Files
neovim/runtime/lua/vim/async.lua
Lewis Russell ce8a897f98 feat(lua): add vim.async
Problem: Nvim has many Lua APIs that start callback-driven work: timers,
jobs, libuv handles, and other event-loop tasks. Callers that need to
sequence or cancel that work have to build their own coroutine wrappers,
task bookkeeping, and cleanup rules. This makes async control flow hard
to share, test, and document.

Solution: Add `vim.async`, a structured-concurrency module vendored from
async.nvim. It provides task handles, await/pawait helpers,
sleep/timeout helpers, completion-order iteration, and semaphores on top
of Nvim's event loop.

The API follows the same broad model as Trio: async work has an owner,
tasks are awaited explicitly, and cancellation is cooperative. Include
generated vimdoc with an introductory overview and examples, a news
entry, and functional tests for the new module.

AI-assisted
2026-09-03 19:17:25 +01:00

318 lines
10 KiB
Lua

local core = require('vim.async._core')
local validate = vim.validate
local new_queue = require('vim.async._queue')
local runtime = require('vim.async._runtime')
local F = vim.F
--- Structured async API for Lua code that waits on event-loop work.
---
--- `vim.async` lets Lua code wait for timers, callbacks, and other tasks
--- without blocking Nvim's event loop. Async work runs inside tasks, which can
--- pause at checkpoints and manage child tasks created while they are running.
---
--- Start async work with [vim.async.run()]. Inside a task, use
--- [vim.async.await()] to wait for callback-style APIs or other tasks without
--- blocking the event loop. Use [vim.async.pawait()] when an awaited operation
--- can fail and the current task should continue.
---
--- Examples in this help use `local async = vim.async` for brevity.
---
--- Example: run async work without blocking Nvim:
---
--- ```lua
--- local async = vim.async
---
--- async.run(function()
--- vim.notify('waiting...')
--- async.sleep(1000)
--- vim.notify('done')
--- end)
--- ```
---
--- Example: await a callback-style API. Callback results are returned
--- unchanged, so an error-first callback still returns `err, value`:
---
--- ```lua
--- local async = vim.async
---
--- async.run(function()
--- local err, stat = async.await(2, fs_stat, 'notes.txt')
--- if err then
--- error(err, 0)
--- end
--- print(('notes.txt is %d bytes'):format(stat.size))
--- end)
--- ```
---
--- A task has two roles:
---
--- - it is a handle that can be awaited, waited for, or closed
--- - it is a scope for child tasks created while the task is running
---
--- [vim.async.run()] creates a task. A top-level task starts immediately. A
--- task created while another task is running becomes a child of that task, and
--- its function starts when the parent reaches its next checkpoint. A parent
--- task finishes only after its attached children finish. If a child fails
--- without being handled, the parent fails and closes the remaining children.
---
--- Use [Task:detach()] for background work that should keep running after the
--- current task finishes. A detached task becomes top-level work; the original
--- parent no longer waits for it or closes it.
---
--- Awaiting a task observes that task's result; it does not attach the task to
--- the awaiter or change which task owns it. Ownership is decided when the task
--- is created.
---
--- Scheduling is cooperative. When a task awaits a timer, I/O operation,
--- callback, or another task, `vim.async` saves the Lua stack and returns
--- control to the event loop. Other callbacks can run while the task is paused.
--- Nothing interrupts synchronous Lua code in the middle of a stack frame.
---
--- Checkpoints are the places where a task can pause, start pending child
--- tasks, observe cancellation, and receive unhandled child failures. Inside a
--- task, these operations are checkpoints:
---
--- - `vim.async.await(...)`
--- - `vim.async.pawait(...)`
--- - `vim.async.checkpoint()`
--- - successful return from the task function, which is the final checkpoint
--- for child management
---
--- Convenience APIs such as [vim.async.sleep()] and [vim.async.timeout()] can
--- also checkpoint because they call checkpointing APIs internally.
---
--- Closing a task closes its attached children. Cancellation is cooperative:
--- [Task:close()] marks a task as closing, and the task observes that state at
--- a checkpoint. If a task is suspended on a closable operation such as a timer
--- or child task, `vim.async` closes that operation before reporting the
--- cancellation.
---
--- Use [vim.async.await()] inside a task to suspend until work completes. It
--- accepts a task, a callback-taking function, or an argument position plus a
--- callback-taking function. `await(task)` returns the task result or raises
--- the task failure. [vim.async.pawait()] is the async counterpart to `pcall()`
--- for recoverable awaited-operation failures; it returns `ok, ...` instead of
--- failing the current task for that awaited operation. It does not suppress
--- cancellation or a failure already pending on the current task.
---
--- From synchronous code, use [Task:wait()] or [Task:pwait()] to pump the event
--- loop until the task completes. Use [Task:on_complete()] to observe
--- completion without blocking.
---
--- Coordination helpers work with task handles. [vim.async.iter()] yields
--- completed task handles in completion order, [vim.async.timeout()] awaits a
