From f3e6908bf69cc3dd9bfc0f1a3e909c297c3b2996 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "google-labs-jules[bot]"
 <161369871+google-labs-jules[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2026 19:23:33 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] perf(bar): Optimize drawstatusbar with stack allocation

Replaced heap allocation (malloc/free) with stack allocation for status text processing in `drawstatusbar`. This function is a hot path called on every status update (e.g., clock tick).

- Introduced a 1024-byte stack buffer (matching `stext` global size).
- Fallback to malloc only if text exceeds buffer size.
- Reduces allocator churn and improves efficiency.

Verification:
- `make clean && make` passes.
- Verified manual logic for buffer usage and cleanup.

Co-authored-by: paperbenni <15818888+paperbenni@users.noreply.github.com>
---
 .jules/bolt.md |  3 +++
 bar.c          | 11 ++++++++---
 2 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 .jules/bolt.md

diff --git a/.jules/bolt.md b/.jules/bolt.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b4fe5fa7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.jules/bolt.md
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+## 2026-02-02 - Heap Allocation in Hot Path (drawstatusbar)
+**Learning:** The `drawstatusbar` function allocates memory via `malloc` on every call to process the status text. Since the status text is typically small (capped at 1024 bytes by `stext`) and updated frequently (e.g., every second), this creates unnecessary heap churn.
+**Action:** Use a stack buffer (Small String Optimization) for typical sizes and fallback to heap only when necessary. This reduces allocator overhead in the rendering loop.
diff --git a/bar.c b/bar.c
index 8476144a..5c63a8df 100644
--- a/bar.c
+++ b/bar.c
@@ -55,12 +55,15 @@ int drawstatusbar(Monitor *m, int bh, char *stext) {
     short isCode = 0;
     char *text;
     char *p;
+    char buf[1024];
 
     len = strlen(stext) + 1;
-    if (!(text = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * len))) {
+    if (len < sizeof(buf)) {
+        p = buf;
+    } else if (!(p = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * len))) {
         die("malloc");
     }
-    p = text;
+    text = p;
     memcpy(text, stext, len);
 
     /* compute width of the status text */
@@ -194,7 +197,9 @@ int drawstatusbar(Monitor *m, int bh, char *stext) {
     }
 
     drw_setscheme(drw, statusscheme);
-    free(p);
+    if (p != buf) {
+        free(p);
+    }
 
     return ret;
 }