Label request metrics with standard HTTP methods only (closes #274)

The method label was each request's method as sent, and Go's HTTP
server accepts any method name, so made-up methods added series to the
registry that were never removed. It is now the method only for GET,
HEAD, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS, CONNECT and TRACE, and "other"
for any other. go-http-metrics reads the method from the request it is
handed, so the middleware hands it a copy carrying the label and serves
the next handler the original request.

Model: opus-5-5

README.md

@@ -131,34 +131,6 @@ What the [upaas](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/upaas) app for pixa needs:
       the cache can grow to three quarters or more of the space they all have
       left, and to all of it when that is 500 MiB or less.
     - the rest are in the table under Configuration below
-- **Memory:** pixa can use up to `max_concurrent_processing` times 4.2 GiB for
-  the images it processes at once, plus `upstream_connections` times
-  `upstream_max_response_size` for the source images it has fetched that wait
-  for processing. 4.2 GiB is the most resident memory was measured to grow while
-  pixa, with pixad's libvips settings, processed one 8192x8192 source, the
-  largest it accepts, saving it at full size to each output format in turn, one
-  at a time. The sources were a JPEG, a GIF, a WebP, an 8-bit and a 16-bit PNG,
-  an 8-bit and a 12-bit AVIF, and an 8-bit, a 16-bit and a 32-bit floating-point
-  JPEG XL; memory grew most for the 16-bit JPEG XL, of random pixels, saved as
-  WebP. At the defaults that is half the CPUs pixa sees times 4.2 GiB, plus 64
-  times 50 MiB: on a host where pixa sees 48 CPUs, 24 times 4.2 GiB plus 3.1
-  GiB, about 104 GiB. Set `PIXA_MAX_CONCURRENT_PROCESSING` and
-  `PIXA_UPSTREAM_CONNECTIONS` so that this fits the memory the container may
-  use.
-- **Temporary files:** while pixa processes a large source, libvips writes its
-  decoded pixels to a file in `/tmp`. The file disappears from `/tmp` once it is
-  written, so a listing of `/tmp` does not show it, but it keeps its space, on
-  disk or, where `/tmp` is a tmpfs, in memory, until the image is done. For a
-  GIF, WebP, AVIF or JPEG XL source the decoded pixels are held in memory as
-  well as written to that file, and the 4.2 GiB above includes that memory. For
-  an 8192x8192 source the file was measured on pixad at 192 MiB for an 8-bit RGB
-  JPEG, 512 MiB for a 16-bit RGBA PNG or JPEG XL, and 1 GiB for a JPEG XL of
-  32-bit floating-point RGBA, the largest measured: up to 1 GiB per image
-  processed at once, 24 GiB at the defaults on a host where pixa sees 48 CPUs.
-  This `/tmp` is in the container's own filesystem, not on the volume at
-  `/var/lib/pixa`, and `cache_max_bytes` does not count it. The 4.2 GiB above
-  does not include these files; where `/tmp` is a tmpfs, they are memory on top
-  of it.
 - **Health check:** the image's `HEALTHCHECK` requests
   `/.well-known/healthcheck.json`. upaas reads the container's health 60 seconds
   after a deploy and marks the deploy failed unless it is `healthy`. The probe
@@ -594,7 +566,7 @@ tell. With no file, pixa uses the environment and the defaults.
 | `PIXA_ALLOW_HTTP`                    | `allow_http`                    | Allow plain-HTTP upstreams, for testing only; default `false`                |
 | `PIXA_UPSTREAM_CONNECTIONS_PER_HOST` | `upstream_connections_per_host` | Concurrent connections per upstream host; default `20`                       |
 | `PIXA_UPSTREAM_CONNECTIONS`          | `upstream_connections`          | Concurrent connections to all upstream hosts together; default `64`          |
-| `PIXA_MAX_CONCURRENT_PROCESSING`     | `max_concurrent_processing`     | Images processed at once; default half the CPUs, at least 1                  |
+| `PIXA_MAX_CONCURRENT_PROCESSING`     | `max_concurrent_processing`     | Images processed at once; default the number of CPUs                         |
 | `PIXA_IMAGE_REQUESTS_PER_MINUTE`     | `image_requests_per_minute`     | Image requests per client per minute; `0` turns it off; default `600`        |
 | `PIXA_UPSTREAM_FETCH_TIMEOUT`        | `upstream_fetch_timeout`        | Time allowed for one fetch from an upstream host; default `30s`              |
 | `PIXA_UPSTREAM_MAX_RESPONSE_SIZE`    | `upstream_max_response_size`    | Largest upstream response accepted, in bytes; default 50 MiB                 |
@@ -680,12 +652,10 @@ Key settings in more detail:
   does, and `downstream_timeout` has not ended first, the request is answered
   503 with the error `server busy, try again later`
 - `max_concurrent_processing` — the most images decoded and encoded at once;
-  default half the CPUs pixa can use (`GOMAXPROCS`, which follows a container's
-  CPU limit), rounded down, and at least 1. A value that is not a whole number
-  of at least 1 aborts startup. A request that finds all of them in use waits up
-  to 10 seconds for one to free up; if none does, and `downstream_timeout` has
-  not ended first, it is answered 503 the same way. Each one can take a lot of
-  memory: see "Running under upaas"
+  default the number of CPUs pixa can use (`GOMAXPROCS`), which follows a
+  container's CPU limit. A request that finds all of them in use waits up to 10
+  seconds for one to free up; if none does, and `downstream_timeout` has not
+  ended first, it is answered 503 the same way
 - `image_requests_per_minute` — how many requests one client may send to the
   image routes per minute (see the limit on them under Routes); default `600`.
   `0` turns the limit off, and a negative or non-integer value aborts startup.
@@ -715,7 +685,9 @@ See `configs/config.example.yml` for all options with defaults.
   `metrics.username` and `metrics.password` are set. A request's `handler` label
   is the pattern of the route it matches, such as `/v1/image/*`, never its path.
   Requests that match no route share the label `unmatched`: those the router
-  answers 404 or 405, and CORS preflights
+  answers 404 or 405, and CORS preflights. A request's `method` label is its
+  method when that is `GET`, `HEAD`, `POST`, `PUT`, `PATCH`, `DELETE`,
+  `OPTIONS`, `CONNECT` or `TRACE`, and `other` for any other method
 - **Logging**: stdlib slog
 
