[//]: # (title: Coroutine context and dispatchers) Coroutines always execute in some context represented by a value of the [CoroutineContext](https://kotlinlang.org/api/latest/jvm/stdlib/kotlin.coroutines/-coroutine-context/) type, defined in the Kotlin standard library. The coroutine context is a set of various elements. The main elements are the [Job] of the coroutine, which we've seen before, and its dispatcher, which is covered in this section. ## Dispatchers and threads The coroutine context includes a _coroutine dispatcher_ (see [CoroutineDispatcher]) that determines what thread or threads the corresponding coroutine uses for its execution. The coroutine dispatcher can confine coroutine execution to a specific thread, dispatch it to a thread pool, or let it run unconfined. All coroutine builders like [launch] and [async] accept an optional [CoroutineContext](https://kotlinlang.org/api/latest/jvm/stdlib/kotlin.coroutines/-coroutine-context/) parameter that can be used to explicitly specify the dispatcher for the new coroutine and other context elements. Try the following example: ```kotlin import kotlinx.coroutines.* fun main() = runBlocking { //sampleStart launch { // context of the parent, main runBlocking coroutine println("main runBlocking : I'm working in thread ${Thread.currentThread().name}") } launch(Dispatchers.Unconfined) { // not confined -- will work with main thread println("Unconfined : I'm working in thread ${Thread.currentThread().name}") } launch(Dispatchers.Default) { // will get dispatched to DefaultDispatcher println("Default : I'm working in thread ${Thread.currentThread().name}") } launch(newSingleThreadContext("MyOwnThread")) { // will get its own new thread println("newSingleThreadContext: I'm working in thread ${Thread.currentThread().name}") } //sampleEnd } ``` {kotlin-runnable="true" kotlin-min-compiler-version="1.3"} > You can get the full code [here](../../kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-context-01.kt). > {type="note"} It produces the following output (maybe in different order): ```text Unconfined : I'm working in thread main Default : I'm working in thread DefaultDispatcher-worker-1 newSingleThreadContext: I'm working in thread MyOwnThread main runBlocking : I'm working in thread main ``` When `launch { ... }` is used without parameters, it inherits the context (and thus dispatcher) from the [CoroutineScope] it is being launched from. In this case, it inherits the context of the main `runBlocking` coroutine which runs in the `main` thread. [Dispatchers.Unconfined] is a special dispatcher that also appears to run in the `main` thread, but it is, in fact, a different mechanism that is explained later. The default dispatcher is used when no other dispatcher is explicitly specified in the scope. It is represented by [Dispatchers.Default] and uses a shared background pool of threads. [newSingleThreadContext] creates a thread for the coroutine to run. A dedicated thread is a very expensive resource. In a real application it must be either released, when no longer needed, using the [close][ExecutorCoroutineDispatcher.close] function, or stored in a top-level variable and reused throughout the application. ## Unconfined vs confined dispatcher The [Dispatchers.Unconfined] coroutine dispatcher starts a coroutine in the caller thread, but only until the first suspension point. After suspension it resumes the coroutine in the thread that is fully determined by the suspending function that was invoked. The unconfined dispatcher is appropriate for coroutines which neither consume CPU time nor update any shared data (like UI) confined to a specific thread. On the other side, the dispatcher is inherited from the outer [CoroutineScope] by default. The default dispatcher for the [runBlocking] coroutine, in particular, is confined to the invoker thread, so inheriting it has the effect of confining execution to this thread with predictable FIFO scheduling. ```kotlin import kotlinx.coroutines.* fun main() = runBlocking { //sampleStart launch(Dispatchers.Unconfined) { // not confined -- will work with main thread println("Unconfined : I'm working in thread ${Thread.currentThread().name}") delay(500) println("Unconfined : After delay in thread ${Thread.currentThread().name}") } launch { // context of the parent, main runBlocking coroutine println("main runBlocking: I'm working in thread ${Thread.currentThread().name}") delay(1000) println("main runBlocking: After delay in thread ${Thread.currentThread().name}") } //sampleEnd } ``` {kotlin-runnable="true" kotlin-min-compiler-version="1.3"} > You can get the full code [here](../../kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-context-02.kt). > {type="note"} Produces the output: ```text Unconfined : I'm working in thread main main runBlocking: I'm working in thread main Unconfined : After delay in thread kotlinx.coroutines.DefaultExecutor main runBlocking: After delay in thread main ``` So, the coroutine with the context inherited from `runBlocking {...