headroom/tests/test_memory
Krishna Chaitanya b84afbfb83
fix(memory): cap local embedder CPU thread oversubscription (#198) (#1559)
## Description

The torch/sentence-transformers `LocalEmbedder` ran encodes on the
shared default executor with **no BLAS/OpenMP thread cap**. Under
concurrent load each `encode()` fans out to ~`os.cpu_count()`
BLAS/OpenMP threads, so N in-flight encodes spawn ~`N × cpu_count` OS
threads — oversubscribing the CPU, slowing the `memory_context` stage
and (on smaller boxes) starving the asyncio event loop. The ONNX
embedder already bounds its threads
(`create_cpu_session_options(intra_op_num_threads=1,
inter_op_num_threads=1)`); this brings the torch path to parity.

Supersedes #691 by @oxura — closed only for the open-PR cap, with an
explicit invitation to resubmit; no technical objection was raised, and
its CI was fully green. Credit to @oxura for the original diagnosis and
fix. That PR capped threads by setting BLAS/OpenMP env vars at import
time plus `torch.set_num_threads`; this PR instead runs CPU encodes on a
dedicated, size-limited executor whose workers each pin their thread
pool — which additionally bounds in-flight encode concurrency (the
issue's Fix B/C) and keeps the cap contained to the embedder rather than
mutating process-global env at import.

Closes #198

## Type of Change

- [x] Bug fix (non-breaking change that fixes an issue)
- [x] Performance improvement

## Changes Made

- CPU encodes now run on a **dedicated, size-limited executor** whose
worker `initializer` pins each worker's torch intra-op pool (and sets
BLAS/OpenMP env defaults). torch's OpenMP thread count is per-thread, so
a one-shot cap misses pooled executor workers — the per-worker
initializer caps every worker deterministically.
- Total embedding threads are bounded by `HEADROOM_EMBED_CONCURRENCY`
(default `min(4, os.cpu_count())`) × `HEADROOM_EMBED_NUM_THREADS`
(default `1`); invalid/non-positive values fall back safely (≥1).
- Mirrors the existing MPS dedicated-single-worker-executor pattern;
CUDA keeps the shared default executor (GPU compute is off-CPU).
`setdefault` never overrides an operator's explicit `OMP_NUM_THREADS`.

## Testing

- [x] Unit tests pass (`pytest`)
- [x] Linting passes (`ruff check .`)
- [x] Type checking passes (`mypy headroom`)
- [x] New tests added for new functionality
- [x] Manual testing performed

### Test Output

```text
$ uv run pytest tests/test_memory/test_embedder_thread_cap.py tests/test_memory/test_embedder_mps_serialization.py -q
13 passed

$ uv run pytest tests/test_memory/ tests/test_cli_proxy_embedding_server.py -q
533 passed        # no regressions from the executor change

$ uv run ruff check .  &&  uv run ruff format --check .
All checks passed!   /   1016 files already formatted

$ uv run mypy headroom --ignore-missing-imports
Success: no issues found in 404 source files
```

New `tests/test_memory/test_embedder_thread_cap.py`: env resolution for
both knobs (default / positive / invalid / clamped), worker-init env
application + operator-override safety, and a behavioral test that loads
the real CPU embedder and asserts every executor worker is pinned to the
configured intra-op thread count. Updated
`test_embedder_mps_serialization.py` to the new CPU contract.

