# Memory leak in new release: pre-release checklist

Source: https://releasefailures.com/incidents/memory-leak-in-new-release/
Content version: 1.0.0
Verified on: 2026-10-21
Licence: CC BY 4.0

Definition: Memory grows per request or per screen until processes restart or the app is killed.
- [ ] PR-01 Confirm the canary receives at least the per-pod request rate of production peak before an authorization service build graduates. (test class: Canary and progressive delivery checks)
- [ ] PR-02 Compare canary pod memory with baseline pods over a fixed hold period and block graduation while canary memory keeps rising. (test class: Canary and progressive delivery checks)
- [ ] PR-03 Run a soak test on the authorization service at production peak request rate for 4 hours and fail when pod memory is still rising in the final hour. (test class: Load and performance tests)
- [ ] PR-04 Run the new adaptive limiter under sustained Git request load and confirm file server memory returns to baseline after the load stops. (test class: Load and performance tests)
- [ ] PR-05 Add a test helper that fails a test when goroutines started during the test are still running at its end. (test class: Unit tests)
- [ ] PR-06 Run the goroutine leak check on every test of the request limiter package. (test class: Unit tests)