}` continues to execute in the `main` thread, while the unconfined one resumes in the default executor thread that the [delay] function is using. > The unconfined dispatcher is an advanced mechanism that can be helpful in certain corner cases where > dispatching of a coroutine for its execution later is not needed or produces undesirable side-effects, > because some operation in a coroutine must be performed right away. > The unconfined dispatcher should not be used in general code. > {type="note"} ## Debugging coroutines and threads Coroutines can suspend on one thread and resume on another thread. Even with a single-threaded dispatcher it might be hard to figure out what the coroutine was doing, where, and when if you don't have special tooling. ### Debugging with IDEA The Coroutine Debugger of the Kotlin plugin simplifies debugging coroutines in IntelliJ IDEA. > Debugging works for versions 1.3.8 or later of `kotlinx-coroutines-core`. > {type="note"} The **Debug** tool window contains the **Coroutines** tab. In this tab, you can find information about both currently running and suspended coroutines. The coroutines are grouped by the dispatcher they are running on. ![Debugging coroutines](coroutine-idea-debugging-1.png){width=700} With the coroutine debugger, you can: * Check the state of each coroutine. * See the values of local and captured variables for both running and suspended coroutines. * See a full coroutine creation stack, as well as a call stack inside the coroutine. The stack includes all frames with variable values, even those that would be lost during standard debugging. * Get a full report that contains the state of each coroutine and its stack. To obtain it, right-click inside the **Coroutines** tab, and then click **Get Coroutines Dump**. To start coroutine debugging, you just need to set breakpoints and run the application in debug mode. Learn more about coroutines debugging in the [tutorial](https://kotlinlang.org/docs/tutorials/coroutines/debug-coroutines-with-idea.html). ### Debugging using logging Another approach to debugging applications with threads without Coroutine Debugger is to print the thread name in the log file on each log statement. This feature is universally supported by logging frameworks. When using coroutines, the thread name alone does not give much of a context, so `kotlinx.coroutines` includes debugging facilities to make it easier. Run the following code with `-Dkotlinx.coroutines.debug` JVM option: ```kotlin import kotlinx.coroutines.* fun log(msg: String) = println("[${Thread.currentThread().name}] $msg") fun main() = runBlocking { //sampleStart val a = async { log("I'm computing a piece of the answer") 6 } val b = async { log("I'm computing another piece of the answer") 7 } log("The answer is ${a.await() * b.await()}") //sampleEnd } ``` {kotlin-runnable="true" kotlin-min-compiler-version="1.3"} > You can get the full code [here](../../kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-context-03.kt). > {type="note"} There are three coroutines. The main coroutine (#1) inside `runBlocking` and two coroutines computing the deferred values `a` (#2) and `b` (#3). They are all executing in the context of `runBlocking` and are confined to the main thread. The output of this code is: ```text [main @coroutine#2] I'm computing a piece of the answer [main @coroutine#3] I'm computing another piece of the answer [main @coroutine#1] The answer is 42 ``` The `log` function prints the name of the thread in square brackets, and you can see that it is the `main` thread with the identifier of the currently executing coroutine appended to it. This identifier is consecutively assigned to all created coroutines when the debugging mode is on. > Debugging mode is also turned on when JVM is run with `-ea` option. > You can read more about debugging facilities in the documentation of the [DEBUG_PROPERTY_NAME] property. > {type="note"} ## Jumping between threads Run the following code with the `-Dkotlinx.coroutines.debug` JVM option (see [debug](#debugging-coroutines-and-threads)): ```kotlin import kotlinx.coroutines.* fun log(msg: String) = println("[${Thread.currentThread().name}] $msg") fun main() { //sampleStart newSingleThreadContext("Ctx1").use { ctx1 -> newSingleThreadContext("Ctx2").use { ctx2 -> runBlocking(ctx1) { log("Started in ctx1") withContext(ctx2) { log("Working in ctx2") } log("Back to ctx1") } } } //sampleEnd } ``` {kotlin-runnable="true" kotlin-min-compiler-version="1.3"} > You can get the full code [here](../../kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-context-04.kt). > {type="note"} It demonstrates several new techniques. One is using [runBlocking] with an explicitly specified context, and the other one is using the [withContext] function to change the context of a coroutine while still staying in the same coroutine, as you can see in the output below: ```text [Ctx1 @coroutine#1] Started in ctx1 [Ctx2 @coroutine#1] Working in ctx2 [Ctx1 @coroutine#1] Back to ctx1 ``` Note that this example also uses the `use` function from the Kotlin standard library to release threads created with [newSingleThreadContext] when they are no longer needed. ## Job in the context The coroutine's [Job] is part of its context, and can be retrieved from it using the `coroutineContext[Job]` expression: ```kotlin import kotlinx.coroutines.