
M12 Lifecycle
- 780 installs
- 1.3k repo stars
- Updated May 24, 2026
- zhanghandong/rust-skills
This is a copy of m12-lifecycle by actionbook - installs and ranking accrue to the original listing.
m12-lifecycle is a Rust design agent skill that systematically decides when resources are created, used, and cleaned up for developers implementing RAII, Drop, lazy initialization, connection pools, and guard patterns.
About
m12-lifecycle is Layer 2 Design Choices in zhanghandong/rust-skills for Rust resource lifecycle decisions. The skill poses the core question—when should a resource be created, used, and cleaned up—and walks through scope, cleanup ownership, and error-path behavior before implementation. Coverage includes RAII and Drop, lazy initialization with OnceCell, Lazy, once_cell, and OnceLock, connection pool design, scope guards, transaction and session management, and cleanup-on-error patterns. Developers reach for m12-lifecycle when designing backend Rust services where incorrect lifecycle choices cause leaks, double-free risks, or pool exhaustion. The skill is user-invocable false, intended for agent-triggered design guidance via keywords like RAII, connection pool, and guard pattern.
- 5 core lifecycle patterns with implementation guidance
- Decision matrix for resource cost, scope, and error handling
- RAII via Drop trait for automatic cleanup
- Lazy initialization using OnceLock and LazyLock
- Connection pool and scope guard pattern examples
M12 Lifecycle by the numbers
- 780 all-time installs (skills.sh)
- +7 installs in the week ending Jul 28, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
- Security screen: MEDIUM risk (skills.sh audit)
- Data as of Jul 28, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
npx skills add https://github.com/zhanghandong/rust-skills --skill m12-lifecycleAdd your badge
Show developers this skill is listed on Skillselion. Paste this into your README.
| Installs | 780 |
|---|---|
| repo stars | ★ 1.3k |
| Security audit | 3 / 3 scanners passed |
| Last updated | May 24, 2026 |
| Repository | zhanghandong/rust-skills ↗ |
How do you design Rust resource lifecycle and cleanup?
Systematically decide when Rust resources should be created, used, and cleaned up using RAII, lazy initialization, pools, and guards.
Who is it for?
Rust backend developers designing connection pools, sessions, or lazy-init resources who need RAII and Drop decisions before implementation.
Skip if: Beginners learning Rust syntax or frontend WASM projects without complex owned resources, pools, or error-path cleanup requirements.
When should I use this skill?
The user mentions Rust RAII, Drop, connection pool, OnceCell, OnceLock, lazy initialization, scope guard, or resource cleanup on error.
What you get
Resource lifecycle design decisions, RAII ownership plan, pool initialization strategy, and guard-pattern cleanup approach for Rust modules.
- Lifecycle design decisions
- RAII and pool architecture plan
By the numbers
- Layer 2 Design Choices module in zhanghandong/rust-skills series
Files
Resource Lifecycle
Layer 2: Design Choices
Core Question
When should this resource be created, used, and cleaned up?
Before implementing lifecycle:
- What's the resource's scope?
- Who owns the cleanup responsibility?
- What happens on error?
---
Lifecycle Pattern → Implementation
| Pattern | When | Implementation |
|---|---|---|
| RAII | Auto cleanup | Drop trait |
| Lazy init | Deferred creation | OnceLock, LazyLock |
| Pool | Reuse expensive resources | r2d2, deadpool |
| Guard | Scoped access | MutexGuard pattern |
| Scope | Transaction boundary | Custom struct + Drop |
---
Thinking Prompt
Before designing lifecycle:
1. What's the resource cost?
- Cheap → create per use
- Expensive → pool or cache
- Global → lazy singleton
2. What's the scope?
- Function-local → stack allocation
- Request-scoped → passed or extracted
- Application-wide → static or Arc
3. What about errors?
- Cleanup must happen → Drop
- Cleanup is optional → explicit close
- Cleanup can fail → Result from close
---
Trace Up ↑
To domain constraints (Layer 3):
"How should I manage database connections?"
↑ Ask: What's the connection cost?
↑ Check: domain-* (latency requirements)
↑ Check: Infrastructure (connection limits)| Question | Trace To | Ask |
|---|---|---|
| Connection pooling | domain-* | What's acceptable latency? |
| Resource limits | domain-* | What are infra constraints? |
| Transaction scope | domain-* | What must be atomic? |
---
Trace Down ↓
To implementation (Layer 1):
"Need automatic cleanup"
↓ m02-resource: Implement Drop
↓ m01-ownership: Clear owner for cleanup
"Need lazy initialization"
↓ m03-mutability: OnceLock for thread-safe
↓ m07-concurrency: LazyLock for sync
"Need connection pool"
↓ m07-concurrency: Thread-safe pool
↓ m02-resource: Arc for sharing---
Quick Reference
| Pattern | Type | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| RAII | Drop trait | Auto cleanup on scope exit |
| Lazy Init | OnceLock, LazyLock | Deferred initialization |
| Pool | r2d2, deadpool | Connection reuse |
| Guard | MutexGuard | Scoped lock release |
| Scope | Custom struct | Transaction boundaries |
Lifecycle Events
| Event | Rust Mechanism |
|---|---|
| Creation | new(), Default |
| Lazy Init | OnceLock::get_or_init |
| Usage | &self, &mut self |
| Cleanup | Drop::drop() |
Pattern Templates
RAII Guard
struct FileGuard {
path: PathBuf,
_handle: File,
}
impl Drop for FileGuard {
fn drop(&mut self) {
// Cleanup: remove temp file
let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&self.path);
}
}Lazy Singleton
use std::sync::OnceLock;
static CONFIG: OnceLock<Config> = OnceLock::new();
fn get_config() -> &'static Config {
CONFIG.get_or_init(|| {
Config::load().expect("config required")
})
}---
Common Errors
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Resource leak | Forgot Drop | Implement Drop or RAII wrapper |
| Double free | Manual memory | Let Rust handle |
| Use after drop | Dangling reference | Check lifetimes |
| E0509 move out of Drop | Moving owned field | Option::take() |
| Pool exhaustion | Not returned | Ensure Drop returns |
---
Anti-Patterns
| Anti-Pattern | Why Bad | Better |
|---|---|---|
| Manual cleanup | Easy to forget | RAII/Drop |
lazy_static! | External dep | std::sync::OnceLock |
| Global mutable state | Thread unsafety | OnceLock or proper sync |
| Forget to close | Resource leak | Drop impl |
---
Related Skills
| When | See |
|---|---|
| Smart pointers | m02-resource |
| Thread-safe init | m07-concurrency |
| Domain scopes | m09-domain |
| Error in cleanup | m06-error-handling |
Related skills
FAQ
What question does m12-lifecycle answer?
m12-lifecycle answers when a Rust resource should be created, used, and cleaned up. The skill evaluates scope, cleanup ownership, and error-path behavior before choosing RAII, pools, or lazy initialization patterns.
Which Rust patterns does m12-lifecycle cover?
m12-lifecycle covers RAII and Drop, lazy initialization with OnceCell, Lazy, once_cell, and OnceLock, connection pool design, scope guards, and cleanup-on-error patterns for transactions and sessions.
Is M12 Lifecycle safe to install?
skills.sh reports 3 of 3 security scanners passed. Review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing in production.