direct iteration over `into_vec()` first

### Error Handling
- [ ] `Result<T, E>` used for recoverable errors, not `panic!`/`unwrap`/`expect`
- [ ] Error types provide context (thiserror with `#[error("...")]` or manual `Display`)
- [ ] `?` operator used with proper `From` implementations or `.map_err()`
- [ ] `unwrap()` / `expect()` only in tests, examples, or provably-safe contexts
- [ ] Error variants are specific enough to be actionable by callers
- [ ] `anyhow` used in applications, `thiserror` in libraries (or clear rationale for alternatives)
- [ ] `_or_else` variants used when fallbacks involve allocation (`ok_or_else`, `unwrap_or_else`)
- [ ] `let-else` used for early returns on failure (`let Ok(x) = expr else { return ... }`)
- [ ] `inspect_err` used for error logging, `map_err` for error transformation

### Traits and Types
- [ ] Traits are minimal and cohesive (single responsibility)
- [ ] `derive` macros appropriate for the type (`Clone`, `Debug`, `PartialEq` used correctly)
- [ ] Newtypes used to prevent primitive obsession (e.g., `struct UserId(Uuid)` not bare `Uuid`)
- [ ] `From`/`Into` implementations are lossless and infallible; `TryFrom` for fallible conversions
- [ ] Sealed traits used when external implementations shouldn't be allowed
- [ ] Default implementations provided where they make sense
- [ ] `Send + Sync` bounds verified for types shared across threads
- [ ] `#[diagnostic::on_unimplemented]` used on public traits to provide clear error messages when users forget to implement them

### Interface Design
> Detailed guidance: [references/interface-design.md](references/interface-design.md)
- [ ] Methods on `dyn`-intended traits don't use `Self` by value, generic params, or associated constants (or are gated `where Self: Sized`)
- [ ] New traits ship with blanket impls for `&T`, `&mut T`, `Box<T>` so reference and smart-pointer arguments work
- [ ] Iterable types implement `IntoIterator` for `&Self` and `&mut Self`, not just `Self`
- [ ] `Deref` only used for transparent forwarding, never as "inheritance" — inherent-method ambiguity is a real bug class
- [ ] Fallible cleanup uses an explicit `close()`/`shutdown()` returning `Result`; `Drop` is best-effort fallback only
- [ ] No `block_on(...)` or new runtime in `Drop` (deadlock under async runtimes)
- [ ] Public types have a compile-time `fn is_normal<T: Sized + Send + Sync + Unpin>() {}` test so auto-trait regressions surface at build time
- [ ] Re-exported foreign types in public API are flagged — downstream major bumps become this crate's breaking change
- [ ] Getter methods follow the convention `fn name(&self)` not `fn get_name(&self)` (reserve `get_*` for `Option`-returning or interesting lookups)
- [ ] `as_*` is cheap reference-to-reference, `to_*` may allocate, `into_*` consumes — verify the cost matches the prefix
- [ ] Standard derives (`Debug`, `Clone`, `Default`, `PartialEq`, `Eq`, `Hash`) considered for every public type; `Copy` only when truly cheap and value-like (removing it later is breaking)

### Patterns in the Wild
> Detailed guidance: [references/patterns-in-the-wild.md](references/patterns-in-the-wild.md)
- [ ] Index-pointer graphs use generational indices (`slotmap::DefaultKey`, `petgraph::NodeIndex`) — bare `usize` orphans after `Vec::swap_remove`
- [ ] Drop guards bound to `let _guard = ...`, never `let _ = ...` (the second drops immediately, not at scope end)
- [ ] Drop-guard cleanup not relied upon under `panic = "abort"` (destructors do not run)
- [ ] Extension traits used only when the type is foreign; for owned types use inherent `impl` directly
- [ ] Extension-trait methods don't shadow popular existing methods on the same type (ambiguity at call sites)
- [ ] Crate `prelude` module additions treated as semver-minor (RFC 1105); reserve for major releases when possible

