fix(proxy): tune macOS libmalloc and trim allocator pages so long-lived RSS stays bounded (#2879)

## Summary

Fixes #2820.

Prevents long-lived macOS proxies from retaining every largest transient
request-body allocation in libmalloc. The reporter’s production A/B
isolated the allocator behavior and verified the two pre-main libmalloc
knobs; this PR applies them through a one-time Darwin-only re-exec and
adds periodic per-worker pressure relief.

- `MallocAggressiveMadvise=1` returns freed pages eagerly.
- `MallocLargeCache=0` disables the large-allocation death-row cache.
- Operator-set allocator variables are preserved;
`HEADROOM_MALLOC_TUNING=0` is the kill switch.
- Periodic trim defaults on only for macOS, runs off the event loop,
performs no forced Python GC, validates its interval, and is
retained/cancelled through the app lifecycle.
- Non-Darwin behavior remains unchanged unless explicitly enabled.
- Semantically rebased onto current `main`, retaining startup dependency
validation, MCP SDK v1 compatibility, and all newer proxy behavior.

## Verification

- 147 proxy CLI/config/malloc/MCP-contract tests pass; 1 platform skip.
- Ruff check and formatting clean; `git diff --check` clean.
- The reporter’s macOS A/B reduced dirty empty malloc regions to zero
and lowered steady/startup RSS; the control flow and shutdown lifecycle
are covered locally.

## Safety

The re-exec is Darwin-only, PID-preserving, loop-guarded, and opt-out.
The trim task is per worker because allocator state is per process, and
shutdown cancels it explicitly.
This commit is contained in:
Abhay Singh
2026-08-17 03:34:54 +05:30
committed by GitHub
parent be5b26d807
commit 6d87825f62
5 changed files with 491 additions and 0 deletions
+34
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@@ -113,6 +113,35 @@ def _get_env_bool_optional(name: str) -> bool | None:
return _get_env_bool(name, False)
# libmalloc reads these before main() runs, so they cannot be set from inside
# the current process — the proxy re-execs itself once to apply them. Without
# them, freed pages from large concurrent request bodies stay resident
# (``vmmap`` shows whole "MALLOC_LARGE (empty)" regions) and long-lived proxy
# RSS only ratchets upward (#2820). Vars the operator already set are left
# untouched; HEADROOM_MALLOC_TUNING=0 disables the re-exec entirely.
_MALLOC_TUNING = {
"MallocAggressiveMadvise": "1", # madvise freed pages back to the OS eagerly
"MallocLargeCache": "0", # no death-row cache for freed large allocations
}
def _reexec_with_malloc_tuning() -> None:
if sys.platform != "darwin":
return
if not _get_env_bool("HEADROOM_MALLOC_TUNING", True):
return
if os.environ.get("_HEADROOM_MALLOC_TUNED") == "1":
return
missing = {k: v for k, v in _MALLOC_TUNING.items() if k not in os.environ}
# Set the loop guard before the re-exec so the replacement process (which
# inherits this environment) skips this path instead of re-execing forever.
os.environ["_HEADROOM_MALLOC_TUNED"] = "1"
if not missing:
return
os.environ.update(missing)
os.execv(sys.executable, [sys.executable, "-m", "headroom.cli", *sys.argv[1:]])
def _get_env_int_optional(name: str) -> int | None:
val = os.environ.get(name)
if val is None or val == "":
@@ -1065,6 +1094,7 @@ def proxy(
Usage with OpenAI-compatible clients:
OPENAI_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8787/v1 your-app
"""
_reexec_with_malloc_tuning()
ensure_proxy_dependencies()
# Import here to avoid slow startup
@@ -1261,6 +1291,10 @@ def proxy(
rate_limit_requests_per_minute=rpm if rpm is not None else 60,
rate_limit_tokens_per_minute=tpm if tpm is not None else 100_000,
compress_user_messages=_get_env_bool("HEADROOM_COMPRESS_USER_MESSAGES", False),
periodic_malloc_trim_enabled=_get_env_bool(
"HEADROOM_MALLOC_TRIM", sys.platform == "darwin"
),
malloc_trim_interval_seconds=_get_env_int("HEADROOM_MALLOC_TRIM_INTERVAL_SECONDS", 60),
min_tokens_to_crush=_get_env_int("HEADROOM_MIN_TOKENS", 500),
max_items_after_crush=_get_env_int("HEADROOM_MAX_ITEMS", 50),
exclude_tools=_parse_exclude_tools(None) or None,
+135
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@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
"""Return freed-but-retained allocator pages to the OS on long-lived proxies.
