pybind / pybind/pybind11

[BUG]: acquire gil in new thread fails (access violation)

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Dominant language
C++
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Description

Required prerequisites
What version (or hash if on master) of pybind11 are you using?

2.12.0

Problem description

py::gil_scoped_acquire shall be ok to be used in cpp threads, but the example code would crush (access violation) when calling foo.test().

Reproducible example code
#include "pybind11/gil.h"
#include "pybind11/pybind11.h"
#include <stdio.h>
#include <thread>

namespace py = pybind11;

void test() {
    printf("acquire gil\n");
    py::gil_scoped_acquire acquire; // ok here
    std::thread([](){
        printf("acquire gil in new thread\n");
        py::gil_scoped_acquire acquire; // crush here
    }).join();
    printf("exit test\n");
}


PYBIND11_MODULE(foo, m) {
    m.def("test", &test);
}
Is this a regression? Put the last known working version here if it is.

Not a regression

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the reproducer in the issue and read pybind11/gil.h, focusing on py::gil_scoped_acquire when used in the std::thread launched by test(). Run the foo.test() example under the affected setup and trace the access violation. Done means the nested C++ thread can acquire the GIL without crashing while preserving the existing outer acquisition behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp, python
Domain
backend-api-design
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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