From: "Kristofer Karlsson via GitGitGadget" <gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
To: git@vger.kernel.org
Cc: Kristofer Karlsson <krka@spotify.com>,
Kristofer Karlsson <krka@spotify.com>
Subject: [PATCH v2] commit-reach: early exit paint_down_to_common for single merge-base
Date: Mon, 11 May 2026 06:19:08 +0000 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <pull.2109.v2.git.1778480348118.gitgitgadget@gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <pull.2109.git.1778252837132.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
From: Kristofer Karlsson <krka@spotify.com>
Commits not in the commit-graph get GENERATION_NUMBER_INFINITY and
sort to the top of the priority queue. After those, commits with
finite generation numbers are popped in non-increasing order.
When find_all is false the first doubly-painted commit with a
finite generation is therefore a best merge-base: no commit still
in the queue can be a descendant of it. Skip the expensive STALE
drain in this case.
Add find_all parameter to repo_get_merge_bases_many_dirty() and
thread it through to paint_down_to_common(). git merge-base
(without --all) passes show_all=0, triggering the early exit.
On a 2.2M-commit merge-heavy monorepo with commit-graph:
HEAD vs ~500: 5,229ms -> 24ms
HEAD vs ~1000: 4,214ms -> 39ms
HEAD vs ~5000: 3,799ms -> 46ms
HEAD vs ~10000: 3,827ms -> 61ms
Signed-off-by: Kristofer Karlsson <krka@spotify.com>
---
[RFC] commit-reach: skip STALE drain when only one merge-base needed
Context for what this is all about.
I am working with a very large git monorepo and have been investigating
performance issues. After some digging I ended up looking more deeply
into git merge-base. I saw it had an --all parameter but the default is
to only return a single merge-base. Looking through the code and adding
debug timing, I realized that although the total time to compute the
merge-base was high, a very small amount of time was spent finding the
initial merge-base value that was later returned.
The optimization is actually quite dramatic in a large repo - runtime
went down from 5000ms to 50ms, so it's roughly a 100x optimization. This
comes from an exploding frontier of STALE commits to drain.
Thus, my idea is simply to return early from the function once we know
what will be returned. This only works if we find a candidate that we
know will not be pruned later - but fortunately if we have a commit
graph with generations we will visit commits in order such that it will
actually not be pruned.
CC: Derrick Stolee stolee@gmail.com
Changes since v1 (thanks Junio for the review):
* Dropped the has_gens variable entirely. If a commit has a finite
generation then it is in the commit-graph, and so are all its
ancestors — no additional check is needed to know the queue ordering
is sound. Without a commit-graph every commit gets INFINITY and the
guard never fires. This also avoids the misleading interaction with
callers that pass non-zero min_generation without having generation
data.
* Simplified the early exit guard from three conditions to two:
!find_all && generation < GENERATION_NUMBER_INFINITY.
* Fixed multi-line comment style per CodingGuidelines.
* Replaced "dominate" with concrete reasoning about queue ordering.
* Did not extract a helper function: after the simplifications above
the inner block is four lines and reads naturally inline. The right
boundary for a helper is not obvious (it could absorb just the result
marking, or also the RESULT flag check, or also the PARENT1|PARENT2
test) and each level requires more local state passed by pointer.
Happy to extract one if preferred.
Published-As: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/releases/tag/pr-2109%2Fspkrka%2Fmerge-base-early-exit-v2
Fetch-It-Via: git fetch https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git pr-2109/spkrka/merge-base-early-exit-v2
Pull-Request: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/pull/2109
Range-diff vs v1:
1: 54cdf9bfd9 ! 1: f7b5c267f3 commit-reach: early exit paint_down_to_common for single merge-base
@@ Metadata
## Commit message ##
commit-reach: early exit paint_down_to_common for single merge-base
- When find_all is false and generation numbers are available, the
- priority queue pops in non-increasing generation order. The first
- doubly-painted commit is a valid best merge-base; no later commit
- can dominate it. Skip the expensive STALE drain in this case.
-
- The early exit is guarded by three conditions: find_all must be
- false, the commit-graph must provide generation numbers, and the
- merge-base commit itself must have a finite generation (not
- GENERATION_NUMBER_INFINITY from being outside the commit-graph).
+ Commits not in the commit-graph get GENERATION_NUMBER_INFINITY and
+ sort to the top of the priority queue. After those, commits with
+ finite generation numbers are popped in non-increasing order.
+ When find_all is false the first doubly-painted commit with a
+ finite generation is therefore a best merge-base: no commit still
+ in the queue can be a descendant of it. Skip the expensive STALE
+ drain in this case.