Large concurrent Anthropic bodies (0.5-1 MB of JSON parsed, deep-copied and
re-serialized per in-flight request) drive libmalloc and pymalloc to a
high-water mark that is never returned to the OS: after a burst the malloc
zones keep entire regions resident but empty (``vmmap`` lists them as
``MALLOC_LARGE (empty)`` / ``MALLOC_SMALL (empty)``), so process RSS only
ratchets upward. Over a multi-day proxy lifetime under Claude Code traffic
this reaches double-digit GB and starves the host.
Neither runtime returns these pages on its own. macOS exposes
``malloc_zone_pressure_relief(NULL, 0)`` to purge every zone's free pages;
glibc has ``malloc_trim(0)``. ``trim()`` calls that entry point directly: it is
a C call that releases the GIL and reclaims whatever is already on the
allocator's free lists. It deliberately does not run a Python ``gc.collect()``
-- a full cyclic collection holds the GIL, and this periodic task runs off the
event-loop thread precisely so it cannot stall request handling; freeing cyclic
garbage is left to CPython's own automatic collection.
"""
from __future__ import annotations
import asyncio
import ctypes
import logging
import sys
import time
logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
# Interval bounds for the periodic trim task. A non-positive interval would make
# ``asyncio.sleep`` return immediately and spin a continuous collect/trim loop,
# so anything below the minimum falls back to the default.
_DEFAULT_TRIM_INTERVAL_SECONDS = 60
_MIN_TRIM_INTERVAL_SECONDS = 1
# Lazily resolved (platform_tag, foreign_function | None). ``None`` function
# means the platform has no supported trim call and trim() is a no-op.
_relief: tuple[str, object | None] | None = None
def _resolve() -> tuple[str, object | None]:
global _relief
if _relief is not None:
return _relief
try:
libc = ctypes.CDLL(None)
if sys.platform == "darwin":
fn = libc.malloc_zone_pressure_relief
fn.argtypes = [ctypes.c_void_p, ctypes.c_size_t]
fn.restype = ctypes.c_size_t
_relief = ("darwin", fn)
else:
fn = libc.malloc_trim
fn.argtypes = [ctypes.c_size_t]
fn.restype = ctypes.c_int
_relief = ("glibc", fn)
except (OSError, AttributeError):
_relief = ("unsupported", None)
return _relief
def trim() -> int:
"""Return allocator free pages to the OS.
Calls the platform's allocator pressure-relief entry point
(``malloc_zone_pressure_relief`` on macOS, ``malloc_trim`` on glibc). This
is a C call that releases the GIL for its duration and reclaims pages
already on the allocator's free lists. It deliberately does *not* run a
Python ``gc.collect()`` (a full cyclic collection holds the GIL); cyclic
garbage is left to CPython's automatic collection, so this off-thread
periodic task never holds the GIL for a full-heap traversal.
Returns the number of bytes freed on macOS (glibc's ``malloc_trim``
reports only success, so 0 is returned there and on unsupported
platforms).
"""
kind, fn = _resolve()
if fn is None:
return 0
if kind == "darwin":
return int(fn(None, 0)) # type: ignore[operator]
fn(0) # type: ignore[operator]
return 0
async def trim_periodically(interval_seconds: int = 60) -> None:
"""Background task that periodically returns allocator free pages to the OS.
Runs in every worker process (allocator state is per-process). The trim is
the platform's allocator pressure-relief C call
(``malloc_zone_pressure_relief``/``malloc_trim``), dispatched via
``asyncio.to_thread`` so it runs off the event-loop thread. Because it is a
C call that releases the GIL and runs no Python ``gc.collect()``, it holds
the GIL only as briefly as the to_thread hand-off, so a slow purge on a
large heap does not stall request handling. The task exits immediately on
platforms with no supported trim call, so it is a true no-op there.
