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stream: add drain()/drainSync() for stream/iter - #65598

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Ethan-Arrowood:stream-iter-drain
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stream: add drain()/drainSync() for stream/iter#65598
Ethan-Arrowood wants to merge 3 commits into
nodejs:mainfrom
Ethan-Arrowood:stream-iter-drain

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@Ethan-Arrowood

@Ethan-Arrowood Ethan-Arrowood commented Aug 27, 2026

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Adds drain() and drainSync() to node:stream/iter.

This will enable us to replace for await loops with await drain(stream) across the repo.

- for await (const _ of stream) { /* drain */ } // eslint-disable-line no-unused-vars
+ await drain(stream);

I used two commits: one for the feature, another for the migration so it's easy to review.

I only migrated tests that were already using iter streams. But there are more that could benefit from this util.

This api is inspired by things like Undici's body.dump() method.

Let me know what you think of this API addition!

Every consumer in node:stream/iter retains what it reads, so there is
no way to read a streamable to completion while keeping nothing. To
clear a stream, callers write `for await (const _ of source) {}`. This
is apparent throughout multiple test suites, including the stream/iter
tests themselves.

These are especially useful for QUIC where a receiver doesn't want the
payload, but still has to read it to completion to relieve
backpressure. bytes() does that too, but allocates the whole payload to
discard it.

drain() pulls every batch and drops it, so peak memory is one batch
regardless of volume. It takes the same signal and limit options as
the other consumers, rejects if the source errors mid-stream, and
fulfills with undefined. drainSync() is the synchronous form.

Assisted-by: Claude Opus 5
Signed-off-by: Ethan Arrowood <ethan@arrowood.dev>
@nodejs-github-bot

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Review requested:

  • @nodejs/quic
  • @nodejs/streams

@nodejs-github-bot nodejs-github-bot added needs-ci PRs that need a full CI run. stream Issues and PRs related to Node.js streams. labels Aug 27, 2026
Replaces the `for await (const _ of source) {}` discard idiom with
drain(), which says what it does and does not need an eslint-disable
for the unused loop variable. 89 loops across 60 files, plus 32 now
redundant eslint-disable directives and comments removed.

Only files that already declare --experimental-stream-iter are
converted, so no test gains an experimental flag it did not already
opt into. That leaves 19 files with the old idiom; converting those
would change what those tests run under and belongs in a separate
discussion.

Loops that break early are left alone: those cancel the source rather
than reading it to completion, which is not what drain() does.

Four QUIC tests already bound a local `drain` to the writer-side
drainableProtocol promise. Those locals are renamed to drainPromise;
in test-quic-stream-writer-api.mjs the local shadowed the import and
broke at runtime rather than at parse time.

Assisted-by: Claude Opus 5
Signed-off-by: Ethan Arrowood <ethan@arrowood.dev>
@Ethan-Arrowood Ethan-Arrowood added the quic Issues and PRs related to the QUIC transport implementation. label Aug 27, 2026
Comment thread lib/stream/iter.js
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codecov Bot commented Aug 27, 2026

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Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 90.06%. Comparing base (d6e67a5) to head (2e586f3).
⚠️ Report is 23 commits behind head on main.

Additional details and impacted files
@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##             main   #65598      +/-   ##
==========================================
- Coverage   90.07%   90.06%   -0.02%     
==========================================
  Files         751      751              
  Lines      254881   255069     +188     
  Branches    48111    48177      +66     
==========================================
+ Hits       229582   229720     +138     
- Misses      16486    16547      +61     
+ Partials     8813     8802      -11     
Files with missing lines Coverage Δ
lib/internal/streams/iter/consumers.js 97.01% <100.00%> (+0.38%) ⬆️
lib/stream/iter.js 100.00% <100.00%> (ø)

... and 55 files with indirect coverage changes

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  • ❄️ Test Analytics: Detect flaky tests, report on failures, and find test suite problems.
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@Ethan-Arrowood Ethan-Arrowood added the request-ci Add this label to start a Jenkins CI on a PR. label Aug 27, 2026
@github-actions github-actions Bot removed the request-ci Add this label to start a Jenkins CI on a PR. label Aug 27, 2026
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Very onboard with the concept, implementation looks good, small point on a test case.

Larger question though: can we rename this? Drain is a separate related but different concept on the writer API. Giving them the same name is a bit confusing, and hits practical issues as well (like the various tests here that have to rename existing drain references that mean something else).

dump() or discard()?

// drain: does not retain data
// =============================================================================

async function testDrainDoesNotRetain() {

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This doesn't really do what it says it does - as is it roughly duplicates testDrainConsumesToCompletion I think. It allocates the buffer once outside the source, so it can't check what's retained anyway. Needs a buffer per chunk with a WeakRef & GC dance if you want to test this I think.

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I'm okay with considering a different name. Honestly, I stuck with drain() because it was in the comments of the code blocks this is meant to replace for await (const _ of stream) { /* drain */ }. But Undici uses dump(). I also like discard().

Let the bikeshedding begin!

The retention test allocated a single buffer outside the source and
yielded it for every chunk, so it could not observe what drain() held
on to: that buffer stayed reachable whether drain() retained anything
or not. Its one assertion, that every chunk was handed out, already
duplicated testDrainConsumesToCompletion.

Allocate a distinct buffer per chunk, keep only WeakRefs to them, and
use gcUntil() to check none survive the drain. Add array() as a
positive control that retains every chunk, so the test fails if the
measurement stops being able to observe retention rather than passing
vacuously.

bytes() does not work as that control: it concatenates into a new
buffer, so the original chunks become collectable for it too.

Requires --expose-gc.

Assisted-by: Claude Opus 5
Signed-off-by: Ethan Arrowood <ethan@arrowood.dev>
@jasnell

jasnell commented Aug 29, 2026

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consume()?

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