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Cross-platform allocation safety probe

  • Status: Accepted
  • Date: 2026-02-01
  • Context:
    • Motivation: Allocation safety relied on /proc/meminfo, which is Linux-only. We need a cross-platform source of live available memory so we do not lock into Linux.
    • Constraints: Keep error messages constant; avoid unsafe code; preserve minimal dependencies.
  • Decision:
    • Use systemstat to fetch live memory statistics on all platforms.
    • Prefer Linux MemAvailable when present, otherwise fall back to the live free-memory value returned by systemstat.
    • Keep the 80% available-memory guard and fail closed when memory cannot be determined.
    • Dependency rationale: systemstat provides cross-platform live memory data without adding unsafe code in Revaer. Alternatives considered: OS-specific FFI (requires unsafe) or estimates (rejected).
  • Consequences:
    • Positive outcomes: Allocation guard works on macOS/Windows/Linux; no platform lock-in.
    • Risks or trade-offs: Adds a small dependency footprint; relies on OS-reported statistics.
  • Follow-up:
    • Implementation tasks: update allocation helper to use systemstat; add docs entry.
    • Test coverage summary: allocation guard unit tests remain; live-memory probe is exercised via API/CLI/E2E.
    • Observability updates: none.