Args:
interval_seconds: How often to trim (default: 60 seconds). A value below
``_MIN_TRIM_INTERVAL_SECONDS`` (which would busy-loop) falls back to
the default.
"""
_, fn = _resolve()
if fn is None:
# No supported allocator-trim call on this platform (Windows, musl, ...);
# do not spin a wakeup task that can only ever no-op.
logger.debug("MallocTrim: no supported trim on %s; task disabled", sys.platform)
return
if interval_seconds < _MIN_TRIM_INTERVAL_SECONDS:
logger.warning(
"MallocTrim: interval %ss is below the %ds minimum; using default %ds",
interval_seconds,
_MIN_TRIM_INTERVAL_SECONDS,
_DEFAULT_TRIM_INTERVAL_SECONDS,
)
interval_seconds = _DEFAULT_TRIM_INTERVAL_SECONDS
while True:
await asyncio.sleep(interval_seconds)
try:
start = time.perf_counter()
# Off the event-loop thread: the C-level purge can pause for a while
# on a large heap, and that pause must not stall proxy traffic.
freed = await asyncio.to_thread(trim)
elapsed_ms = (time.perf_counter() - start) * 1000
log = logger.info if freed >= (16 << 20) else logger.debug
log(
"MallocTrim: returned %.1f MB to OS in %.0f ms",
freed / 1048576,
elapsed_ms,
)
except Exception as e:
logger.debug("MallocTrim failed: %s", e)
+12
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@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ Extracted from server.py to keep the codebase maintainable.
from __future__ import annotations
import logging
import sys
from dataclasses import InitVar, dataclass, field
from datetime import datetime
from typing import Any, Literal
@@ -439,6 +440,17 @@ class ProxyConfig:
# Env: HEADROOM_PERIODIC_TOIN_STATS=0.
periodic_toin_stats_enabled: bool = True
# Periodic allocator trim. Long-lived proxies processing large concurrent
# request bodies ratchet RSS through freed-but-retained allocator pages;
# this returns them to the OS (malloc_zone_pressure_relief on macOS,
# malloc_trim on glibc). Default-on only on macOS, where the retained-page
# ratchet is the documented failure (#2820); an opt-in elsewhere via
# HEADROOM_MALLOC_TRIM=1 so glibc deployments do not silently take on a
# once-a-minute allocator purge they did not ask for. Envs:
# HEADROOM_MALLOC_TRIM=0/1, HEADROOM_MALLOC_TRIM_INTERVAL_SECONDS.
periodic_malloc_trim_enabled: bool = field(default_factory=lambda: sys.platform == "darwin")
malloc_trim_interval_seconds: int = 60
# Stateless mode — disable all filesystem writes for read-only / container deployments
stateless: bool = False
+22
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@@ -144,6 +144,7 @@ from headroom.proxy.helpers import (
)
from headroom.proxy.loop_callback_failure_policy import is_known_websocket_callback_failure
from headroom.proxy.loopback_guard import is_loopback_host
from headroom.proxy.malloc_trim import trim_periodically
from headroom.proxy.memory_handler import MemoryConfig, MemoryHandler
# Data models (extracted to headroom/proxy/models.py for maintainability)
@@ -2601,6 +2602,7 @@ def create_app(config: ProxyConfig | None = None) -> FastAPI:
app.state.ready = False
app.state.startup_error = None
app.state.periodic_toin_stats_task = None
app.state.periodic_malloc_trim_task = None
try:
try:
@@ -2611,6 +2613,12 @@ def create_app(config: ProxyConfig | None = None) -> FastAPI:
app.state.periodic_toin_stats_task = asyncio.create_task(
_log_toin_stats_periodically()
)
