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Drop can be skipped

There are cases where destructors will not run.

// Copyright 2025 Google LLC
// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0

#[derive(Debug)]
struct OwnedFd(i32);

impl Drop for OwnedFd {
    fn drop(&mut self) {
        println!("OwnedFd::drop() called with raw fd: {:?}", self.0);
    }
}

impl Drop for TmpFile {
    fn drop(&mut self) {
        println!("TmpFile::drop() called with owned fd: {:?}", self.0);
        // libc::unlink("/tmp/file")
        // panic!("TmpFile::drop() panics");
    }
}

#[derive(Debug)]
struct TmpFile(OwnedFd);

impl TmpFile {
    fn open() -> Self {
        Self(OwnedFd(2))
    }

    fn close(&self) {
        panic!("TmpFile::close(): not implemented yet");
    }
}

fn main() {
    let owned_fd = OwnedFd(1);

    let file = TmpFile::open();

    std::process::exit(0);

    // std::mem::forget(file);

    // file.close();

    let _ = owned_fd;
}

  • Drop is not guaranteed to always run. There is a number of cases when drop is skipped: the program can crash or exit, the value with the drop implementation can be leaked etc.

  • In the version that calls std::process::exit, TmpFile::drop() is never run because exit() terminates the process immediately without any opportunity for a drop() method to be called.

    • You can prevent accidental use of exit by denying the clippy::exit lint.

  • If you remove the std::process::exit(0) line, each drop() method in this simple case will run in turn.

  • Try uncommenting the std::mem::forget call. What do you think will happen?

    mem::forget() takes ownership and “forgets” about the value file without running its destructor Drop::drop(). The destructor of owned_fd is still run.

  • Remove the mem::forget() call, then uncomment the file.close() call below it. What do you expect now?

    With the default panic = "unwind" setting, the stack still unwinds and destructors run, even when the panic starts in main.

  • As a last step, uncomment the panic! inside TmpFile::drop() and run it. Ask the class: which destructors run before the abort?

    After a double panic, Rust no longer guarantees that remaining destructors will run:

    • Some cleanup that was already in progress may still complete (for example, field destructors of the value currently being dropped),
    • but anything scheduled later in the unwind path might be skipped entirely.
    • This is why we say you cannot rely solely on drop() for critical external cleanup, nor assume that a double panic aborts without running any further destructors.

  • Some languages forbid or restrict exceptions in destructors. Rust allows panicking in Drop::drop, but it is almost never a good idea, since it can disrupt unwinding and lead to unpredictable cleanup. It is best avoided unless there is a very specific need, such as in the case of a drop bomb.

  • Drop is suitable for cleaning up resources within the scope of a process, but it is not the right tool for providing hard guarantees that something happens outside of the process (e.g., on local disk, or in another service in a distributed system).

  • For example, deleting a temporary file in drop() is fine in a toy example, but in a real program you would still need an external cleanup mechanism such as a temp file reaper.

  • In contrast, we can rely on drop() to unlock a mutex, since it is a process-local resource. If drop() is skipped and the mutex is left locked, it has no lasting effects outside the process.