### Concurrency Design (Models)
> Detailed guidance: [references/concurrency-models.md](references/concurrency-models.md)
- [ ] Concurrency model (shared memory vs worker pool vs actor) named explicitly in the design; primitives match the model
- [ ] Mutex critical section is short, measurable, and excludes I/O / network calls / `.await` points
- [ ] Worker-pool queues are bounded; backpressure strategy is named
- [ ] Actor mailbox channels are sized to expected load; cross-actor cycles reviewed for deadlock
- [ ] `async` is not conflated with parallelism — `join!` interleaves on one thread; only `tokio::spawn` (or equivalent on a multi-threaded runtime) parallelizes
- [ ] CAS retry loops on a hot atomic considered for replacement with `fetch_add`/sharding (CAS is O(N²) under contention)
- [ ] `println!` / `dbg!` not used as a debugging tool for race conditions (the Stdout mutex changes the race)

### Unsafe Code
- [ ] `unsafe` blocks have safety comments explaining invariants
- [ ] `unsafe` is minimal — only the truly unsafe operation is inside the block
- [ ] Safety invariants are documented and upheld by surrounding safe code
- [ ] No undefined behavior (null pointer deref, data races, invalid memory access)
- [ ] `unsafe` trait implementations justify why the contract is upheld
- [ ] **Edition 2024**: `unsafe fn` bodies use explicit `unsafe {}` blocks around unsafe ops (`unsafe_op_in_unsafe_fn` is deny)
- [ ] **Edition 2024**: `extern "C" {}` blocks written as `unsafe extern "C" {}`
- [ ] **Edition 2024**: `#[no_mangle]` and `#[export_name]` written as `#[unsafe(no_mangle)]` and `#[unsafe(export_name)]`

### Concurrency (Memory Ordering and Lock-Free Patterns)
> Detailed guidance: [references/memory-ordering.md](references/memory-ordering.md), [references/lock-free-patterns.md](references/lock-free-patterns.md)
- [ ] Types shared across threads have correct `Send` / `Sync` bounds; `unsafe impl Send/Sync` carries a comment naming the invariant
- [ ] Each atomic operation pairs with a named happens-before edge (spawn/join, `Release`/`Acquire` on the same atomic, or a fence); `Release` publishes data, `Acquire` observes it
- [ ] No `SeqCst` by default — only when two or more independent atomics need a single global total order, with a comment naming the requirement
- [ ] No `store(.., Acquire)` / `load(.., Release)` / `load(.., AcqRel)` (rejected by the type half they occupy)
- [ ] `Relaxed` not used to publish or observe non-atomic data (use `Release` / `Acquire`)
- [ ] `compare_exchange_weak` used inside retry loops; strong `compare_exchange` reserved for one-shot updates; success ordering at least `Acquire` when acquiring a critical section
- [ ] Hand-rolled spinlocks include `std::hint::spin_loop()` in the busy wait, exponential backoff, and an eventual `thread::yield_now()`; not used in normal user-space binaries without a documented reason a `Mutex` is unsuitable
- [ ] Hand-rolled `Arc` clones with `Relaxed`, drops with `Release` + `fence(Acquire)` on the last decrement, and includes an overflow guard
- [ ] `Arc<Mutex<...>>` cycles broken with `Weak`; `Arc<Mutex<Copy>>` reviewed for `Arc<AtomicT>` replacement
- [ ] Hand-rolled lock-free primitives have a `#[cfg(loom)]` test module and a Miri-runnable test (no blanket `cfg_attr(miri, ignore)`)
- [ ] `OnceLock` / `LazyLock` preferred over `once_cell` / `lazy_static` for new code (MSRV ≥ 1.80)
- [ ] No `MutexGuard` held across `.await` (use `tokio::sync::Mutex` or drop the guard first)
- [ ] Hot atomics on contended cache lines wrapped with `CachePadded` or `#[repr(align(64))]` to avoid false sharing
- [ ] Shared mutation goes through `UnsafeCell<T>` (not bare `*mut T` or transmuted `&` to `&mut`)
- [ ] Pointer-based CAS (`AtomicPtr<Node>`) uses epoch / hazard-pointer / tagged-pointer reclamation; ABA hazards considered