--- task with a deadline, and `vim.async.semaphore(permits)` creates a
--- [vim.async.Semaphore] that limits how many tasks can hold a permit for a
--- section at once.
--- @class vim.async: vim.async._core
local M = setmetatable({}, { __index = core })
M.semaphore = require('vim.async._semaphore')
--- @param unsubscribe fun()[]
local function unsubscribe_all(unsubscribe)
for _, unsub in ipairs(unsubscribe) do
unsub()
end
end
--- Create an async function from a callback-style function.
---
--- The callback is inserted at argument position `argc`. If `func` returns a
--- closable handle, it is closed when the awaiting task is cancelled.
---
--- This is a reusable wrapper around [vim.async.await()]. Use it when the same
--- callback API is awaited from more than one place.
---
--- ```lua
--- local async = vim.async
--- local fs_stat = async.wrap(2, vim.uv.fs_stat)
---
--- async.run(function()
--- local err, stat = fs_stat(vim.api.nvim_buf_get_name(0))
--- if not err and stat then
--- print(stat.size)
--- end
--- end)
--- ```
---
--- @generic T, R
--- @param argc integer
--- @param func fun(...: T..., callback: fun(...: R...)): vim.async.Closable?
--- @return async fun(...: T...): R...
function M.wrap(argc, func)
validate('argc', argc, 'number')
validate('func', func, 'callable')
--- @async
return function(...)
return M.await(argc, func, ...)
end
end
--- Iterate completed tasks in completion order.
---
--- The iterator yields task handles, not task results. Use
--- [vim.async.await()] or [vim.async.pawait()] to retrieve each result. The
--- tasks are observed in the order they complete, regardless of the order in
--- the input list.
---
--- ```lua
--- local async = vim.async
---
--- async.run(function()
--- local tasks = {
--- async.run(function() return 'cache', read_cache() end):detach(),
--- async.run(function() return 'disk', read_file() end):detach(),
--- }
---
--- for task in async.iter(tasks) do
--- local ok, source, text = async.pawait(task)
--- if ok then
--- for _, other in ipairs(tasks) do
--- if other ~= task then
--- other:close()
--- end
--- end
--- print(('loaded from %s'):format(source))
--- return text
--- end
--- end
--- end)
--- ```
---
--- If code must support PUC Lua 5.1, use the direct-call form instead of a
--- generic `for` loop. The iterator may need to suspend while waiting for the
--- next completed task, and PUC Lua 5.1 cannot yield from a generic-for
--- iterator call.
---
--- ```lua
--- local next_task = async.iter(tasks)
--- while true do
--- local task = next_task()
--- if task == nil then
--- break
--- end
--- async.await(task)
--- end
--- ```
--- @async
--- @generic R
--- @param tasks vim.async.Task<R>[] A list of tasks to wait for and iterate over.
--- @return async fun(): vim.async.Task<R>? iterator that yields each completed task.
function M.iter(tasks)
validate('tasks', tasks, 'table')
local remaining = #tasks
local queue = new_queue()
local unsubscribe = {} --- @type fun()[]
if remaining == 0 then
queue:put_nowait()
else
for _, task in ipairs(tasks) do
unsubscribe[#unsubscribe + 1] = task:on_complete(function()
remaining = remaining - 1
queue:put_nowait(task)
if remaining == 0 then
queue:put_nowait()
end
end)
end
end
local proxy = newproxy(true)
getmetatable(proxy).__gc = function()
unsubscribe_all(unsubscribe)
end
--- @async
return function()
local _ = proxy -- Keep the GC proxy alive with the iterator.
return queue:get()
end
end
--- Asynchronously sleep for a given duration.
---
--- Suspends the current task for the given duration without blocking the event
--- loop. After the delay and timer cleanup complete, `sleep()` returns to its
--- caller through the runtime's `schedule` hook.
---
--- ```lua
--- vim.async.run(function()
--- vim.async.sleep(100)
--- vim.notify('resumed later')
--- end)
--- ```
--- @async
--- @param duration integer ms
function M.sleep(duration)
validate('duration', duration, 'number')
M.await(function(callback)
local timer = runtime.new_timer()
timer:start(duration, 0, callback)
return timer
end)
-- Timer cleanup resumes this function directly from its close callback.
-- Yield once more so M.sleep() returns through the runtime scheduler.
M.await(runtime.schedule)
end
--- Await a task with a timeout.
---
--- If the task completes first, returns or raises the task result as
--- [vim.async.await()] would. If the deadline wins, closes the task and raises
--- `"timeout"` after the target task finishes cancellation cleanup.
---
--- ```lua
--- local async = vim.async
---
--- async.run(function()
--- local task = async.run(read_file, 'notes.txt')
--- local text = async.timeout(5000, task)
--- show_buffer(text)
--- end)
--- ```
--- @async
--- @generic R
--- @param duration integer Timeout duration in milliseconds
--- @param task vim.async.Task<R>
--- @return R...
function M.timeout(duration, task)
validate('duration', duration, 'number')
validate('task', task, 'table')
local timed_out = false
local timer = M.run('__timeout', function()
M.sleep(duration)
timed_out = true
task:close()
end)
--- @diagnostic disable-next-line: invisible
timer._hidden = true
local result = F.pack_len(M.pawait(task))
timer:close()
M.pawait(timer)
if timed_out then
error('timeout', 0)
end
if not result[1] then
error(result[2], 0)
end
return unpack(result, 2, result.n)
end
if type(vim) == 'table' then
runtime.config({
wait = vim.wait,
schedule = vim.schedule,
new_timer = vim.uv.new_timer,
})
end
return M