* fun main() = runBlocking { //sampleStart println("My job is ${coroutineContext[Job]}") //sampleEnd } ``` {kotlin-runnable="true" kotlin-min-compiler-version="1.3"} > You can get the full code [here](../../kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-context-05.kt). > {type="note"} In the [debug mode](#debugging-coroutines-and-threads), it outputs something like this: ``` My job is "coroutine#1":BlockingCoroutine{Active}@6d311334 ``` Note that [isActive] in [CoroutineScope] is just a convenient shortcut for `coroutineContext[Job]?.isActive == true`. ## Children of a coroutine When a coroutine is launched in the [CoroutineScope] of another coroutine, it inherits its context via [CoroutineScope.coroutineContext] and the [Job] of the new coroutine becomes a _child_ of the parent coroutine's job. When the parent coroutine is cancelled, all its children are recursively cancelled, too. However, this parent-child relation can be explicitly overriden in one of two ways: 1. When a different scope is explicitly specified when launching a coroutine (for example, `GlobalScope.launch`), then it does not inherit a `Job` from the parent scope. 2. When a different `Job` object is passed as the context for the new coroutine (as shown in the example below), then it overrides the `Job` of the parent scope. In both cases, the launched coroutine is not tied to the scope it was launched from and operates independently. ```kotlin import kotlinx.coroutines.* fun main() = runBlocking { //sampleStart // launch a coroutine to process some kind of incoming request val request = launch { // it spawns two other jobs launch(Job()) { println("job1: I run in my own Job and execute independently!") delay(1000) println("job1: I am not affected by cancellation of the request") } // and the other inherits the parent context launch { delay(100) println("job2: I am a child of the request coroutine") delay(1000) println("job2: I will not execute this line if my parent request is cancelled") } } delay(500) request.cancel() // cancel processing of the request println("main: Who has survived request cancellation?") delay(1000) // delay the main thread for a second to see what happens //sampleEnd } ``` {kotlin-runnable="true" kotlin-min-compiler-version="1.3"} > You can get the full code [here](../../kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-context-06.kt). > {type="note"} The output of this code is: ```text job1: I run in my own Job and execute independently! job2: I am a child of the request coroutine main: Who has survived request cancellation? job1: I am not affected by cancellation of the request ``` ## Parental responsibilities A parent coroutine always waits for completion of all its children. A parent does not have to explicitly track all the children it launches, and it does not have to use [Job.join] to wait for them at the end: ```kotlin import kotlinx.coroutines.* fun main() = runBlocking { //sampleStart // launch a coroutine to process some kind of incoming request val request = launch { repeat(3) { i -> // launch a few children jobs launch { delay((i + 1) * 200L) // variable delay 200ms, 400ms, 600ms println("Coroutine $i is done") } } println("request: I'm done and I don't explicitly join my children that are still active") } request.join() // wait for completion of the request, including all its children println("Now processing of the request is complete") //sampleEnd } ``` {kotlin-runnable="true" kotlin-min-compiler-version="1.3"} > You can get the full code [here](../../kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-context-07.kt). > {type="note"} The result is going to be: ```text request: I'm done and I don't explicitly join my children that are still active Coroutine 0 is done Coroutine 1 is done Coroutine 2 is done Now processing of the request is complete ``` ## Naming coroutines for debugging Automatically assigned ids are good when coroutines log often and you just need to correlate log records coming from the same coroutine. However, when a coroutine is tied to the processing of a specific request or doing some specific background task, it is better to name it explicitly for debugging purposes. The [CoroutineName] context element serves the same purpose as the thread name. It is included in the thread name that is executing this coroutine when the [debugging mode](#debugging-coroutines-and-threads) is turned on. The following example demonstrates this concept: ```kotlin import kotlinx.coroutines.* fun log(msg: String) = println("[${Thread.currentThread().name}] $msg") fun main() = runBlocking(CoroutineName("main")) { //sampleStart log("Started main coroutine") // run two background value computations val v1 = async(CoroutineName("v1coroutine")) { delay(500) log("Computing v1") 252 } val v2 = async(CoroutineName("v2coroutine")) { delay(1000) log("Computing v2") 6 } log("The answer for v1 / v2 = ${v1.await() / v2.await()}") //sampleEnd } ``` {kotlin-runnable="true" kotlin-min-compiler-version="1.3"} > You can get the full code [here](../../kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-context-08.kt). > {type="note"} The output it produces with `-Dkotlinx.coroutines.debug` JVM option is similar to: ```text [main @main#1] Started main coroutine [main @v1coroutine#2] Computing v1 [main @v2coroutine#3] Computing v2 [main @main#1] The answer for v1 / v2 = 42 ``` ## Combining context elements Sometimes we need to define multiple elements for a coroutine context. We can use the `+` operator for that. For example, we can launch a coroutine with an explicitly specified dispatcher and an explicitly specified name at the same time: ```kotlin import kotlinx.coroutines.