Add find_all parameter to repo_get_merge_bases_many_dirty() and
thread it through to paint_down_to_common(). git merge-base
@@ commit-reach.c: static int paint_down_to_common(struct repository *r,
struct commit_list **result)
{
struct prio_queue queue = { compare_commits_by_gen_then_commit_date };
- int i;
-+ int has_gens = min_generation || corrected_commit_dates_enabled(r);
- timestamp_t last_gen = GENERATION_NUMBER_INFINITY;
- struct commit_list **tail = result;
-
-- if (!min_generation && !corrected_commit_dates_enabled(r))
-+ if (!has_gens)
- queue.compare = compare_commits_by_commit_date;
-
- one->object.flags |= PARENT1;
@@ commit-reach.c: static int paint_down_to_common(struct repository *r,
if (!(commit->object.flags & RESULT)) {
commit->object.flags |= RESULT;
tail = commit_list_append(commit, tail);
-+ /* Generation-ordered queue: no later
-+ * commit can dominate this one. */
-+ if (!find_all && has_gens &&
++ /*
++ * The queue is generation-ordered; no
++ * remaining common ancestor can be a
++ * descendant of this one.
++ */
++ if (!find_all &&
+ generation < GENERATION_NUMBER_INFINITY)
+ break;
}
@@ commit-reach.h: int repo_get_merge_bases_many(struct repository *r,
struct commit **twos,
struct commit_list **result);
-/* To be used only when object flags after this call no longer matter */
-+/* To be used only when object flags after this call no longer matter.
++/*
++ * To be used only when object flags after this call no longer matter.
+ * When find_all is false and generation numbers are available, returns
-+ * after finding the first merge-base, skipping the STALE drain. */
++ * after finding the first merge-base, skipping the STALE drain.
++ */
int repo_get_merge_bases_many_dirty(struct repository *r,
struct commit *one, size_t n,
struct commit **twos,
builtin/merge-base.c | 3 +-
commit-reach.c | 26 ++++++---
commit-reach.h | 7 ++-
t/t6010-merge-base.sh | 119 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
t/t6600-test-reach.sh | 40 ++++++++++++++
5 files changed, 186 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
diff --git a/builtin/merge-base.c b/builtin/merge-base.c
index c7ee97fa6a..6b9d42f596 100644
--- a/builtin/merge-base.c
+++ b/builtin/merge-base.c
@@ -14,7 +14,8 @@ static int show_merge_base(struct commit **rev, size_t rev_nr, int show_all)
struct commit_list *result = NULL, *r;
if (repo_get_merge_bases_many_dirty(the_repository, rev[0],
- rev_nr - 1, rev + 1, &result) < 0) {
+ rev_nr - 1, rev + 1,
+ show_all, &result) < 0) {
commit_list_free(result);
return -1;
}
diff --git a/commit-reach.c b/commit-reach.c
index d3a9b3ed6f..b4ca00bb7e 100644
--- a/commit-reach.c
+++ b/commit-reach.c
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ static int paint_down_to_common(struct repository *r,
struct commit **twos,
timestamp_t min_generation,
int ignore_missing_commits,
+ int find_all,
struct commit_list **result)
{
struct prio_queue queue = { compare_commits_by_gen_then_commit_date };
@@ -97,6 +98,14 @@ static int paint_down_to_common(struct repository *r,
if (!(commit->object.flags & RESULT)) {
commit->object.flags |= RESULT;
tail = commit_list_append(commit, tail);
+ /*
+ * The queue is generation-ordered; no
+ * remaining common ancestor can be a
+ * descendant of this one.
