Keep the module cache out of the build stage's chown (closes #43)

The build stage handed /src and the whole Go module cache to the
unprivileged user with chown -R, in a layer that re-ran on every source
change. On this host that step took from about 80 s to over ten minutes,
depending on load.

The module cache now sits at /go/pkg/mod and stays root's: bootstrap
fills it as root. The sources are copied with --chown. A small chown,
cached with bootstrap, hands builder the /src directory itself, the
module cache's cache/download directory (where make build saves its
lookup of this module's own version), and the telemetry files root's go
commands left in its home. Tests and the build still run as builder.

Model: opus-5-5

Dockerfile

@@ -59,10 +59,9 @@ FROM golang@sha256:56961d79ea8129efddcc0b8643fd8a5416b4e6228cfd477e3fd61deb2672c
 #
 # The module cache is kept outside that home, at the base image's
 # default /go/pkg/mod, and belongs to root: script/bootstrap fills it as
-# root, and builder only reads it, which is all Go does with a cache
-# that already holds every module. Do not move it into the home and
-# hand it over with `chown -R`: that walks every file in it and can
-# stall the build for half an hour on a loaded host.
+# root. Do not move it into the home and hand it over with `chown -R`:
+# that walks every file in it, which took from about 80 s to over ten
+# minutes on a shared host, depending on load.
 RUN adduser -D -u 1000 builder
 ENV HOME=/home/builder
 ENV GOPATH=/home/builder/go
@@ -91,12 +90,18 @@ COPY script/ script/
 COPY go.mod go.sum ./
 RUN script/bootstrap
 
-# /src itself must be builder's: make build writes the binary into it,
-# and git refuses a repository whose top directory belongs to another
-# user. The go commands bootstrap ran as root also left Go's telemetry
-# files in builder's home. Both are a few small files, and this layer
-# stays cached with bootstrap.
-RUN chown builder:builder /src && chown -R builder:builder /home/builder
+# Hand builder only what it writes to, without walking the module cache.
+# This layer stays cached with bootstrap.
+# - /src itself: make build writes the binary into it, and git refuses
+#   a repository whose top directory belongs to another user.
+# - the module cache's cache/download directory itself, not what is in
+#   it: Go only reads the downloaded modules, but make build saves its
+#   lookup of this module's own version from git there, in a new
+#   directory named after the module path.
+# - builder's home: the go commands bootstrap ran as root left Go's
+#   telemetry files there, a few small files.
+RUN chown builder:builder /src /go/pkg/mod/cache/download && \
+    chown -R builder:builder /home/builder
 
 # The sources are handed to builder as they are copied, so no layer has
 # to walk them. Then drop root before running any checks or builds.

README.md

@@ -113,7 +113,8 @@ Goals, in order:
     `sfdupes`.
 -   Dependencies: standard library, `github.com/spf13/cobra` for the
     CLI, **one progress-bar library**
-    (`github.com/schollz/progressbar/v3`), **one SQLite driver**
+    (`github.com/schollz/progressbar/v3`), `golang.org/x/term` to tell
+    whether stderr is a terminal, **one SQLite driver**
     (`modernc.org/sqlite`, pure Go, so builds keep cgo disabled), and
     `golang.org/x/sys` for `flock(2)` (the scan lock, see "Database").
     `github.com/spf13/viper` is permitted if configuration-file support
@@ -589,10 +590,16 @@ hash: [12345/98765] 12% |████      | 92 files/s elapsed 2:32 eta 17:54
 
 Additional requirements:
 
--   When stderr is not a TTY, do not emit ANSI redraws: print a plain
-    one-line progress update no more often than every 5 seconds instead.
+-   When stderr is not a terminal (a pipe, a file, `/dev/null`), do not
+    emit ANSI redraws: print a plain one-line progress update the moment
+    each phase starts, then no more often than every 5 seconds.
 -   Progress updates are driven from the main goroutine and must be
-    non-blocking with respect to the worker pool.
+    non-blocking with respect to the worker pool. On a terminal the
+    spinner-style displays also redraw on their own several times a
+    second, so their count and elapsed time stay current while a phase
+    waits for its next item.
+-   A warning printed during a phase always lands on a line of its own,
+    never inside the progress display.
 -   `report` and `trees` modes need no progress display, only their
     stderr summaries.
 