# Per-worker on purpose: allocator state is per-process, so
# every worker must trim its own zones (no beacon-owner gate).
if config.periodic_malloc_trim_enabled:
app.state.periodic_malloc_trim_task = asyncio.create_task(
trim_periodically(config.malloc_trim_interval_seconds)
)
if proxy.usage_reporter:
await proxy.usage_reporter.start(proxy)
if proxy.traffic_learner:
@@ -2670,6 +2678,16 @@ def create_app(config: ProxyConfig | None = None) -> FastAPI:
)
app.state.periodic_toin_stats_task = None
periodic_malloc_trim_task = app.state.periodic_malloc_trim_task
if periodic_malloc_trim_task is not None:
periodic_malloc_trim_task.cancel()
await _timed(
asyncio.gather(periodic_malloc_trim_task, return_exceptions=True),
label="periodic_malloc_trim.stop",
timeout=3.0,
)
app.state.periodic_malloc_trim_task = None
if _cc_reconciler is not None:
await _timed(_cc_reconciler.stop(), label="cc_reconciler.stop", timeout=3.0)
if _beacon_is_owner[0]:
@@ -5160,6 +5178,10 @@ def _proxy_config_from_env() -> ProxyConfig:
http2=_get_env_bool("HEADROOM_HTTP2", True),
http_proxy=os.environ.get("HEADROOM_HTTP_PROXY") or None,
periodic_toin_stats_enabled=_get_env_bool("HEADROOM_PERIODIC_TOIN_STATS", True),
periodic_malloc_trim_enabled=_get_env_bool(
"HEADROOM_MALLOC_TRIM", sys.platform == "darwin"
),
malloc_trim_interval_seconds=_get_env_int("HEADROOM_MALLOC_TRIM_INTERVAL_SECONDS", 60),
proxy_token=os.environ.get("HEADROOM_PROXY_TOKEN") or None,
offline=_get_env_bool("HEADROOM_OFFLINE", False),
# Default mode is CACHE (Headroom's coding posture): delta-only compression
+288
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@@ -0,0 +1,288 @@
"""macOS libmalloc tuning: pre-main re-exec gating + periodic allocator trim (#2820)."""
from __future__ import annotations
import asyncio
import pytest
import headroom.cli.proxy as proxy_cli
from headroom.proxy import malloc_trim
class _ExecCalled(Exception):
"""Sentinel so a fake execv can stop execution the way real execv would."""
def _fake_execv(recorder: dict):
def _execv(path, argv): # noqa: ANN001
recorder["path"] = path
recorder["argv"] = list(argv)
raise _ExecCalled
return _execv
@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
def _clean_malloc_env(monkeypatch):
for var in (
"HEADROOM_MALLOC_TUNING",
"_HEADROOM_MALLOC_TUNED",
"MallocAggressiveMadvise",
"MallocLargeCache",
):
monkeypatch.delenv(var, raising=False)
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
# _reexec_with_malloc_tuning
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
def test_reexec_noop_off_darwin(monkeypatch):
monkeypatch.setattr(proxy_cli.sys, "platform", "linux")
rec: dict = {}
monkeypatch.setattr(proxy_cli.os, "execv", _fake_execv(rec))
proxy_cli._reexec_with_malloc_tuning() # must not raise / exec
assert rec == {}
def test_reexec_respects_opt_out(monkeypatch):
monkeypatch.setattr(proxy_cli.sys, "platform", "darwin")
monkeypatch.setenv("HEADROOM_MALLOC_TUNING", "0")
rec: dict = {}
monkeypatch.setattr(proxy_cli.os, "execv", _fake_execv(rec))
proxy_cli._reexec_with_malloc_tuning()
assert rec == {}
def test_reexec_guard_prevents_loop(monkeypatch):
monkeypatch.setattr(proxy_cli.sys, "platform", "darwin")
monkeypatch.setenv("_HEADROOM_MALLOC_TUNED", "1")
rec: dict = {}
monkeypatch.setattr(proxy_cli.os, "execv", _fake_execv(rec))
proxy_cli._reexec_with_malloc_tuning()
assert rec == {}
def test_reexec_skips_when_operator_already_set_vars(monkeypatch):
monkeypatch.setattr(proxy_cli.sys, "platform", "darwin")
monkeypatch.setenv("MallocAggressiveMadvise", "1")
monkeypatch.setenv("MallocLargeCache", "0")
rec: dict = {}
monkeypatch.setattr(proxy_cli.os, "execv", _fake_execv(rec))
proxy_cli._reexec_with_malloc_tuning()
