Dev Tools · 1h ago
Python Memory Leak Was Actually a Measurement Bug: ru_maxrss vs VmRSS
A developer debugging a RAG pipeline saw RSS climb monotonously and suspected a memory leak. The real issue was using ru_maxrss, a peak value, instead of current RSS. Switching to /proc/self/status VmRSS fixed the false alarm.
Meridian48 take
A cautionary tale that highlights how easily monitoring tools can mislead developers into chasing phantom bugs.
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Debugging a Python "Memory Leak" That Was Actually a Measurement Bug (ru_maxrss vs VmRSS) →
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