Question 1

How do I set up FBRetainCycleDetector to catch associated object cycles?

Accepted Answer

You need to call [FBAssociationManager hook] early in your app's lifecycle, preferably in main.m, to intercept Objective-C runtime functions like objc_setAssociatedObject. This enables tracking of associated objects, but it modifies the app's startup process.

Question 2

FBRetainCycleDetector vs Xcode Instruments Leaks tool: which is better?

Accepted Answer

FBRetainCycleDetector offers proactive, runtime-based detection with configurable filters, catching cycles Instruments might miss. However, Instruments provides a more integrated, visual interface and works in release builds, while FBRetainCycleDetector is optimized for debug-time analysis.

Question 3

Can I use FBRetainCycleDetector with Swift projects?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it works with Swift, but it's most effective for Objective-C objects and Swift classes inheriting from NSObject, as it relies on the Objective-C runtime. Pure Swift value types or non-Objective-C classes might not be detected.

Question 4

How to filter out false positives in retain cycle detection?

Accepted Answer

Use FBObjectGraphConfiguration with filter blocks, such as FBFilterBlockWithObjectIvarRelation, to exclude known safe relationships. This customizes detection to focus on genuine leaks, reducing noise in the output.

Question 5

What's the performance impact of increasing max cycle length?

Accepted Answer

Setting a higher max cycle length allows deeper cycle detection but significantly slows down analysis, as noted in the README. It's a trade-off between thoroughness and runtime performance, so adjust based on your app's complexity.

Question 6

How to integrate FBRetainCycleDetector into a CI pipeline for iOS?

Accepted Answer

Run it in debug builds as part of CI tests, using scripts to add candidates and parse outputs. However, ensure the setup hooks are in place and account for the performance overhead, which might increase build times.

FBRetainCycleDetector

What is FBRetainCycleDetector?

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