# No re-exec (vars present), but the guard is still stamped.
assert rec == {}
assert proxy_cli.os.environ.get("_HEADROOM_MALLOC_TUNED") == "1"
def test_reexec_sets_vars_and_execs_once(monkeypatch):
monkeypatch.setattr(proxy_cli.sys, "platform", "darwin")
monkeypatch.setattr(proxy_cli.sys, "executable", "/usr/bin/python3")
monkeypatch.setattr(proxy_cli.sys, "argv", ["headroom", "proxy", "--port", "8787"])
rec: dict = {}
monkeypatch.setattr(proxy_cli.os, "execv", _fake_execv(rec))
with pytest.raises(_ExecCalled):
proxy_cli._reexec_with_malloc_tuning()
# The tuning knobs and the loop guard are exported to the replacement process.
assert proxy_cli.os.environ["MallocAggressiveMadvise"] == "1"
assert proxy_cli.os.environ["MallocLargeCache"] == "0"
assert proxy_cli.os.environ["_HEADROOM_MALLOC_TUNED"] == "1"
# Re-exec normalizes to `python -m headroom.cli <args>`, preserving the PID.
assert rec["path"] == "/usr/bin/python3"
assert rec["argv"] == ["/usr/bin/python3", "-m", "headroom.cli", "proxy", "--port", "8787"]
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
# malloc_trim.trim / trim_periodically
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
def test_trim_calls_platform_fn(monkeypatch):
def fake_fn(ptr, size): # noqa: ANN001 (mac signature)
return 4096
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim, "_resolve", lambda: ("darwin", fake_fn))
assert malloc_trim.trim() == 4096
def test_trim_never_runs_python_gc(monkeypatch):
# The periodic trim must NOT trigger a full cyclic collection: gc.collect()
# holds the GIL for a whole-heap traversal, which would stall the event loop
# even though the C purge itself is dispatched off-thread. Only the
# GIL-releasing allocator C call may run.
import gc
ran: list[str] = []
monkeypatch.setattr(gc, "collect", lambda *a, **k: ran.append("gc") or 0)
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim, "_resolve", lambda: ("glibc", lambda _size: 0))
malloc_trim.trim()
assert ran == []
def test_trim_is_noop_on_unsupported_platform(monkeypatch):
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim, "_resolve", lambda: ("unsupported", None))
assert malloc_trim.trim() == 0
def test_trim_periodically_trims_each_interval(monkeypatch):
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim, "_resolve", lambda: ("glibc", object()))
trims: list[int] = []
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim, "trim", lambda: trims.append(1) or 0)
async def fake_sleep(_seconds):
if len(trims) >= 2: # let two ticks run, then break the loop
raise asyncio.CancelledError
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim.asyncio, "sleep", fake_sleep)
with pytest.raises(asyncio.CancelledError):
asyncio.run(malloc_trim.trim_periodically(interval_seconds=1))
assert len(trims) == 2
def test_trim_periodically_is_disabled_on_unsupported_platform(monkeypatch):
# No supported trim call: the task must return at once, never scheduling a
# wakeup (so it is a true no-op on Windows/musl, not a 60s spinner).
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim, "_resolve", lambda: ("unsupported", None))
trims: list[int] = []
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim, "trim", lambda: trims.append(1) or 0)
async def _no_sleep(_seconds):
raise AssertionError("unsupported platform must not schedule a trim wakeup")
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim.asyncio, "sleep", _no_sleep)
asyncio.run(malloc_trim.trim_periodically(interval_seconds=60)) # returns, no raise
assert trims == []
@pytest.mark.parametrize("bad_interval", [0, -5])
def test_trim_periodically_rejects_non_positive_interval(monkeypatch, bad_interval):