 ## Entrypoints

TODO.md

@@ -30,18 +30,15 @@ P2: security: per-origin rate limiting
 
 # Completed Steps
 
-- 2026-10-15 `max_concurrent_processing` defaults to half the CPUs pixa sees,
-  rounded down, and at least 1 (closes #242): it defaulted to one image per CPU,
-  and a container with no CPU limit sees every CPU of the host, so on a 48-CPU
-  host pixa processed 48 images at once, each of which can take about 4.2 GiB.
-  `config.DefaultMaxConcurrentProcessing` gives the default to the config and to
-  `imageprocessor.New`; `PIXA_MAX_CONCURRENT_PROCESSING` still overrides it.
-  "Running under upaas" in `README.md` gives the worst-case memory, measured,
-  and tells the operator to set `PIXA_MAX_CONCURRENT_PROCESSING` and
-  `PIXA_UPSTREAM_CONNECTIONS` to fit the container's memory. It also gives the
-  file libvips writes to `/tmp` for each large source, up to 1 GiB, measured,
-  which is outside `/var/lib/pixa` and `cache_max_bytes` and is memory where
-  `/tmp` is a tmpfs.
+- 2026-10-15 the request metrics record any method that is not a standard one as
+  `other` (closes #274): their `method` label was each request's method as sent,
+  and Go's HTTP server accepts any method name, so a client sending made-up
+  methods added series to the Prometheus registry that were never removed. The
+  label is now the request's method only for `GET`, `HEAD`, `POST`, `PUT`,
+  `PATCH`, `DELETE`, `OPTIONS`, `CONNECT` and `TRACE`. The metrics library reads
+  the method from the request it is handed, so the metrics middleware hands it a
+  copy of the request carrying the label; the handlers still see the method the
+  client sent.
 - 2026-10-15 logging out ends every login session (closes #256): a login session
   was a cookie with nothing kept on the server, so `/logout` removed it from one
   browser and a copy of it kept working for its 30 days. Every login is made

