fix(stamping): skip build data spawn when --stamp=false (#4160)

## Summary

`PyWriteBuildData` is dirty on every build with a cold Skyframe when
outputs are not downloaded. That is, once per `py_binary` and `py_test`
in the build. When stamping is off, the output is a constant, so the
action spawn is pure overhead.

## Root Cause Analysis

The output is declared with
`_py_builtins.declare_constant_metadata_file`. Constant metadata always
reports itself as unchanged, so Bazel cannot validate it from the action
cache. It stats the output on disk instead.

Under `--remote_download_outputs=minimal` the output is not on disk. The
stat fails and the action is dirty. It re-executes, hits the remote
cache, is still not downloaded, and is dirty again on the next
cold-server build. Setting `--remote_download_regex` to match the file
avoids this, at the cost of downloading it, which confirms the stat is
the trigger.

The use of a constant metadata file is justified (as per the comment in
the code). With stamping on, the action reads `volatile-status.txt`,
which changes every build. The build data file is in the binary's
runfiles, so without it its consumers would invalidate on every build
due to timestamps.

However, with stamping off, there is no volatile input. There is nothing
to shield. Unfortunately, the current implementation keeps the
_additional_ cost (constant metadata being always unchanged plus failed
`stat` syscalls) for none of the benefits.

## Change

When `is_stamping_enabled(ctx)` is false, the content of the file is
known at analysis time:

```
TARGET <label>
STAMPED FALSE
```

So declare an ordinary output and write it with `ctx.actions.write`. No
spawn, and no constant metadata output.

Note this is broader than `--nostamp`. `is_stamping_enabled` is also
false for the exec configuration and for `stamp = 0`, so tool-config
binaries benefit from the fix even when `--stamp=true` is set at the top
level.

The stamped path is unchanged and keeps its constant metadata output.

## Compatibility

The output is byte-identical. The label is written with `str(ctx.label)`
to match `"TARGET": str(ctx.label)` in the spawn's env, which yields the
canonical `@@//pkg:target` form. `ctx.actions.args().add(ctx.label)`
renders the display form and drops the `@@`.

After the change, the tests in `tests/build_data/build_data_test.py`
pass without any modifications.

## Alternative considered

Keeping the spawn and declaring an ordinary output would also fix the
dirtiness. Writing at analysis time is lighter, since it needs no
subprocess.

## Environment

rules_python 2.2.0, Bazel 9.2.0, Linux. Reproduce with
`--remote_download_outputs=minimal` against a warm remote cache, then
`bazel shutdown` and rebuild.
2 files changed
tree: fcc874e2e2ee0e309b4bbba89bbb96c15a19e588
  1. .agents/
  2. .bazelci/
  3. .bcr/
  4. .ci/
  5. .github/
  6. command_line_option/
  7. crates/
  8. dev/
  9. docs/
  10. examples/
  11. gazelle/
  12. news/
  13. python/
  14. sphinxdocs/
  15. tests/
  16. tools/
  17. .bazelignore
  18. .bazelrc
  19. .bazelrc.deleted_packages
  20. .bazelversion
  21. .editorconfig
  22. .git-blame-ignore-revs
  23. .gitattributes
  24. .gitignore
  25. .pre-commit-config.yaml
  26. .python-version
  27. .readthedocs.yml
  28. addlicense.sh
  29. AGENTS.md
  30. AUTHORS
  31. BUILD.bazel
  32. BZLMOD_SUPPORT.md
  33. CHANGELOG.md
  34. CONTRIBUTING.md
  35. CONTRIBUTORS
  36. downloader_config.cfg
  37. GEMINI.md
  38. internal_dev_deps.bzl
  39. internal_dev_setup.bzl
  40. LICENSE
  41. MODULE.bazel
  42. README.md
  43. RELEASING.md
  44. replicate_ci
  45. ruff.toml
  46. specialized_configs.bazelrc
  47. version.bzl
  48. WORKSPACE
  49. WORKSPACE.bzlmod
  50. workspace_bazel9.bzl
README.md

Python Rules for Bazel

Build status

Overview

This repository is the home of the core Python rules -- py_library, py_binary, py_test, and related symbols that provide the basis for Python support in Bazel. It also contains package installation rules for integrating with PyPI and other indices.

Documentation for rules_python is at https://rules-python.readthedocs.io and in the Bazel Build Encyclopedia.

Examples live in the examples directory.

The core rules are stable. Their implementation is subject to Bazel's backward compatibility policy. This repository aims to follow semantic versioning.

The Bazel community maintains this repository. Neither Google nor the Bazel team provides support for the code. However, this repository is part of the test suite used to vet new Bazel releases. See How to contribute page for information on our development workflow.

Design

  • Supported OSes - as per our supported platform policy, we strive for support on all of the platforms that we have CI for. Some platforms do not have the same backwards compatibility guarantees, but we hope the community can step in where needed to make the support more robust.
  • requirements.txt is how users have been defining dependencies for a long time. We support this to support legacy usecases or package managers that we don't support directly. Any additional information that we need will be retrieved from the SimpleAPI during the bzlmod extension evaluation phase. Then it will be written to the MODULE.bazel.lock file for future reuse. We have plans to support uv.lock file directly. uv is recommended for generating a fully locked requirements.txt file and we do provide a rule for it.
  • The py_binary, py_test rules should scale to large monorepos and we work hard to minimize the work done during analysis and build phase. What is more, the space requirements for should be minimal, so we strive to use symlinks rather than extracting wheels at build time. This means that for different configurations of the same build, we are not extracting the wheel multiple times thus scaling better over the time. From 2.0 onwards we are creating a virtual env for each target by creating an actual minimal virtual environment using symlinks. We plan on creating the traditional site-packages layout in the future by default.
  • Support for standards - we strive to first implement any standards needed within rules_python and this has resulted in a few PEPs supported within pure starlark - PEP440, PEP509.

Common misconceptions:

  • rules_python has to keep backwards compatibility with google3. Whilst this might have been true in the past, rules_python is an open source project and any compatibility needs should come from the community - we have no requirement to keep this compatibility and are allowed to make our decisions. However, we do want to keep backwards compatibility as long as possible to not upset users with never ending migrations.
  • rules_python is not caching pip downloads. With 2.0, we use Bazel's downloader by default and rely on bazel to provide the repository caching mechanisms. This means that for simpler setups this should result in transparent and scalable caching with the most recent bazel versions unless there are issues in the bazel itself.

Documentation

For detailed documentation, see https://rules-python.readthedocs.io

Bzlmod support

See Bzlmod support for more details.