TODO.md

@@ -29,9 +29,13 @@
 
 # Completed Steps
 
-- the `Dockerfile` build stage leaves the Go module cache root's and copies
-  the sources with `--chown`, so no `chown -R` walks them (2026-10-04,
-  https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/sfdupes/issues/43)
+- the `Dockerfile` build stage keeps the Go module cache out of `builder`'s
+  home and copies the sources with `--chown`, so no `chown -R` walks them
+  (2026-10-04, https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/sfdupes/issues/43)
+
+- progress prints at once on a non-terminal, uses a real terminal test,
+  and prints warnings through a spinner instead of racing its redraw
+  (2026-10-03, https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/sfdupes/issues/13)
 
 - warn about and skip symlink, socket, FIFO, device and `.zfs`
   operands, keeping the records beneath them (2026-10-03,

go.mod

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/schollz/progressbar/v3 v3.19.1
 	github.com/spf13/cobra v1.10.2
 	golang.org/x/sys v0.46.0
+	golang.org/x/term v0.44.0
 	modernc.org/sqlite v1.54.0
 )
 
@@ -19,7 +20,6 @@ require (
 	github.com/remyoudompheng/bigfft v0.0.0-20230129092748-24d4a6f8daec // indirect
 	github.com/rivo/uniseg v0.4.7 // indirect
 	github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.9 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/term v0.44.0 // indirect
 	modernc.org/libc v1.74.1 // indirect
 	modernc.org/mathutil v1.7.1 // indirect
 	modernc.org/memory v1.11.0 // indirect

progress.go

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/schollz/progressbar/v3"
+	"golang.org/x/term"
 )
 
 // plainInterval is the minimum time between progress lines when stderr
@@ -24,24 +25,23 @@ const percentScale = 100
 
 // stderrIsTTY reports whether stderr is attached to a terminal.
 func stderrIsTTY() bool {
-	fi, err := os.Stderr.Stat()
-	if err != nil {
-		return false
-	}
-
-	return fi.Mode()&os.ModeCharDevice != 0
+	return term.IsTerminal(int(os.Stderr.Fd()))
 }
 
 // progress renders one scan pass's progress on stderr. On a TTY it
 // delegates to the progressbar library (spinner style when the total is
 // unknown, full bar with count/percent/rate/elapsed/ETA otherwise). When
 // stderr is not a TTY it emits no ANSI redraws: it prints a plain
-// one-line update no more often than every plainInterval.
+// one-line update as the pass starts, then no more often than every
+// plainInterval.
 //
-// All methods must be called from the main goroutine only. A nil
-// *progress is a valid no-display receiver: every method is a no-op,
-// so batched database flushes during the streaming pass can reuse the
-// update-pass helpers without rendering anything.
+// All methods must be called from the main goroutine only. On a TTY
+// the library also redraws a spinner from its own goroutine, several
+// times a second, so its count and elapsed time stay current while a
+// pass waits for its next item. A nil *progress is a valid
+// no-display receiver: every method is a no-op, so batched database
+// flushes during the streaming pass can reuse the update-pass helpers
+// without rendering anything.
 type progress struct {
 	label string
 	total int64 // -1 when unknown (walk pass)
@@ -53,10 +53,22 @@ type progress struct {
 
 func newProgress(label string, total int64) *progress {
 	p := &progress{label: label, total: total, start: time.Now()}
-	if !stderrIsTTY() {
+	if stderrIsTTY() {
+		p.bar = newBar(label, total)
+
 		return p
 	}
 
+	// Print the zero state at once: the first item may take minutes,
+	// and a pass must never look hung.
+	p.last = p.start
+	fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, p.plainLine())
+
+	return p
+}
+
+// newBar builds the TTY display for newProgress.
+func newBar(label string, total int64) *progressbar.ProgressBar {
 	opts := []progressbar.Option{
 		progressbar.OptionSetWriter(os.Stderr),
 		progressbar.OptionSetDescription(label),
@@ -81,9 +93,7 @@ func newProgress(label string, total int64) *progress {
 		)
 	}
 
-	p.bar = progressbar.NewOptions64(total, opts...)
-
-	return p
+	return progressbar.NewOptions64(total, opts...)
 }
 
 // increment records one completed item and refreshes the display.
@@ -113,11 +123,22 @@ func (p *progress) warnf(format string, args ...any) {
 		return
 	}
 
+	msg := escapePath(fmt.Sprintf(format, args...))
+
+	if p.bar != nil && p.total < 0 {
+		// The library also redraws a spinner from its own goroutine, so
+		// a direct write could land inside a redraw. The bar prints the
+		// warning itself, just before its next redraw.
+		_, _ = progressbar.Bprintln(p.bar, msg)
+
+		return
+	}
+
 	if p.bar != nil {
 		_ = p.bar.Clear()
 	}
 
-	fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, escapePath(fmt.Sprintf(format, args...)))
+	fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, msg)
 }
 