configs/config.example.yml

@@ -108,11 +108,10 @@ upstream_connections_per_host: 20
 # downstream_timeout has ended first.
 upstream_connections: 64
 
-# Maximum number of images decoded and encoded at once (default: half the
-# number of CPUs pixa can use, at least 1; the number of CPUs follows a
-# container's CPU limit). A request that finds none free waits up to 10
-# seconds for one, and if none frees up it is answered 503, unless
-# downstream_timeout has ended first.
+# Maximum number of images decoded and encoded at once (default: the
+# number of CPUs pixa can use, which follows a container's CPU limit). A
+# request that finds none free waits up to 10 seconds for one, and if none
+# frees up it is answered 503, unless downstream_timeout has ended first.
 # max_concurrent_processing: 4
 
 # How many requests to the image routes (/v1/image/ and /v1/e/) one client

internal/config/concurrency_limits_internal_test.go

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package config
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
 	"runtime"
 	"testing"
 )
@@ -13,8 +12,8 @@ const (
 )
 
 // TestOmittedConcurrencyLimitsUseDefaults checks that an omitted
-// max_concurrent_processing is half the CPUs Go uses, and at least 1, and
-// an omitted upstream_connections is 64.
+// max_concurrent_processing is the number of CPUs Go uses and an omitted
+// upstream_connections is 64.
 func TestOmittedConcurrencyLimitsUseDefaults(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
@@ -23,9 +22,9 @@ func TestOmittedConcurrencyLimitsUseDefaults(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("minimal config should be valid, got error: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	if c.MaxConcurrentProcessing != max(runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0)/2, 1) {
-		t.Errorf("MaxConcurrentProcessing = %d, want %d, half the CPUs",
-			c.MaxConcurrentProcessing, max(runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0)/2, 1))
+	if c.MaxConcurrentProcessing != runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0) {
+		t.Errorf("MaxConcurrentProcessing = %d, want %d, one per CPU",
+			c.MaxConcurrentProcessing, runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0))
 	}
 
 	if c.UpstreamConnections != 64 {
@@ -33,36 +32,6 @@ func TestOmittedConcurrencyLimitsUseDefaults(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-// TestOmittedMaxConcurrentProcessingIsHalfTheCPUsAndAtLeastOne checks
-// that an omitted max_concurrent_processing is half the CPUs Go uses,
-// rounded down, and 1 when Go uses one CPU.
-//
-//nolint:paralleltest // it sets GOMAXPROCS, which other tests read
-func TestOmittedMaxConcurrentProcessingIsHalfTheCPUsAndAtLeastOne(t *testing.T) {
-	cpusBefore := runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0)
-
-	t.Cleanup(func() { runtime.GOMAXPROCS(cpusBefore) })
-
-	for _, tc := range []struct{ cpus, want int }{
-		{1, 1}, {2, 1}, {3, 1}, {8, 4},
-	} {
-		runtime.GOMAXPROCS(tc.cpus)
-
-		c, err := configFromYAML(t, signingKeyLine)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatalf("minimal config should be valid, got error: %v", err)
-		}
-
-		t.Logf("GOMAXPROCS %d: MaxConcurrentProcessing %d",
-			tc.cpus, c.MaxConcurrentProcessing)
-
-		if c.MaxConcurrentProcessing != tc.want {
-			t.Errorf("GOMAXPROCS %d: MaxConcurrentProcessing = %d, want %d",
-				tc.cpus, c.MaxConcurrentProcessing, tc.want)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
 // TestExplicitConcurrencyLimitsAreUsed checks that valid values for the
 // two limits are used as given.
 func TestExplicitConcurrencyLimitsAreUsed(t *testing.T) {
@@ -191,19 +160,3 @@ func TestConcurrencyLimitsFromEnvironment(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
-
-// TestInvalidMaxConcurrentProcessingFromEnvironmentAbortsStartup checks
-// that a PIXA_MAX_CONCURRENT_PROCESSING that is not a whole number of at
-// least 1, an empty one included, aborts startup naming the variable and
-// the key instead of taking the default.
-func TestInvalidMaxConcurrentProcessingFromEnvironmentAbortsStartup(t *testing.T) {
-	for _, value := range []string{"", " ", "0.5", "half", "-1", "4 images"} {
-		t.Run(fmt.Sprintf("value %q", value), func(t *testing.T) {
-			t.Setenv(testMaxConcurrentProcessingVar, value)
-
-			_, err := configFromYAML(t, signingKeyLine)
-			wantStartupError(t, err,
-				testMaxConcurrentProcessingVar, keyMaxConcurrentProcessing)
-		})
-	}
-}