# A non-positive interval would make asyncio.sleep return immediately and
# spin a continuous collect/trim loop; it must fall back to the default.
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim, "_resolve", lambda: ("glibc", object()))
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim, "trim", lambda: 0)
slept: list[float] = []
async def capture_sleep(seconds):
slept.append(seconds)
raise asyncio.CancelledError # stop after the first sleep
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim.asyncio, "sleep", capture_sleep)
with pytest.raises(asyncio.CancelledError):
asyncio.run(malloc_trim.trim_periodically(interval_seconds=bad_interval))
assert slept == [malloc_trim._DEFAULT_TRIM_INTERVAL_SECONDS]
def test_trim_runs_off_the_event_loop_thread(monkeypatch):
# The blocking trim must run in a worker thread (via asyncio.to_thread), not
# on the event loop, so a slow trim cannot stall other async work.
import threading
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim, "_resolve", lambda: ("glibc", object()))
seen: dict[str, int] = {}
def record():
seen["thread"] = threading.get_ident()
return 0
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim, "trim", record)
calls = {"n": 0}
async def sleeper(_seconds):
calls["n"] += 1
if calls["n"] >= 2: # first sleep returns; after the trim, stop
raise asyncio.CancelledError
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim.asyncio, "sleep", sleeper)
async def _run() -> int:
loop_thread = threading.get_ident()
with pytest.raises(asyncio.CancelledError):
await malloc_trim.trim_periodically(interval_seconds=60)
return loop_thread
loop_thread = asyncio.run(_run())
assert "thread" in seen # trim actually ran
assert seen["thread"] != loop_thread # ran off the event-loop thread
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_slow_trim_does_not_stop_unrelated_async_work(monkeypatch):
# The periodic trim is dispatched off the event-loop thread via
# asyncio.to_thread and runs no Python gc.collect(), so even a slow purge
# must not freeze the loop. It is modeled here with a worker-thread park
# which, like the real GIL-releasing allocator C call, does not hold the
# GIL while it waits: unrelated coroutines keep making progress meanwhile.
import threading
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim, "_resolve", lambda: ("glibc", object()))
started = threading.Event()
release = threading.Event()
def slow_trim() -> int:
started.set()
release.wait(5.0) # hold the worker thread until the test lets go
return 0
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim, "trim", slow_trim)
# Fire the trim's interval immediately (the interval is >= 1s) while leaving
# the counter's sub-second sleeps to behave normally.
real_sleep = asyncio.sleep
async def smart_sleep(seconds):
if seconds >= 1:
return
await real_sleep(seconds)
monkeypatch.setattr(malloc_trim.asyncio, "sleep", smart_sleep)
ticks = 0
async def counter() -> None:
nonlocal ticks
while True:
await real_sleep(0.005)
ticks += 1
counter_task = asyncio.create_task(counter())
trim_task = asyncio.create_task(malloc_trim.trim_periodically(interval_seconds=60))
try:
# Wait for the trim to actually start blocking a worker thread.
for _ in range(400):
if started.is_set():
break
await real_sleep(0.005)
assert started.is_set(), "trim never started"
# The trim is now parked off-loop. The event loop must keep ticking.
ticks_before = ticks
await real_sleep(0.2)
ticks_during_trim = ticks - ticks_before
finally:
release.set()
counter_task.cancel()
trim_task.cancel()
# On-loop blocking would freeze the counter (~0 ticks); off-thread it keeps
# ticking (~40 in 0.2s). Generous floor for scheduler jitter.
assert ticks_during_trim >= 10
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
# ProxyConfig wiring
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
def test_proxy_config_malloc_trim_default_is_darwin_scoped(monkeypatch):
# Default-on only on macOS (the platform with the documented RSS ratchet);
# elsewhere it is opt-in, so glibc deployments do not silently take on a
# once-a-minute allocator purge.
from headroom.proxy import models
monkeypatch.setattr(models.sys, "platform", "darwin")
assert models.ProxyConfig().periodic_malloc_trim_enabled is True
monkeypatch.setattr(models.sys, "platform", "linux")
assert models.ProxyConfig().periodic_malloc_trim_enabled is False
# The interval knob is platform-independent.
assert models.ProxyConfig().malloc_trim_interval_seconds == 60