Files
lancedb/python/src/lib.rs
Weston Pace a17c241e86 feat(python): make Permutation fork-safe for PyTorch DataLoader workers (#3339)
## Summary

PyTorch's `DataLoader` uses fork-based multiprocessing by default on
Linux, but threads do not survive `fork()`. LanceDB's Python bindings
drive async work through two threaded layers, both of which become inert
in a forked child:

- `BackgroundEventLoop` runs an asyncio loop on a Python
`threading.Thread`.
- `pyo3-async-runtimes::tokio` holds a global multi-threaded tokio
runtime whose worker threads also die on fork — and its runtime lives in
a `OnceLock` that cannot be replaced after first use.

As a result, any `Permutation` (or other async API) used inside a
fork-based `DataLoader` worker hangs indefinitely. This PR makes both
layers fork-safe so `Permutation` works as a `torch.utils.data.Dataset`
with `num_workers > 0`.

## Approach

### Rust — new `python/src/runtime.rs`

Mirrors the pattern used in [Lance's Python
bindings](456198cd6f/python/src/lib.rs (L139)),
adapted for the async-bridge use case.

- `LanceRuntime` implements `pyo3_async_runtimes::generic::Runtime +
ContextExt`, backed by an `AtomicPtr<tokio::runtime::Runtime>` we own
(sidestepping `pyo3-async-runtimes`'s frozen `OnceLock` global).
- A `pthread_atfork(after_in_child)` handler nulls the pointer; the next
`spawn` rebuilds the runtime in the child. The previous runtime is
intentionally **leaked** — calling `Drop` would try to join now-dead
worker threads and hang.
- `runtime::future_into_py` is a drop-in for
`pyo3_async_runtimes::tokio::future_into_py`. All ~80 call sites in
`arrow.rs` / `connection.rs` / `permutation.rs` / `query.rs` /
`table.rs` are updated to route through it.
- `python/Cargo.toml` adds `libc = "0.2"` and the tokio
`rt-multi-thread` feature.

### Python — `lancedb/background_loop.py`

- Refactors `BackgroundEventLoop.__init__` to a reusable `_start()`
method.
- An `os.register_at_fork(after_in_child=…)` hook calls `LOOP._start()`
to give the singleton a fresh asyncio loop and thread **in place**. This
matters because the rest of the codebase imports `LOOP` via `from
.background_loop import LOOP` — rebinding the module attribute would
leave those references holding the dead loop.

### Python — `lancedb/__init__.py`

Removes the `__warn_on_fork` pre-fork warning (and the now-unused
`import warnings`). Fork is supported.

## Test plan

- [x] New `test_permutation_dataloader_fork_workers` in
`python/tests/test_torch.py`: runs a `Permutation` through
`torch.utils.data.DataLoader(num_workers=2,
multiprocessing_context="fork")` inside a spawn-isolated child with a
30s hang detector. **Pre-fix**: timed out at 36s. **Post-fix**: passes
in ~3.6s.
- [x] New `test_remote_connection_after_fork` in
`python/tests/test_remote_db.py`: forks a child that creates a fresh
`lancedb.connect(...)` against a mock HTTP server and calls
`table_names()`; passes in <1s, validates the runtime reset is
sufficient for fresh remote clients.
- [x] All 62 tests in `test_torch.py` + `test_permutation.py` pass.
- [x] All 35 tests in `test_remote_db.py` pass.
- [x] `test_table.py` (87) + `test_db.py` + `test_query.py` (157, minus
one unrelated `sentence_transformers` import skip) — 244 passing.
- [x] `cargo clippy -p lancedb-python --tests` clean.
- [x] `cargo fmt`, `ruff check`, `ruff format` all clean.

## Known limitation (follow-up)

This PR makes a **freshly-built** `lancedb.connect(...)` work in a
forked child. An **inherited** `Connection` from the parent still
carries an inherited `reqwest::Client` whose hyper connection pool
references socket FDs and TCP/TLS state shared with the parent — using
it from the child after fork is unsafe (especially with HTTP/1.1
keep-alive). The recommended pattern for fork-based `DataLoader` workers
that hit a remote DB is to construct a new connection inside the worker.
Auto-clearing inherited HTTP client pools on fork would require tracking
live `Connection` instances in `lancedb` core and is left for a
follow-up PR.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-05-05 13:44:10 -07:00

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2.3 KiB
Rust

// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright The LanceDB Authors
use arrow::RecordBatchStream;
use connection::{Connection, connect, connect_namespace_client};
use env_logger::Env;
use expr::{PyExpr, expr_col, expr_func, expr_lit};
use index::IndexConfig;
use permutation::{PyAsyncPermutationBuilder, PyPermutationReader};
use pyo3::{
Bound, PyResult, Python, pymodule,
types::{PyModule, PyModuleMethods},
wrap_pyfunction,
};
use query::{FTSQuery, HybridQuery, Query, VectorQuery};
use session::Session;
use table::{
AddColumnsResult, AddResult, AlterColumnsResult, DeleteResult, DropColumnsResult, MergeResult,
Table, UpdateResult,
};
pub mod arrow;
pub mod connection;
pub mod error;
pub mod expr;
pub mod header;
pub mod index;
pub mod namespace;
pub mod permutation;
pub mod query;
pub mod runtime;
pub mod session;
pub mod table;
pub mod util;
#[pymodule]
pub fn _lancedb(_py: Python, m: &Bound<'_, PyModule>) -> PyResult<()> {
let env = Env::new()
.filter_or("LANCEDB_LOG", "warn")
.write_style("LANCEDB_LOG_STYLE");
env_logger::init_from_env(env);
m.add_class::<Connection>()?;
m.add_class::<Session>()?;
m.add_class::<Table>()?;
m.add_class::<IndexConfig>()?;
m.add_class::<Query>()?;
m.add_class::<FTSQuery>()?;
m.add_class::<HybridQuery>()?;
m.add_class::<VectorQuery>()?;
m.add_class::<RecordBatchStream>()?;
m.add_class::<AddColumnsResult>()?;
m.add_class::<AlterColumnsResult>()?;
m.add_class::<AddResult>()?;
m.add_class::<MergeResult>()?;
m.add_class::<DeleteResult>()?;
m.add_class::<DropColumnsResult>()?;
m.add_class::<UpdateResult>()?;
m.add_class::<PyAsyncPermutationBuilder>()?;
m.add_class::<PyPermutationReader>()?;
m.add_class::<PyExpr>()?;
m.add_function(wrap_pyfunction!(connect, m)?)?;
m.add_function(wrap_pyfunction!(connect_namespace_client, m)?)?;
m.add_function(wrap_pyfunction!(permutation::async_permutation_builder, m)?)?;
m.add_function(wrap_pyfunction!(util::validate_table_name, m)?)?;
m.add_function(wrap_pyfunction!(query::fts_query_to_json, m)?)?;
m.add_function(wrap_pyfunction!(expr_col, m)?)?;
m.add_function(wrap_pyfunction!(expr_lit, m)?)?;
m.add_function(wrap_pyfunction!(expr_func, m)?)?;
m.add("__version__", env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"))?;
Ok(())
}