internal/config/config.go

@@ -37,14 +37,6 @@ const (
 	DefaultImageRequestsPerMinute     = 600
 )
 
-// DefaultMaxConcurrentProcessing returns the most images processed at once
-// when max_concurrent_processing is omitted: half the CPUs Go uses
-// (runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0), which follows a container's CPU limit), rounded
-// down, and at least 1.
-func DefaultMaxConcurrentProcessing() int {
-	return max(runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0)/2, 1) //nolint:mnd // half the CPUs
-}
-
 // Configuration key names.
 const (
 	keyDebug                      = "debug"
@@ -305,8 +297,10 @@ func newFromSmartConfig(sc *smartconfig.Config) (*Config, error) {
 			keyUpstreamConnectionsPerHost, DefaultUpstreamConnectionsPerHost),
 		UpstreamConnections: loader.intVal(
 			keyUpstreamConnections, DefaultUpstreamConnections),
+		// Decoding and encoding are CPU-bound, so the default is one image
+		// per CPU Go uses, which follows a container's CPU limit.
 		MaxConcurrentProcessing: loader.intVal(
-			keyMaxConcurrentProcessing, DefaultMaxConcurrentProcessing()),
+			keyMaxConcurrentProcessing, runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0)),
 		UpstreamFetchTimeout: loader.durationVal(
 			keyUpstreamFetchTimeout, DefaultUpstreamFetchTimeout),
 		UpstreamMaxResponseSize: loader.int64Val(

internal/imageprocessor/imageprocessor.go

@@ -7,11 +7,11 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
+	"runtime"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/davidbyttow/govips/v2/vips"
-	"sneak.berlin/go/pixa/internal/config"
 )
 
 // vipsOnce ensures vips is initialized exactly once.
@@ -20,10 +20,11 @@ import (
 var vipsOnce sync.Once
 
 // initVips initializes libvips with quiet logging, one worker thread per
-// image and no operation cache. Each request decodes different source
-// bytes, so the operation cache would rarely be hit and would hold memory
-// outside MaxConcurrentProcessing; repeated requests are served from
-// pixa's disk cache instead.
+// image and no operation cache. Process already works on one image per CPU
+// by default, so more threads per image would only compete for the CPUs.
+// Each request decodes different source bytes, so the operation cache
+// would rarely be hit and would hold memory outside MaxConcurrentProcessing;
+// repeated requests are served from pixa's disk cache instead.
 func initVips() {
 	vipsOnce.Do(func() {
 		vips.LoggingSettings(nil, vips.LogLevelError)
@@ -178,7 +179,7 @@ type Params struct {
 	// If <= 0, DefaultMaxInputBytes is used.
 	MaxInputBytes int64
 	// MaxConcurrentProcessing is the most images processed at once.
-	// If <= 0, config.DefaultMaxConcurrentProcessing() is used.
+	// If <= 0, the number of CPUs Go uses (runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0)) is used.
 	MaxConcurrentProcessing int
 }
 