## Real Behavior Proof

- Environment: built this branch into a CPU-only Linux container,
removed `onnxruntime` so the proxy falls back to the torch
`LocalEmbedder`; a container has no MPS/CUDA, so it resolves to
`device=cpu` — the deployment where #198 occurs. Python 3.12, torch
2.12.1, `all-MiniLM-L6-v2`, container capped to 4 CPUs, 32 concurrent
clients.
- Exact command / steps: `headroom proxy --host 0.0.0.0 --memory`
in-container; a concurrent `/v1/messages` driver from the host (invalid
key — `memory_context` runs before the upstream call); measured the
`memory_context` stage from `/metrics` before vs after the cap.
- Observed result: the embedder stage this PR targets improved —
`memory_context` avg 73.5 ms → 58.7 ms and max 279 ms → 242 ms (uncapped
12×8 = 96 threads vs fix 4×1): ~20% faster and steadier inside the real
proxy. Isolated component benchmarks (heavy concurrent `embed_batch`;
`LocalBackend.search_memories`) show a larger effect — tail event-loop
stall ~16–24 ms → ~3 ms, and search throughput +57%. Unit/regression: 13
new tests + 533 memory-suite tests pass; `ruff` + `mypy` clean.
- Not tested: the issue's absolute multi-second `/livez` spike. On my
hardware/synthetic load, `/livez` stalls were dominated by the
upstream-connection path (invalid-key DNS/TLS), not the ~250 ms
`memory_context` stage, so I can't attribute the multi-second figure to
the embedder here — the original report was on an 8-core box with real
Claude Code transcripts that drove `memory_context` itself to several
seconds. Linux/CUDA hardware not exercised; no live LLM provider used;
ONNX path unchanged. This PR removes the documented thread
oversubscription and brings the torch path to ONNX parity; it does not
claim to single-handedly resolve the 4 s figure.

Measured `memory_context` stage timing (real containerized proxy, torch
CPU embedder, 4 CPUs, 32 concurrent clients):

| `memory_context` | avg | max |
|---|---|---|
| Before (uncapped, 12×8 = 96 threads) | 73.5 ms | 279 ms |
| After (fix, 4×1) | 58.7 ms | 242 ms |

## Review Readiness

- [x] I have performed a self-review
- [x] This PR is ready for human review

## Additional Notes

Default-behavior change: CPU encodes use a dedicated bounded pool
instead of the shared default executor (`close()` tears it down). Both
knobs are opt-in overrides with safe defaults. No new dependencies.

Signed-off-by: Krishnachaitanyakc <krishnabkc15@gmail.com>
2026-07-01 17:12:02 -05:00
..
__init__.py Add persistent memory system with zero-latency inline extraction 2026-01-14 21:32:09 -08:00
conftest.py fix(ccr): skip Anthropic marker emission when tool injection is deferred (#1273) 2026-06-23 12:48:05 -05:00
test_budget.py Fix ruff lint errors in test files 2026-03-24 15:54:12 -07:00
test_core_operations.py Add multi-provider memory system with auto-detection 2026-02-01 14:42:50 -08:00
test_easy.py fix(tests): skip memory tests when hnswlib not available 2026-01-31 16:09:53 -08:00
test_embedder_mps_serialization.py fix(memory): cap local embedder CPU thread oversubscription (#198) (#1559) 2026-07-01 17:12:02 -05:00
test_embedder_thread_cap.py fix(memory): cap local embedder CPU thread oversubscription (#198) (#1559) 2026-07-01 17:12:02 -05:00
test_extraction.py Add hierarchical memory system with graph + vector storage 2026-01-26 21:58:47 -08:00
test_factory.py Add centralized ML model configuration 2026-02-01 23:47:42 -08:00
test_factory_external.py chore(memory): add EXTERNAL backend extension points 2026-04-20 16:42:10 -07:00
test_hierarchical.py fix(memory): batch onnx embeddings and sqlite-vec ops 2026-04-24 09:49:28 +00:00
test_learn_flag.py fix(traffic-learner): raise min-evidence default and make it configurable 2026-04-30 17:44:22 +09:00
test_mcp_server.py fix(codex): stop pinning Codex memory MCP to one project db (#1269) 2026-06-23 07:49:07 -05:00
test_qdrant_env.py feat(memory): resolve Qdrant connection from HEADROOM_QDRANT_* env vars (#31) 2026-04-24 22:16:16 -07:00
test_skip_helpers.py fix(ccr): skip Anthropic marker emission when tool injection is deferred (#1273) 2026-06-23 12:48:05 -05:00
test_traffic_learner.py feat: headroom wrap opencode / unwrap opencode CLI (#1105) 2026-06-22 11:07:12 -05:00
test_writers.py fix: harden learn path handling across platforms 2026-05-09 15:45:26 -07:00