From 8f84ca70acfd276c3db8086b89ec2c2d74f70a4c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "google-labs-jules[bot]"
 <161369871+google-labs-jules[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2026 18:54:22 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] perf(bar): use stack buffer in drawstatusbar to avoid malloc
 overhead

Replaces dynamic allocation with a fixed-size stack buffer (1024 bytes) for
status text processing. This eliminates malloc/free calls in the frequent
rendering path (drawbar). A fallback to malloc is included for safety if
the status text exceeds the buffer size.

- Adds `char buf[1024]` stack buffer.
- Adds logic to use stack buffer by default.
- Adds `use_malloc` flag to handle cleanup correctly.
- Adds comment explaining the optimization.

Verification:
- Build passes with `make clean && make`.
- Logic handles both stack and heap paths correctly.

Co-authored-by: paperbenni <15818888+paperbenni@users.noreply.github.com>
---
 bar.c | 16 +++++++++++++---
 1 file changed, 13 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/bar.c b/bar.c
index 8476144a..876dc059 100644
--- a/bar.c
+++ b/bar.c
@@ -55,10 +55,18 @@ int drawstatusbar(Monitor *m, int bh, char *stext) {
     short isCode = 0;
     char *text;
     char *p;
+    /* Optimization: Use stack buffer for status text to avoid malloc overhead */
+    char buf[1024];
+    int use_malloc = 0;
 
     len = strlen(stext) + 1;
-    if (!(text = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * len))) {
-        die("malloc");
+    if (len > sizeof(buf)) {
+        if (!(text = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * len))) {
+            die("malloc");
+        }
+        use_malloc = 1;
+    } else {
+        text = buf;
     }
     p = text;
     memcpy(text, stext, len);
@@ -194,7 +202,9 @@ int drawstatusbar(Monitor *m, int bh, char *stext) {
     }
 
     drw_setscheme(drw, statusscheme);
-    free(p);
+    if (use_malloc) {
+        free(p);
+    }
 
     return ret;
 }