Go context

Go Context

context.Context controls cancellation, deadlines, and request-scoped values across API boundaries. Misusing it causes goroutine leaks, orphaned work, and subtle production bugs.

1. Core Rules

Context is always the first parameter:

// ✅ Good — context is first
func GetUser(ctx context.Context, id string) (*User, error)
func (s *Service) Process(ctx context.Context, req Request) error

// ❌ Bad — context buried in the middle or end
func GetUser(id string, ctx context.Context) (*User, error)
func Process(req Request, ctx context.Context) error

NEVER store context in a struct:

// ❌ Bad — context stored in struct
type Server struct {
    ctx    context.Context // NEVER do this
    cancel context.CancelFunc
}

// ✅ Good — pass context through method parameters
func (s *Server) Shutdown(ctx context.Context) error {
    return s.httpServer.Shutdown(ctx)
}

Context represents the lifetime of a single operation, not the lifetime of an object.

NEVER pass nil context:

// ❌ Bad
doSomething(nil, data)

// ✅ Good — use context.TODO() if unsure which context to use
doSomething(context.TODO(), data)

// ✅ Good — use context.Background() for top-level/main
doSomething(context.Background(), data)

2. Cancellation

Always defer cancel:

// ✅ Good — cancel called even if operation succeeds
ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(parentCtx)
defer cancel()

result, err := longOperation(ctx)

Failing to call cancel leaks resources (timers, goroutines) until the parent context is cancelled.

Use WithCancel for manual cancellation:

func (s *Supervisor) Run(ctx context.Context) error {
    ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(ctx)
    defer cancel()

    g, ctx := errgroup.WithContext(ctx)

    g.Go(func() error { return s.runWorkerA(ctx) })
    g.Go(func() error { return s.runWorkerB(ctx) })

    // If any worker returns an error, errgroup cancels ctx,
    // which signals all other workers to stop.
    return g.Wait()
}

Check context cancellation in loops:

// ✅ Good — respects cancellation
func processItems(ctx context.Context, items []Item) error {
    for _, item := range items {
        if err := ctx.Err(); err != nil {
            return fmt.Errorf("processing cancelled: %w", err)
        }
        if err := process(ctx, item); err != nil {
            return fmt.Errorf("process item %s: %w", item.ID, err)
        }
    }
    return nil
}

// ❌ Bad — runs to completion even if cancelled
func processItems(ctx context.Context, items []Item) error {
    for _, item := range items {
        process(ctx, item) // ignores ctx cancellation between items
    }
    return nil
}

3. Timeouts and Deadlines

WithTimeout for duration-based limits:

func (c *Client) FetchUser(ctx context.Context, id string) (*User, error) {
    ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 5*time.Second)
    defer cancel()

    req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodGet, c.url+"/users/"+id, nil)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("create request: %w", err)
    }

    resp, err := c.httpClient.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("fetch user %s: %w", id, err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    // ...
}

WithDeadline for absolute time limits:

// Use when coordinating with external deadlines (SLAs, cron windows)
deadline := time.Date(2024, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
ctx, cancel := context.WithDeadline(ctx, deadline)
defer cancel()

Timeout budgets — don't exceed parent timeout:

// ✅ Good — child timeout shorter than parent
func handler(ctx context.Context) error {
    // Parent has 30s timeout (from HTTP server)

    // Give DB query 5s of the 30s budget
    dbCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 5*time.Second)
    defer cancel()
    data, err := db.QueryContext(dbCtx, query)

    // Give external API 10s of the remaining budget
    apiCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 10*time.Second)
    defer cancel()
    result, err := client.Call(apiCtx, data)

    return nil
}

// ❌ Bad — child timeout exceeds parent (silently capped anyway)
ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(parentCtx, 60*time.Second) // parent has 5s left
// This timeout is 60s but will actually fire at parent's deadline

Check if deadline exists:

if deadline, ok := ctx.Deadline(); ok {
    remaining := time.Until(deadline)
    if remaining < minRequired {
        return fmt.Errorf("insufficient time remaining: %v", remaining)
    }
}

4. Context Values

Use sparingly — only for request-scoped metadata:

// ✅ Appropriate uses:
// - Request ID
// - Trace/span ID
// - Authenticated user info
// - Request-scoped logger

// ❌ Bad uses:
// - Database connections (use dependency injection)
// - Configuration (use struct fields)
// - Function parameters (pass explicitly)

Use unexported key types to prevent collisions:

// ✅ Good — unexported type prevents key collisions
type contextKey struct{}

var requestIDKey = contextKey{}

func WithRequestID(ctx context.Context, id string) context.Context {
    return context.WithValue(ctx, requestIDKey, id)
}

func RequestID(ctx context.Context) string {
    id, _ := ctx.Value(requestIDKey).(string)
    return id
}

// ❌ Bad — string keys risk collisions across packages
ctx = context.WithValue(ctx, "request_id", id) // any package could overwrite this

Always provide accessor functions — never expose the key:

// ✅ Good — clean API with accessors
rid := middleware.RequestID(ctx)

// ❌ Bad — exposes internal key type
rid := ctx.Value(requestIDKey).(string) // caller needs key, risks panic on nil

5. Context in HTTP Handlers

Use r.Context() for the request context:

func (h *Handler) GetUser(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    ctx := r.Context() // carries cancellation when client disconnects

    user, err := h.service.GetUser(ctx, id)
    if err != nil {
        if errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
            return // client disconnected, no point writing response
        }
        // handle error...
    }
    // ...
}

Attach values via middleware:

func AuthMiddleware(next http.Handler) http.Handler {
    return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
        user, err := authenticate(r)
        if err != nil {
            http.Error(w, "unauthorized", http.StatusUnauthorized)
            return
        }
        ctx := WithUser(r.Context(), user)
        next.ServeHTTP(w, r.WithContext(ctx))
    })
}

6. Context in Testing

Use context with timeout in tests to prevent hangs:

func TestSlowOperation(t *testing.T) {
    ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 10*time.Second)
    defer cancel()

    result, err := slowOperation(ctx)
    if err != nil {
        t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
    }
    // assert result...
}

Test cancellation behavior:

func TestCancellation(t *testing.T) {
    ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
    cancel() // cancel immediately

    _, err := operation(ctx)
    if !errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
        t.Errorf("expected context.Canceled, got %v", err)
    }
}

7. context.Background() vs context.TODO()

Function	When to use
context.Background()	Top-level: main(), init(), test setup. Intentional root context.
context.TODO()	Placeholder when you don't know which context to use yet. Signals "this needs to be fixed".

context.TODO() is a code smell in production code — replace it before shipping.

Verification Checklist

1. context.Context is the first parameter in all functions that accept it
2. No context stored in struct fields
3. defer cancel() called immediately after WithCancel, WithTimeout, WithDeadline
4. Long loops check ctx.Err() between iterations
5. Child timeouts don't exceed parent timeout budget
6. Context values use unexported key types with accessor functions
7. Only request-scoped metadata stored in context values (not configs, connections)
8. HTTP handlers use r.Context() and pass it downstream
9. No nil context passed — use context.TODO() or context.Background()
10. Tests use context.WithTimeout to prevent hanging