UniAlloc: A Retargetable Rust Memory Allocator

UniAlloc is a Rust memory allocator research prototype that carries optional compiler-derived allocation semantics into reusable allocator policies and platform backends.

Repository Layout

• unialloc/: allocator library, tests, examples, and benchmarks.
• alloc_macros/: procedural macros used by the allocator.
• tools/unialloc-rustc-pass/: compiler integration and validation probes.
• evaluation/: reproducible evaluation drivers, workload adapters, and gates.
• kernel/: kernel integration and fixed root-filesystem fixtures.
• docs/: architecture, validation, evidence, and presentation material.

Build

cargo build

The pinned toolchain is declared in rust-toolchain. Run the default test suite directly:

cargo test

The private-rseq registration tests isolate themselves in child processes with glibc registration disabled. Normal applications, the parent test process, and the real-world evaluation retain libc-managed rseq. The production allocation hot path currently makes no rseq call.

Use UniAlloc as the Global Allocator

use unialloc::UniAlloc;

#[global_allocator]
static OURSELF: UniAlloc = UniAlloc;

Runnable examples are in unialloc/examples/.

Evaluation and Benchmarks

cargo bench --bench std_bench

See evaluation/README.md for the evidence pipeline and tools/unialloc-rustc-pass/README.md for compiler-assisted validation.

The current source-bound Type Isolation diagnostic covers pinned ripgrep, fd, and Oxipng builds across native, jemalloc, mimalloc, UniAlloc, typed-without- policy, Type Isolation, and coverage variants. Its per-application timing, RSS, and allocation-event coverage results are documented in evaluation/README.md; they are diagnostic evidence rather than a reproduction of the paper's performance or 72.17% coverage result.