# MIR optimizations
MIR optimizations are optimizations run on the [MIR][mir] to produce better MIR
before codegen. This is important for two reasons: first, it makes the final
generated executable code better, and second, it means that LLVM has less work
to do, so compilation is faster. Note that since MIR is generic (not
[monomorphized][monomorph] yet), these optimizations are particularly
effective; we can optimize the generic version, so all of the monomorphizations
are cheaper!
MIR optimizations run after borrow checking. We run a series of optimization
passes over the MIR to improve it. Some passes are required to run on all code,
some passes don't actually do optimizations but only check stuff, and some
passes are only turned on in `release` mode.
The [`optimized_mir`][optmir] [query] is called to produce the optimized MIR
for a given [`DefId`][defid]. This query makes sure that the borrow checker has
run and that some validation has occurred. Then, it [steals][steal] the MIR,
optimizes it, and returns the improved MIR.
## Quickstart for adding a new optimization
1. Make a Rust source file in `tests/mir-opt` that shows the code you want to
optimize. This should be kept simple, so avoid `println!` or other formatting
code if it's not necessary for the optimization. The reason for this is that
`println!`, `format!`, etc. generate a lot of MIR that can make it harder to
understand what the optimization does to the test.
2. Run `./x test --bless tests/mir-opt/<your-test>.rs` to generate a MIR
dump. Read [this README][mir-opt-test-readme] for instructions on how to dump
things.
3. Commit the current working directory state. The reason you should commit the
test output before you implement the optimization is so that you (and your
reviewers) can see a before/after diff of what the optimization changed.
4. Implement a new optimization in [`compiler/rustc_mir_transform/src`].
The fastest and easiest way to do this is to
1. pick a small optimization (such as [`remove_storage_markers`]) and copy it
to a new file,
2. add your optimization to one of the lists in the
[`run_optimization_passes()`] function,
3. and then start modifying the copied optimization.
5. Rerun `./x test --bless tests/mir-opt/<your-test>.rs` to regenerate the
MIR dumps. Look at the diffs to see if they are what you expect.
6. Run `./x test tests/ui` to see if your optimization broke anything.
7. If there are issues with your optimization, experiment with it a bit and
repeat steps 5 and 6.
8. Commit and open a PR. You can do this at any point, even if things aren't
working yet, so that you can ask for feedback on the PR. Open a "WIP" PR
(just prefix your PR title with `[WIP]` or otherwise note that it is a
work in progress) in that case.
Make sure to commit the blessed test output as well! It's necessary for CI to
pass and it's very helpful to reviewers.
If you have any questions along the way, feel free to ask in
`#t-compiler/wg-mir-opt` on Zulip.
## Defining optimization passes
The list of passes run and the order in which they are run is defined by the
[`run_optimization_passes`][rop] function. It contains an array of passes to
run. Each pass in the array is a struct that implements the [`MirPass`] trait.
The array is an array of `&dyn MirPass` trait objects. Typically, a pass is
implemented in its own module of the [`rustc_mir_transform`][trans] crate.
Some examples of passes are:
- `CleanupPostBorrowck`: Remove some of the info that is only needed for
analyses, rather than codegen.
- `ConstProp`: Does [constant propagation][constprop].
You can see the ["Implementors" section of the `MirPass` rustdocs][impl] for more examples.
## MIR optimization levels
MIR optimizations can come in various levels of readiness. Experimental
optimizations may cause miscompilations, or slow down compile times.
These passes are still included in nightly builds to gather feedback and make it easier to modify
the pass. To enable working with slow or otherwise experimental optimization passes,
you can specify the `-Z mir-opt-level` debug flag. You can find the
definitions of the levels in the [compiler MCP]. If you are developing a MIR pass and
want to query whether your optimization pass should run, you can check the
current level using [`tcx.sess.opts.unstable_opts.mir_opt_level`][mir_opt_level].