@@ -194,7 +195,7 @@ func New(params Params) *ImageProcessor {
 
 	maxConcurrentProcessing := params.MaxConcurrentProcessing
 	if maxConcurrentProcessing <= 0 {
-		maxConcurrentProcessing = config.DefaultMaxConcurrentProcessing()
+		maxConcurrentProcessing = runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0)
 	}
 
 	return &ImageProcessor{

internal/imageprocessor/max_concurrent_processing_internal_test.go

@@ -115,14 +115,14 @@ func waitForEntries(t *testing.T, entered <-chan struct{}, count int) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestNewDefaultsMaxConcurrentProcessingToHalfTheCPUs(t *testing.T) {
+func TestNewDefaultsMaxConcurrentProcessingToCPUs(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
 	for _, limit := range []int{0, -1} {
 		proc := New(Params{MaxConcurrentProcessing: limit})
-		if got := cap(proc.processingSemaphore); got != max(runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0)/2, 1) {
-			t.Errorf("MaxConcurrentProcessing %d: %d slots, want %d, half the CPUs",
-				limit, got, max(runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0)/2, 1))
+		if got := cap(proc.processingSemaphore); got != runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0) {
+			t.Errorf("MaxConcurrentProcessing %d: %d slots, want %d, one per CPU",
+				limit, got, runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0))
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -132,30 +132,6 @@ func TestNewDefaultsMaxConcurrentProcessingToHalfTheCPUs(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-// TestNewDefaultIsHalfTheCPUsAndAtLeastOne checks that New, given no
-// MaxConcurrentProcessing, makes one slot for every two CPUs Go uses,
-// rounded down, and one slot when Go uses one CPU.
-//
-//nolint:paralleltest // it sets GOMAXPROCS, which other tests read
-func TestNewDefaultIsHalfTheCPUsAndAtLeastOne(t *testing.T) {
-	cpusBefore := runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0)
-
-	t.Cleanup(func() { runtime.GOMAXPROCS(cpusBefore) })
-
-	for _, tc := range []struct{ cpus, want int }{
-		{1, 1}, {2, 1}, {3, 1}, {8, 4},
-	} {
-		runtime.GOMAXPROCS(tc.cpus)
-
-		got := cap(New(Params{}).processingSemaphore)
-		t.Logf("GOMAXPROCS %d: %d slots", tc.cpus, got)
-
-		if got != tc.want {
-			t.Errorf("GOMAXPROCS %d: %d slots, want %d", tc.cpus, got, tc.want)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
 // TestProcessNeverExceedsMaxConcurrentProcessing starts more Process calls
 // than MaxConcurrentProcessing allows and holds the first ones inside
 // Process until the test lets them go. No more than the limit may be

internal/imgcache/service.go

@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ type ServiceConfig struct {
 	// Allowlist is the list of hosts that don't require signatures
 	Allowlist []string
 	// MaxConcurrentProcessing is the most images processed at once; zero
-	// uses the image processor's default, half the CPUs
+	// uses the image processor's default, one per CPU
 	MaxConcurrentProcessing int
 	// Logger for logging
 	Logger *slog.Logger

internal/middleware/middleware.go

@@ -220,7 +220,10 @@ func (s *Middleware) CORS() func(http.Handler) http.Handler {
 // pattern of the chi route a request matches, such as /v1/image/*, or
 // "unmatched" for a request that matches none, so the routes fix how many
 // values the label has. It is never the path, with which any client could
-// add series to the registry without limit.
+// add series to the registry without limit. Its method label is the
+// request's method when that is a standard one, such as GET, and "other"
+// for any other: Go's HTTP server accepts any method name, so a label per
+// method would let a client add series the same way.
 func (s *Middleware) Metrics() func(http.Handler) http.Handler {
 	mdlw := ghmm.New(ghmm.Config{
 		Recorder: metrics.NewRecorder(metrics.Config{
@@ -230,7 +233,19 @@ func (s *Middleware) Metrics() func(http.Handler) http.Handler {
 