### Naming and Style
- [ ] Types are `PascalCase`, functions/methods `snake_case`, constants `SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE`
- [ ] Modules use `snake_case`
- [ ] `is_`, `has_`, `can_` prefixes for boolean-returning methods
- [ ] Builder pattern methods take and return `self` (not `&mut self`) for chaining
- [ ] Public items have doc comments (`///`)
- [ ] `#[must_use]` on functions where ignoring the return value is likely a bug
- [ ] Imports ordered: std → external crates → workspace → crate/super
- [ ] `#[expect(clippy::...)]` preferred over `#[allow(...)]` for lint suppression

### Performance
> Detailed guidance: the [rust-best-practices](../rust-best-practices/SKILL.md) skill (`references/performance.md`)
- [ ] No unnecessary allocations in hot paths (prefer `&str` over `String`, `&[T]` over `Vec<T>`)
- [ ] `collect()` type is specified or inferable
- [ ] Iterators preferred over indexed loops for collection transforms
- [ ] `Vec::with_capacity()` used when size is known
- [ ] No redundant `.to_string()` / `.to_owned()` chains
- [ ] No intermediate `.collect()` when passing iterators directly works
- [ ] `.sum()` preferred over `.fold()` for summation
- [ ] Static dispatch (`impl Trait`) used over dynamic (`dyn Trait`) unless flexibility required

### Clippy Configuration
> Detailed guidance: the [rust-best-practices](../rust-best-practices/SKILL.md) skill (`references/clippy-config.md`)
- [ ] Workspace-level lints configured in `Cargo.toml` (`[workspace.lints.clippy]` or `[lints.clippy]`)
- [ ] `#[expect(clippy::lint)]` used over `#[allow(...)]` — warns when suppression becomes stale
- [ ] Justification comment present when suppressing any lint
- [ ] Key lints enforced: `redundant_clone`, `large_enum_variant`, `needless_collect`, `perf` group
- [ ] `cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings` passes
- [ ] Doc lints enabled for library crates (`missing_docs`, `broken_intra_doc_links`)

### Type State Pattern
> Detailed guidance: the [rust-best-practices](../rust-best-practices/SKILL.md) skill (`references/type-state-pattern.md`)
- [ ] `PhantomData<State>` used for zero-cost compile-time state machines (not runtime enums/booleans)
- [ ] State transitions consume `self` and return new state type (prevents reuse of old state)
- [ ] Only applicable methods available per state (invalid operations are compile errors)
- [ ] Pattern used where it adds safety value (builders with required fields, connection states, workflows)
- [ ] Not overused for trivial state (simple enums are fine when runtime flexibility needed)

## Severity Calibration

### Critical (Block Merge)
- `unsafe` code with unsound invariants or undefined behavior
- Use-after-free or dangling reference patterns
- `unwrap()` on user input or external data in production code
- Data races (concurrent mutation without synchronization)
- Wrong memory ordering on an atomic that gates other shared data (data race)
- Memory leaks via circular `Arc<Mutex<...>>` without weak references

### Major (Should Fix)
- Errors returned without context (bare `return err` equivalent)
- `.clone()` masking ownership design issues in hot paths
- Missing `Send`/`Sync` bounds on types used across threads
- `panic!` for recoverable errors in library code
- Overly broad `'static` lifetimes hiding API design issues

### Minor (Consider Fixing)
- Missing doc comments on public items
- `String` parameter where `&str` or `impl AsRef<str>` would work
- Derive macros missing for types that should have them
- Unused feature flags in `Cargo.toml`
- Suboptimal iterator chains (multiple allocations where one suffices)

### Informational (Note Only)
- Suggestions to introduce newtypes for domain modeling
- Refactoring ideas for trait design
- Performance optimizations without measured impact
- Suggestions to add `#[must_use]` or `#[non_exhaustive]`

