python / python/cpython

multiprocessing.Pool: leak of global named resources using multiprocessing spawn

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stdlib topic-multiprocessing type-bug
Dominant language
Python
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Description

Bug report

Bug description:

I'm receiving a warning when using the multiprocessing.Pool in spawn mode.

/opt/pyenv/versions/3.12.4/lib/python3.12/multiprocessing/resource_tracker.py:254: UserWarning: resource_tracker: There appear to be 1 leaked semaphore objects to clean up at shutdown
  warnings.warn('resource_tracker: There appear to be %d '

A similar issue was brought up and fixed before, when multiprocessing.Process was used:
https://github.com/python/cpython/pull/30617

The test case introduced by the PR above: https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/3.12/Lib/test/_test_multiprocessing.py#L6040C7-L6040C24

To trigger the warning, I just replaced the Process with Pool as follows:

import multiprocessing as mp
ctx = mp.get_context('spawn')
global_resource = ctx.Semaphore()
def submain(): pass
if __name__ == '__main__':
    p = ctx.Pool(processes=3).starmap(submain, [tuple() for i in range(5)])
CPython versions tested on:

3.11, 3.12, CPython main branch

Operating systems tested on:

Linux

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 multiprocessing resource-tracking behavior shown in the report and compare the existing Process fix in PR 30617 with Pool handling. Use the referenced regression test in Lib/test/_test_multiprocessing.py as the starting point, then reproduce the spawn-mode Pool example on Linux. Done means the example no longer reports a leaked semaphore and the behavior is covered by a regression test.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
operating-systems
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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