 // finish terminates the pass's display.

progress_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,161 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// spinnerIdle comfortably outlasts the 100ms interval at which the
+// progressbar library redraws a spinner from its own goroutine.
+const spinnerIdle = 500 * time.Millisecond
+
+//nolint:paralleltest // replaces the process-wide os.Stderr
+func TestStderrIsTTYFalseForNonTerminals(t *testing.T) {
+	r, pipe, err := os.Pipe()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	regular, err := os.Create(filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "stderr"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	devNull, err := os.OpenFile(os.DevNull, os.O_WRONLY, 0)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	saved := os.Stderr
+
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		os.Stderr = saved
+
+		for _, f := range []*os.File{r, pipe, regular, devNull} {
+			_ = f.Close()
+		}
+	})
+
+	cases := map[string]*os.File{
+		"a pipe":         pipe,
+		"a regular file": regular,
+		os.DevNull:       devNull,
+	}
+
+	for name, f := range cases {
+		os.Stderr = f
+
+		if stderrIsTTY() {
+			t.Errorf("stderrIsTTY() = true with stderr on %s", name)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestNewProgressPrintsBeforeFirstItem checks that each pass shows its
+// zero state the moment it starts when stderr is not a terminal, and
+// that the next line still waits for plainInterval.
+//
+//nolint:paralleltest // captureStderr replaces the process-wide os.Stderr
+func TestNewProgressPrintsBeforeFirstItem(t *testing.T) {
+	stderr := captureStderr(t)
+
+	newProgress("walk", -1).increment()
+	newProgress("hash", 10).increment()
+
+	want := "walk: 0 files, elapsed 0s\n" +
+		"hash: [0/10] 0% 0 files/s elapsed 0s eta ?\n"
+	if got := stderr(); got != want {
+		t.Errorf("stderr = %q, want %q", got, want)
+	}
+}
+
+// newWalkSpinner returns the walk pass's terminal display, writing to
+// os.Stderr whether or not it is a terminal, and stops the library's
+// redraws when the test ends.
+func newWalkSpinner(t *testing.T) *progress {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	p := &progress{
+		label: "walk", total: -1, start: time.Now(),
+		bar: newBar("walk", -1),
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(p.finish)
+
+	return p
+}
+
+// TestProgressWarningsOnOwnLines drives the terminal display of the walk
+// pass through a run of warnings with no items between them, as when the
+// walk meets many unreadable paths, for several of the spinner's
+// redraws: every warning must land on a line of its own, never inside a
+// redraw.
+//
+//nolint:paralleltest // captureStderr replaces the process-wide os.Stderr
+func TestProgressWarningsOnOwnLines(t *testing.T) {
+	stderr := captureStderr(t)
+	p := newWalkSpinner(t)
+
+	// No pause between warnings: one written straight to stderr is
+	// garbled only if a redraw lands while it is being written.
+	issued := 0
+	for start := time.Now(); time.Since(start) < spinnerIdle; issued++ {
+		p.warnf("warning")
+	}
+
+	// The spinner prints the warnings at its next redraw.
+	time.Sleep(spinnerIdle)
+
+	// A terminal shows each line as the text after its last carriage
+	// return.
+	shown := 0
+
+	for line := range strings.SplitSeq(stderr(), "\n") {
+		if !strings.Contains(line, "warning") {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		shown++
+
+		if text := line[strings.LastIndex(line, "\r")+1:]; text != "warning" {
+			t.Errorf("terminal shows %q, want %q", text, "warning")
+		}
+	}
+
+	if shown != issued {
+		t.Errorf("%d warning lines, want %d", shown, issued)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestSpinnerShowsCountAfterBurst checks that once a burst of items
+// faster than the redraw limit is over, the walk display shows every
+// item completed while it waits for the next one.
+//
+//nolint:paralleltest // captureStderr replaces the process-wide os.Stderr
+func TestSpinnerShowsCountAfterBurst(t *testing.T) {
+	stderr := captureStderr(t)
+	p := newWalkSpinner(t)
+
+	for range 50 {
+		p.increment()
+	}
+
+	time.Sleep(spinnerIdle)
+
+	// A terminal shows the last frame drawn. The library starts each
+	// frame with a carriage return and erases the previous one with
+	// spaces first.
+	var shown string
+
+	for frame := range strings.SplitSeq(stderr(), "\r") {
+		if strings.TrimSpace(frame) != "" {
+			shown = frame
+		}
+	}
+
+	if !strings.Contains(shown, "(50/-,") {
+		t.Errorf("terminal shows %q, want a count of 50", shown)
+	}
+}