* fun main() = runBlocking { //sampleStart launch(Dispatchers.Default + CoroutineName("test")) { println("I'm working in thread ${Thread.currentThread().name}") } //sampleEnd } ``` {kotlin-runnable="true" kotlin-min-compiler-version="1.3"} > You can get the full code [here](../../kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-context-09.kt). > {type="note"} The output of this code with the `-Dkotlinx.coroutines.debug` JVM option is: ```text I'm working in thread DefaultDispatcher-worker-1 @test#2 ``` ## Coroutine scope Let us put our knowledge about contexts, children and jobs together. Assume that our application has an object with a lifecycle, but that object is not a coroutine. For example, we are writing an Android application and launch various coroutines in the context of an Android activity to perform asynchronous operations to fetch and update data, do animations, etc. All of these coroutines must be cancelled when the activity is destroyed to avoid memory leaks. We, of course, can manipulate contexts and jobs manually to tie the lifecycles of the activity and its coroutines, but `kotlinx.coroutines` provides an abstraction encapsulating that: [CoroutineScope]. You should be already familiar with the coroutine scope as all coroutine builders are declared as extensions on it. We manage the lifecycles of our coroutines by creating an instance of [CoroutineScope] tied to the lifecycle of our activity. A `CoroutineScope` instance can be created by the [CoroutineScope()] or [MainScope()] factory functions. The former creates a general-purpose scope, while the latter creates a scope for UI applications and uses [Dispatchers.Main] as the default dispatcher: ```kotlin class Activity { private val mainScope = MainScope() fun destroy() { mainScope.cancel() } // to be continued ... ``` Now, we can launch coroutines in the scope of this `Activity` using the defined `scope`. For the demo, we launch ten coroutines that delay for a different time: ```kotlin // class Activity continues fun doSomething() { // launch ten coroutines for a demo, each working for a different time repeat(10) { i -> mainScope.launch { delay((i + 1) * 200L) // variable delay 200ms, 400ms, ... etc println("Coroutine $i is done") } } } } // class Activity ends ``` In our main function we create the activity, call our test `doSomething` function, and destroy the activity after 500ms. This cancels all the coroutines that were launched from `doSomething`. We can see that because after the destruction of the activity no more messages are printed, even if we wait a little longer. ```kotlin import kotlinx.coroutines.* class Activity { private val mainScope = CoroutineScope(Dispatchers.Default) // use Default for test purposes fun destroy() { mainScope.cancel() } fun doSomething() { // launch ten coroutines for a demo, each working for a different time repeat(10) { i -> mainScope.launch { delay((i + 1) * 200L) // variable delay 200ms, 400ms, ... etc println("Coroutine $i is done") } } } } // class Activity ends fun main() = runBlocking { //sampleStart val activity = Activity() activity.doSomething() // run test function println("Launched coroutines") delay(500L) // delay for half a second println("Destroying activity!") activity.destroy() // cancels all coroutines delay(1000) // visually confirm that they don't work //sampleEnd } ``` {kotlin-runnable="true" kotlin-min-compiler-version="1.3"} > You can get the full code [here](../../kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-context-10.kt). > {type="note"} The output of this example is: ```text Launched coroutines Coroutine 0 is done Coroutine 1 is done Destroying activity! ``` As you can see, only the first two coroutines print a message and the others are cancelled by a single invocation of `job.cancel()` in `Activity.destroy()`. > Note, that Android has first-party support for coroutine scope in all entities with the lifecycle. > See [the corresponding documentation](https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/architecture/coroutines#lifecyclescope). > {type="note"} ### Thread-local data Sometimes it is convenient to have an ability to pass some thread-local data to or between coroutines. However, since they are not bound to any particular thread, this will likely lead to boilerplate if done manually. For [`ThreadLocal`](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/lang/ThreadLocal.html), the [asContextElement] extension function is here for the rescue. It creates an additional context element which keeps the value of the given `ThreadLocal` and restores it every time the coroutine switches its context. It is easy to demonstrate it in action: ```kotlin import kotlinx.coroutines.