heap-discipline

name

heap-discipline

description

Memory allocation discipline for the ESP32-C3 (~380KB RAM, no PSRAM, single 48KB framebuffer). Use whenever writing or reviewing code that allocates: new / malloc / std::vector / std::string, buffers, caches, or anything held across a loop or an activity lifecycle. Covers makeUniqueNoThrow vs raw new/malloc, fragmentation avoidance, reserve-before-push_back, alloc-once-reuse, stack vs heap sizing, and the chunked grayscale buffer pattern.

Heap Discipline (ESP32-C3)

CLAUDE.md states the allocation rules. This is the procedure you run while writing the code and the gate you run before handing it back.

The constraint that makes every call matter: ~380KB RAM, no PSRAM, one 48KB framebuffer. Fragmentation, not total usage, is what kills this device. Free-heap can read fine while the largest free block is too small for the next allocation. Optimize for not leaving holes, not just for using fewer bytes.

Allocation decision procedure

Ask in order; stop at the first yes.

1. Stack? Local, bounded, under ~256 bytes total: plain array/struct. No heap, no fragmentation. Keep frames lean; the task stack is small.
2. Compile-time constant? static constexpr lives in flash, costs zero DRAM.
3. Allocated once and reused for an activity's lifetime? Allocate in onEnter, hold in a member, release in onExit. Never per-frame, never per-iteration.
4. Dynamic and fallible? makeUniqueNoThrow<T>(...) / makeUniqueNoThrow<T[]>(n) from lib/Memory/Memory.h. Null-check, LOG_ERR with the size, return false. It frees on every exit path.
5. A C/SDK API takes ownership and frees it itself? Only then raw new (std::nothrow) / malloc, with a comment naming who frees it.

Bare new / new[] is never correct here: under -fno-exceptions it calls abort() on OOM instead of returning null.

Fragmentation rules

• std::vector: reserve(n) before any push_back loop. Each growth is alloc-copy-free (three heap ops) and leaves a hole. Unknown n: estimate high.
• No repeated new/delete or growing containers inside a loop or render path. Hoist the allocation out of the loop.
• Large contiguous blocks fragment worst. Full-screen-class buffers use the chunked storeBwBuffer / restoreBwBuffer path in GfxRenderer so they never demand one contiguous 48KB block. Reuse that path. Do not malloc a second full-screen buffer.
• std::string / Arduino String: acceptable on cold paths (file I/O, one-shot setup). Banned on hot/render paths. Build text with a stack char[] + snprintf; if a std::string is unavoidable, reserve it first.

Justify every allocation

Per CLAUDE.md's evidence rule: when you add a heap allocation, state in one line why stack/static/reuse was rejected and the worst-case size. If you cannot name the size, you cannot budget it, and you should not allocate it.

Self-review before handoff

• No bare new/new[]. Every fallible alloc is makeUniqueNoThrow, or a raw alloc with an explicit owner comment.
• Every allocation is null-checked with LOG_ERR before the error return.
• No allocation inside a loop or render path that could be hoisted.
• Every push_back loop has a preceding reserve.
• Anything allocated in onEnter is released in onExit; member HalFile closed there too.
• No second full-screen buffer; grayscale uses store/restoreBwBuffer.
• Each new allocation carries a one-line size + why-not-stack/static note.