+ */
+ if (!find_all &&
+ generation < GENERATION_NUMBER_INFINITY)
+ break;
}
/* Mark parents of a found merge stale */
flags |= STALE;
@@ -136,6 +145,7 @@ static int paint_down_to_common(struct repository *r,
static int merge_bases_many(struct repository *r,
struct commit *one, int n,
struct commit **twos,
+ int find_all,
struct commit_list **result)
{
struct commit_list *list = NULL, **tail = result;
@@ -165,7 +175,7 @@ static int merge_bases_many(struct repository *r,
oid_to_hex(&twos[i]->object.oid));
}
- if (paint_down_to_common(r, one, n, twos, 0, 0, &list)) {
+ if (paint_down_to_common(r, one, n, twos, 0, 0, find_all, &list)) {
commit_list_free(list);
return -1;
}
@@ -246,7 +256,7 @@ static int remove_redundant_no_gen(struct repository *r,
min_generation = curr_generation;
}
if (paint_down_to_common(r, array[i], filled,
- work, min_generation, 0, &common)) {
+ work, min_generation, 0, 1, &common)) {
clear_commit_marks(array[i], all_flags);
clear_commit_marks_many(filled, work, all_flags);
commit_list_free(common);
@@ -425,6 +435,7 @@ static int get_merge_bases_many_0(struct repository *r,
size_t n,
struct commit **twos,
int cleanup,
+ int find_all,
struct commit_list **result)
{
struct commit_list *list, **tail = result;
@@ -432,7 +443,7 @@ static int get_merge_bases_many_0(struct repository *r,
size_t cnt, i;
int ret;
- if (merge_bases_many(r, one, n, twos, result) < 0)
+ if (merge_bases_many(r, one, n, twos, find_all, result) < 0)
return -1;
for (i = 0; i < n; i++) {
if (one == twos[i])
@@ -475,16 +486,17 @@ int repo_get_merge_bases_many(struct repository *r,
struct commit **twos,
struct commit_list **result)
{
- return get_merge_bases_many_0(r, one, n, twos, 1, result);
+ return get_merge_bases_many_0(r, one, n, twos, 1, 1, result);
}
int repo_get_merge_bases_many_dirty(struct repository *r,
struct commit *one,
size_t n,
struct commit **twos,
+ int find_all,
struct commit_list **result)
{
- return get_merge_bases_many_0(r, one, n, twos, 0, result);
+ return get_merge_bases_many_0(r, one, n, twos, 0, find_all, result);
}
int repo_get_merge_bases(struct repository *r,
@@ -492,7 +504,7 @@ int repo_get_merge_bases(struct repository *r,
struct commit *two,
struct commit_list **result)
{
- return get_merge_bases_many_0(r, one, 1, &two, 1, result);
+ return get_merge_bases_many_0(r, one, 1, &two, 1, 1, result);
}
/*
@@ -555,7 +567,7 @@ int repo_in_merge_bases_many(struct repository *r, struct commit *commit,
if (paint_down_to_common(r, commit,
nr_reference, reference,
- generation, ignore_missing_commits, &bases))
+ generation, ignore_missing_commits, 1, &bases))
ret = -1;
else if (commit->object.flags & PARENT2)
ret = 1;
diff --git a/commit-reach.h b/commit-reach.h
index 6012402dfc..c3b570a5cc 100644
--- a/commit-reach.h
+++ b/commit-reach.h
@@ -17,10 +17,15 @@ int repo_get_merge_bases_many(struct repository *r,
struct commit *one, size_t n,
struct commit **twos,
struct commit_list **result);
-/* To be used only when object flags after this call no longer matter */
+/*
+ * To be used only when object flags after this call no longer matter.
+ * When find_all is false and generation numbers are available, returns
+ * after finding the first merge-base, skipping the STALE drain.
+ */
int repo_get_merge_bases_many_dirty(struct repository *r,
struct commit *one, size_t n,
struct commit **twos,
+ int find_all,
struct commit_list **result);
int get_octopus_merge_bases(struct commit_list *in, struct commit_list **result);
diff --git a/t/t6010-merge-base.sh b/t/t6010-merge-base.sh
index 44c726ea39..f6c85d4f53 100755
--- a/t/t6010-merge-base.sh
+++ b/t/t6010-merge-base.sh
@@ -305,4 +305,123 @@ test_expect_success 'merge-base --octopus --all for complex tree' '
test_cmp expected actual
'
+# The following tests verify that "git merge-base" (without --all)
+# returns the same result with and without a commit-graph.
+# This exercises the early-exit optimisation in paint_down_to_common
+# that skips the STALE drain when generation numbers are available.
+
+test_expect_success 'setup for commit-graph tests' '
+ git init graph-repo &&
+ (
+ cd graph-repo &&
+
+ # Build a forked DAG:
+ #
+ # L1---L2 (left)
+ # /
+ # S
+ # \
+ # R1---R2 (right)
+ #
+ test_commit GS &&
+ git checkout -b left &&
+ test_commit L1 &&
+ test_commit L2 &&
+ git checkout GS &&
+ git checkout -b right &&
+ test_commit GR1 &&
+ test_commit GR2
+ )
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'merge-base without commit-graph' '
+ (
+ cd graph-repo &&
+ rm -f .git/objects/info/commit-graph &&
+ git merge-base left right >actual &&
+ git rev-parse GS >expected &&
+ test_cmp expected actual
+ )
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'merge-base with commit-graph' '
+ (
+ cd graph-repo &&
+ git commit-graph write --reachable &&
+ git merge-base left right >actual &&