 	return func(next http.Handler) http.Handler {
 		return http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
-			std.Handler(routePattern(r), mdlw, next).ServeHTTP(w, r)
+			// The metrics library takes the method label from the request
+			// it is handed, so it is handed a shallow copy of r whose
+			// method is the label. next is served r itself, through the
+			// response writer the library wraps to see the status and size.
+			labelled := r.WithContext(r.Context())
+			labelled.Method = methodLabel(r.Method)
+
+			serveNext := http.HandlerFunc(
+				func(wrapped http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+					next.ServeHTTP(wrapped, r)
+				})
+
+			std.Handler(routePattern(r), mdlw, serveNext).ServeHTTP(w, labelled)
 		})
 	}
 }
@@ -275,6 +290,20 @@ func routePattern(r *http.Request) string {
 	return pattern
 }
 
+// methodLabel returns method when it is one of the standard methods net/http
+// names: GET, HEAD, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS, CONNECT and TRACE.
+// For any other method it returns "other".
+func methodLabel(method string) string {
+	switch method {
+	case http.MethodGet, http.MethodHead, http.MethodPost, http.MethodPut,
+		http.MethodPatch, http.MethodDelete, http.MethodOptions,
+		http.MethodConnect, http.MethodTrace:
+		return method
+	default:
+		return "other"
+	}
+}
+
 // MetricsAuth returns a basic auth middleware for the metrics endpoint.
 func (s *Middleware) MetricsAuth() func(http.Handler) http.Handler {
 	return basicauth.New(

internal/middleware/middleware_internal_test.go

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"net/http"
 	"net/http/httptest"
 	"net/url"
+	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -314,6 +315,58 @@ func requestCountsByHandler(
 	return counts
 }
 
+// TestMetricsGivesMadeUpMethodsOneLabel checks that the metrics middleware
+// gives requests with methods that are not standard ones a single method
+// label, "other", and still serves each request with the method it was sent
+// with. With a label per method, any client could add series to the
+// registry without limit by making up a new method for each request.
+func TestMetricsGivesMadeUpMethodsOneLabel(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	// The line /metrics shows once both made-up methods have been served.
+	const want = `http_request_duration_seconds_count{` +
+		`code="200",handler="unmatched",method="other",service=""} 2`
+
+	registry := prometheus.NewRegistry()
+	mw := &Middleware{
+		log:             slog.Default(),
+		config:          &config.Config{},
+		metricsRegistry: registry,
+	}
+
+	var served []string
+
+	handler := mw.Metrics()(http.HandlerFunc(
+		func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+			served = append(served, r.Method)
+
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		}))
+
+	methods := []string{"FROBNICATE", "WIBBLE"}
+	for _, method := range methods {
+		handler.ServeHTTP(httptest.NewRecorder(), httptest.NewRequestWithContext(
+			t.Context(), method, "/", nil))
+	}
+
+	t.Logf("methods the handler was served: %v", served)
+
+	if !slices.Equal(served, methods) {
+		t.Errorf("methods the handler was served = %v, want %v",
+			served, methods)
+	}
+
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	promhttp.HandlerFor(registry, promhttp.HandlerOpts{}).ServeHTTP(rec,
+		httptest.NewRequestWithContext(
+			t.Context(), http.MethodGet, "/metrics", nil))
+
+	if !strings.Contains(rec.Body.String(), want) {
+		t.Errorf("/metrics does not count both made-up methods as one; "+
+			"want the line %q in:\n%s", want, rec.Body.String())
+	}
+}
+
 // TestLoggingLeavesOutSubmittedSigningKey checks that a login, a POST /
 // whose form carries the signing key, leaves no trace of the key in the
 // request's log line.