* val threadLocal = ThreadLocal() // declare thread-local variable fun main() = runBlocking { //sampleStart threadLocal.set("main") println("Pre-main, current thread: ${Thread.currentThread()}, thread local value: '${threadLocal.get()}'") val job = launch(Dispatchers.Default + threadLocal.asContextElement(value = "launch")) { println("Launch start, current thread: ${Thread.currentThread()}, thread local value: '${threadLocal.get()}'") yield() println("After yield, current thread: ${Thread.currentThread()}, thread local value: '${threadLocal.get()}'") } job.join() println("Post-main, current thread: ${Thread.currentThread()}, thread local value: '${threadLocal.get()}'") //sampleEnd } ``` {kotlin-runnable="true" kotlin-min-compiler-version="1.3"} > You can get the full code [here](../../kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-context-11.kt). > {type="note"} In this example we launch a new coroutine in a background thread pool using [Dispatchers.Default], so it works on a different thread from the thread pool, but it still has the value of the thread local variable that we specified using `threadLocal.asContextElement(value = "launch")`, no matter which thread the coroutine is executed on. Thus, the output (with [debug](#debugging-coroutines-and-threads)) is: ```text Pre-main, current thread: Thread[main @coroutine#1,5,main], thread local value: 'main' Launch start, current thread: Thread[DefaultDispatcher-worker-1 @coroutine#2,5,main], thread local value: 'launch' After yield, current thread: Thread[DefaultDispatcher-worker-2 @coroutine#2,5,main], thread local value: 'launch' Post-main, current thread: Thread[main @coroutine#1,5,main], thread local value: 'main' ``` It's easy to forget to set the corresponding context element. The thread-local variable accessed from the coroutine may then have an unexpected value, if the thread running the coroutine is different. To avoid such situations, it is recommended to use the [ensurePresent] method and fail-fast on improper usages. `ThreadLocal` has first-class support and can be used with any primitive `kotlinx.coroutines` provides. It has one key limitation, though: when a thread-local is mutated, a new value is not propagated to the coroutine caller (because a context element cannot track all `ThreadLocal` object accesses), and the updated value is lost on the next suspension. Use [withContext] to update the value of the thread-local in a coroutine, see [asContextElement] for more details. Alternatively, a value can be stored in a mutable box like `class Counter(var i: Int)`, which is, in turn, stored in a thread-local variable. However, in this case you are fully responsible to synchronize potentially concurrent modifications to the variable in this mutable box. For advanced usage, for example for integration with logging MDC, transactional contexts or any other libraries which internally use thread-locals for passing data, see the documentation of the [ThreadContextElement] interface that should be implemented. [Job]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/-job/index.html [CoroutineDispatcher]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/-coroutine-dispatcher/index.html [launch]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/launch.html [async]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/async.html [CoroutineScope]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/-coroutine-scope/index.html [Dispatchers.Unconfined]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/-dispatchers/-unconfined.html [Dispatchers.Default]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/-dispatchers/-default.html [newSingleThreadContext]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/new-single-thread-context.html [ExecutorCoroutineDispatcher.close]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/-executor-coroutine-dispatcher/close.html [runBlocking]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/run-blocking.html [delay]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/delay.html [DEBUG_PROPERTY_NAME]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/-d-e-b-u-g_-p-r-o-p-e-r-t-y_-n-a-m-e.html [withContext]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/with-context.html [isActive]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/is-active.html [CoroutineScope.coroutineContext]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/-coroutine-scope/coroutine-context.html [Job.join]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/-job/join.html [CoroutineName]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/-coroutine-name/index.html [CoroutineScope()]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/-coroutine-scope.html [MainScope()]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/-main-scope.html [Dispatchers.Main]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/-dispatchers/-main.html [asContextElement]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/as-context-element.html [ensurePresent]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/ensure-present.html [ThreadContextElement]: https://kotlinlang.org/api/kotlinx.coroutines/kotlinx-coroutines-core/kotlinx.coroutines/-thread-context-element/index.html