+ git rev-parse GS >expected &&
+ test_cmp expected actual
+ )
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'merge-base --all with commit-graph' '
+ (
+ cd graph-repo &&
+ git merge-base --all left right >actual &&
+ git rev-parse GS >expected &&
+ test_cmp expected actual
+ )
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'merge-base agrees with --all for single result' '
+ (
+ cd graph-repo &&
+ git commit-graph write --reachable &&
+ git merge-base left right >actual.single &&
+ git merge-base --all left right >actual.all &&
+ test_cmp actual.all actual.single
+ )
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'setup for deep chain commit-graph test' '
+ git init deep-repo &&
+ (
+ cd deep-repo &&
+
+ # Build a deep forked DAG:
+ #
+ # L1--L2--...--L20 (left)
+ # /
+ # S
+ # \
+ # R1--R2--...--R20 (right)
+ #
+ test_commit DS &&
+ git checkout -b left &&
+ for i in $(test_seq 1 20)
+ do
+ test_commit DL$i || return 1
+ done &&
+ git checkout DS &&
+ git checkout -b right &&
+ for i in $(test_seq 1 20)
+ do
+ test_commit DR$i || return 1
+ done
+ )
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'deep chain: merge-base matches with and without commit-graph' '
+ (
+ cd deep-repo &&
+ rm -f .git/objects/info/commit-graph &&
+ git merge-base left right >actual.no-graph &&
+ git rev-parse DS >expected &&
+ test_cmp expected actual.no-graph &&
+ git commit-graph write --reachable &&
+ git merge-base left right >actual.graph &&
+ test_cmp expected actual.graph
+ )
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'deep chain: --all and non---all agree with commit-graph' '
+ (
+ cd deep-repo &&
+ git commit-graph write --reachable &&
+ git merge-base left right >actual.single &&
+ git merge-base --all left right >actual.all &&
+ test_cmp actual.all actual.single
+ )
+'
+
test_done
diff --git a/t/t6600-test-reach.sh b/t/t6600-test-reach.sh
index dc0421ed2f..51c23b7683 100755
--- a/t/t6600-test-reach.sh
+++ b/t/t6600-test-reach.sh
@@ -882,4 +882,44 @@ test_expect_success 'rev-list --maximal-only matches merge-base --independent' '
test_cmp expect.sorted actual.sorted
'
+# The following tests verify the early-exit optimisation in
+# paint_down_to_common when merge-base is invoked without --all.
+# Each test checks all four commit-graph configurations.
+
+merge_base_all_modes () {
+ test_when_finished rm -rf .git/objects/info/commit-graph &&
+ git merge-base "$@" >actual &&
+ test_cmp expect actual &&
+ cp commit-graph-full .git/objects/info/commit-graph &&
+ git merge-base "$@" >actual &&
+ test_cmp expect actual &&
+ cp commit-graph-half .git/objects/info/commit-graph &&
+ git merge-base "$@" >actual &&
+ test_cmp expect actual &&
+ cp commit-graph-no-gdat .git/objects/info/commit-graph &&
+ git merge-base "$@" >actual &&
+ test_cmp expect actual
+}
+
+test_expect_success 'merge-base without --all (unique base)' '
+ git rev-parse commit-5-3 >expect &&
+ merge_base_all_modes commit-5-7 commit-8-3
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'merge-base without --all is one of --all results' '
+ test_when_finished rm -rf .git/objects/info/commit-graph &&
+
+ cp commit-graph-full .git/objects/info/commit-graph &&
+ git merge-base --all commit-5-7 commit-4-8 commit-6-6 commit-8-3 >all &&
+ git merge-base commit-5-7 commit-4-8 commit-6-6 commit-8-3 >single &&
+ test_line_count = 1 single &&
+ grep -F -f single all &&
+
+ cp commit-graph-half .git/objects/info/commit-graph &&
+ git merge-base --all commit-5-7 commit-4-8 commit-6-6 commit-8-3 >all &&
+ git merge-base commit-5-7 commit-4-8 commit-6-6 commit-8-3 >single &&
+ test_line_count = 1 single &&
+ grep -F -f single all
+'
+
test_done
base-commit: 94f057755b7941b321fd11fec1b2e3ca5313a4e0
--
gitgitgadget
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-05-11 6:19 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 11+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-05-08 15:07 [PATCH] commit-reach: early exit paint_down_to_common for single merge-base Kristofer Karlsson via GitGitGadget
2026-05-11 2:08 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-05-11 6:19 ` Kristofer Karlsson via GitGitGadget [this message]
2026-05-11 7:22 ` [PATCH v2] " Patrick Steinhardt
2026-05-11 11:22 ` [PATCH v3] " Kristofer Karlsson via GitGitGadget
2026-05-11 12:04 ` Patrick Steinhardt
2026-05-11 12:59 ` [PATCH v4 0/2] [RFC] commit-reach: skip STALE drain when only one merge-base needed Kristofer Karlsson via GitGitGadget
2026-05-11 12:59 ` [PATCH v4 1/2] commit-reach: introduce merge_base_flags enum Kristofer Karlsson via GitGitGadget
2026-05-11 12:59 ` [PATCH v4 2/2] commit-reach: early exit paint_down_to_common for single merge-base Kristofer Karlsson via GitGitGadget
2026-05-12 0:40 ` Junio C Hamano
2026-05-12 5:16 ` Kristofer Karlsson
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