## When to Load References

- Reviewing ownership, borrows, lifetimes, clone traps → ownership-borrowing.md
- Reviewing lifetime variance, covariance/invariance, multiple lifetime params → lifetime-variance.md
- Reviewing Result/Option handling, error types, opaque vs enumerated, deferred-cleanup, `Error` trait impls → error-handling.md
- Reviewing async code, poll contract, Pin mechanics, cancellation soundness, cross-runtime → async-concurrency.md
- Reviewing concurrency design decisions (shared memory vs worker pool vs actor, async vs threads), data race vs race condition → concurrency-models.md
- Reviewing Send/Sync, atomics, mutexes, lock patterns → concurrency-primitives.md
- Reviewing memory ordering decisions, fences, ABA, out-of-thin-air → memory-ordering.md
- Reviewing hand-rolled spinlocks, channels, Arc, seqlock, CAS retry patterns → lock-free-patterns.md
- Reviewing type layout, alignment, repr, PhantomData, wide pointers, auto-trait leakage, `Sized`/`?Sized` → types-layout.md
- Reviewing interface design — object safety, ergonomic blanket impls, `Deref` discipline, fallible/blocking destructors, hidden contracts, naming → interface-design.md
- Reviewing index-pointer graphs, drop guards, extension traits, crate preludes → patterns-in-the-wild.md
- Reviewing unsafe code, API design, derive macros, clippy patterns → common-mistakes.md
- Reviewing validity vs safety, drop check + may_dangle, provenance, panic safety in unsafe, MaybeUninit → unsafe-deep.md
- Reviewing performance, pointer types, type state, generics, iterators, documentation → the [rust-best-practices](../rust-best-practices/SKILL.md) skill

## Valid Patterns (Do NOT Flag)

These are acceptable Rust patterns — reporting them wastes developer time:

- **`.clone()` in tests** — Clarity over performance in test code
- **`unwrap()` in tests and examples** — Acceptable where panicking on failure is intentional
- **`Box<dyn Error>` in simple binaries** — Not every application needs custom error types
- **`String` fields in structs** — Owned data in structs is correct; `&str` fields require lifetime parameters
- **`#[allow(dead_code)]` during development** — Common during iteration
- **`todo!()` / `unimplemented!()` in new code** — Valid placeholder during active development
- **`.expect("reason")` with clear message** — Self-documenting and acceptable for invariants
- **`use super::*` in test modules** — Standard pattern for `#[cfg(test)]` modules
- **Type aliases for complex types** — `type Result<T> = std::result::Result<T, MyError>` is idiomatic
- **`impl Trait` in return position** — Zero-cost abstraction, standard pattern
- **Turbofish syntax** — `collect::<Vec<_>>()` is idiomatic when type inference needs help
- **`_` prefix for intentionally unused variables** — Compiler convention
- **`#[expect(clippy::...)]` with justification** — Self-cleaning lint suppression
- **`Arc::clone(&arc)`** — Explicit Arc cloning is idiomatic and recommended
- **`std::sync::Mutex` for short critical sections in async** — Tokio docs recommend this
- **`for` loops over iterators** — When early exit or side effects are needed
- **`async fn` in trait definitions** — Stable since 1.75; `async-trait` crate only needed for `dyn Trait` or pre-1.75 MSRV
- **`LazyCell` / `LazyLock` from std** — Stable since 1.80; replaces `once_cell` and `lazy_static` for new code
- **`+ use<'a, T>` precise capture syntax** — Edition 2024 syntax for controlling RPIT lifetime capture

## Context-Sensitive Rules

Only flag these issues when the specific conditions apply:

| Issue | Flag ONLY IF |
|-------|--------------|
| Missing error context | Error crosses module boundary without context |
| Unnecessary `.clone()` | In hot path or repeated call, not test/setup code |
| Missing doc comments | Item is `pub` and not in a `#[cfg(test)]` module |
| `unwrap()` usage | In production code path, not test/example/provably-safe |
| Missing `Send + Sync` | Type is actually shared across thread/task boundaries |
| Overly broad lifetime | A shorter lifetime would work AND the API is public |
| Missing `#[must_use]` | Function returns a value that callers commonly ignore |
| Stale `#[allow]` suppression | Should be `#[expect]` for self-cleaning lint management |
| Missing `Copy` derive | Type is ≤24 bytes with all-Copy fields and used frequently |
| **Edition 2024**: `!` type fallback | Match on `Result<T, !>` or diverging expressions where `()` fallback was assumed — `!` now falls back to `!` not `()` |
| **Edition 2024**: `r#gen` identifier | Code uses `gen` as an identifier — must be `r#gen` in edition 2024 (reserved keyword) |

## Before Submitting Findings

Satisfy **Gates** § verification protocol (step 4). Load and follow the [review-verification-protocol](../review-verification-protocol/SKILL.md) skill before reporting any issue.