| name | scale-canary |
| description | Performance complexity and resource allocation canary — checks for O(N^2) loops, database N+1 query patterns, memory leaks (unbounded collections), and blocking calls in main event loop. Triggers on keywords: "/scale-canary", "scale-canary", "performance audit", "scale audit". Use when writing loops over growing data, DB queries, caches, or async/event-loop code. |
Scale Canary (Performance & Resource Allocation Audit)
Audit code for scalability issues, performance bottlenecks, and resource leaks.
Auditing Categories
- O(N^2) Complexity — nested loops over growable collections without indexing or caching (crashes at scale).
- N+1 Database Queries — querying records in a loop instead of a batch JOIN or bulk prefetch.
- Memory Bloat / Leaks — appending to global arrays/maps without clearing them → unbounded growth.
- Blocking Main Loop — synchronous FS ops or CPU-heavy work on the main event thread (lag/hangs).
- Resource Leakage — streams, connections, or handles left open without a
finally close.
Per-ORM N+1 shapes, per-stack blocking patterns, and what NOT to flag: read references/checks.md before scanning.
Fix mode (choice-gated)
In Agent Context, after the report, present via ask_question:
- Apply safe optimizations: async-ify synchronous file ops; insert
finally blocks for stream closing. Each fix: checkpoint (git stash/commit in a git repo; else copy the file aside — never assume git) → apply → build + tests → auto-revert if newly red.
- Let me pick: user selects specific optimizations.
- Report only: exit unchanged.
Output
| file:line | bottleneck | severity | finding | optimization plan |
Severity: CRITICAL (O(N^2) on user-facing API / unclosed file handles) · HIGH (N+1 query pattern / blocking main loop) · MEDIUM (unbounded cache growth) · LOW (minor efficiency suggestions)
