wasm_safe_thread

A std::thread + std::sync replacement for wasm32 with proper async integration.

This crate provides a unified threading API and synchronization primitives that work across both WebAssembly and native platforms. In practice, you can treat it as a cross-platform replacement for much of std::thread plus key std::sync primitives. Unlike similar crates, it's designed from the ground up to handle the async realities of browser environments.

Synchronization primitives

Alongside thread APIs, this crate includes WebAssembly-safe synchronization primitives:

• Mutex
• RwLock
• Condvar
• Spinlock
• mpsc channels

These APIs are usable on their own; you do not need to spawn threads with this crate to use Mutex, RwLock, Condvar, or mpsc.

These primitives adapt their behavior to the runtime:

• Native: uses thread parking for efficient blocking
• WASM worker: uses Atomics.wait-based blocking when available
• WASM main thread: falls back to non-blocking/spin strategies to avoid panics

Sync example

use wasm_safe_thread::Mutex;

let data = Mutex::new(41);
*data.lock_sync() += 1;
assert_eq!(*data.lock_sync(), 42);

Channel example

use wasm_safe_thread::mpsc::channel;

let (tx, rx) = channel();
tx.send_sync(5).unwrap();
assert_eq!(rx.recv_sync().unwrap(), 5);

Threading primitives

In addition to synchronization primitives, this crate provides a std::thread-like API: spawn(), Builder, JoinHandle, park(), Thread::unpark(), thread locals, and spawn hooks.

Comparison with wasm_thread

wasm_thread is a popular crate that aims to closely replicate std::thread on wasm targets. This section compares design goals and practical tradeoffs.

Design goals

• wasm_safe_thread: async-first, unified API that works identically on native and wasm32, playing well with the browser event loop.
• wasm_thread: high std::thread compatibility with minimal changes to existing codebases (wasm32 only; native uses std::thread directly).

Feature comparison

Shared capabilities

Both crates provide:

• spawn() and Builder for thread creation
• join() (blocking) and join_async() (async) for waiting on threads
• is_finished() for non-blocking completion checks
• Thread naming via Builder::name()

Behavioral differences to know

• Main-thread blocking: both crates must avoid blocking APIs on the browser main thread; join_async() is the safe path.
• Spawn timing: wasm workers only run after the main thread yields back to the event loop.
• Worker spawning model: wasm_thread proxies worker spawning through the main thread; wasm_safe_thread spawns directly (simpler, but different model).

Implementation differences (for maintainers)

Result passing:

• wasm_safe_thread uses its built-in mpsc channels with async recv_async()
• wasm_thread uses Arc<Packet<UnsafeCell>> with a custom Signal primitive and Waker list

Async waiting:

• wasm_safe_thread wraps JavaScript Promises via wasm-bindgen-futures::JsFuture
• wasm_thread implements futures::future::poll_fn with manual Waker tracking

When to use which

Choose wasm_safe_thread when:

• You need Node.js support (wasm_thread is browser-only)
• You want identical behavior on native and wasm (e.g., for testing)
• You need park/unpark synchronization primitives
• You need spawn hooks for initialization (logging, tracing, etc.)
• You prefer fewer dependencies and no external JS files
• You want an actively developed library with responsive issue/PR handling

Choose wasm_thread when:

• You need scoped threads for borrowing non-'static data
• You want maximum compatibility with std::thread types
• You need no-modules wasm-pack target support

Usage

Replace use std::thread with use wasm_safe_thread as thread:

# if cfg!(target_arch="wasm32") { return; } //join() not reliable here
use wasm_safe_thread as thread;

// Spawn a thread
let handle = thread::spawn(|| {
    println!("Hello from a worker!");
    42
});

// Wait for the thread to complete
// Synchronous join (works on native and some browser context - but not reliably!)
let result = handle.join().unwrap();
assert_eq!(result, 42);

API

Thread spawning

use wasm_safe_thread::{spawn, spawn_named, Builder};

// Simple spawn
let handle = spawn(|| "result");

// Convenience function for named threads
let handle = spawn_named("my-worker", || "result").unwrap();

// Builder pattern for more options
let handle = Builder::new()
    .name("my-worker".to_string())
    .spawn(|| "result")
    .unwrap();

Joining threads

# if cfg!(target_arch="wasm32") { return; } //join() not reliable here
use wasm_safe_thread::spawn;

// Synchronous join (works on native and some browser context - but not reliably!)
let handle = spawn(|| 42);
let result = handle.join().unwrap();
assert_eq!(result, 42);

// Non-blocking check
let handle = spawn(|| 42);
if handle.is_finished() {
    // Thread completed
}
# drop(handle);

For async contexts, use join_async:

// In an async context (e.g., with wasm_bindgen_futures::spawn_local)
let result = handle.join_async().await.unwrap();

Thread operations

use wasm_safe_thread::{current, sleep, yield_now};
use std::time::Duration;

// Get current thread
let thread = current();
println!("Thread: {:?}", thread.name());

// Sleep
sleep(Duration::from_millis(10));

// Yield to scheduler
yield_now();

Park/unpark works from background threads:

# if cfg!(target_arch="wasm32") { return } //join not reliable on wasm
use wasm_safe_thread::{spawn, park, park_timeout};
use std::time::Duration;

let handle = spawn(|| {
    // Park/unpark (from background threads)
    park_timeout(Duration::from_millis(10)); // Wait with timeout
});
handle.thread().unpark();  // Wake parked thread
handle.join().unwrap();  // join() is not reliable on wasm and should be avoided

Event loop integration

# #[cfg(not(target_arch = "wasm32"))]
# fn main() {
use wasm_safe_thread::yield_to_event_loop_async;

// Yield to browser event loop (works on native too)
# wasm_safe_thread::test_executor::spawn(async {
yield_to_event_loop_async().await;
# });
# }
# #[cfg(target_arch = "wasm32")]
# fn main() {} // JsFuture is !Send, tested separately via wasm_bindgen_test

Thread local storage

use wasm_safe_thread::thread_local;
use std::cell::RefCell;

thread_local! {
    static COUNTER: RefCell<u32> = RefCell::new(0);
}

COUNTER.with(|c| {
    *c.borrow_mut() += 1;
});

Spawn hooks

Register callbacks that run when any thread starts:

use wasm_safe_thread::{register_spawn_hook, remove_spawn_hook, clear_spawn_hooks};

// Register a hook
register_spawn_hook("my-hook", || {
    println!("Thread starting!");
});

// Hooks run in registration order, before the thread's main function

// Remove specific hook
remove_spawn_hook("my-hook");

// Clear all hooks
clear_spawn_hooks();

Async task tracking (WASM)

When spawning async tasks inside a worker thread using wasm_bindgen_futures::spawn_local, you must notify the runtime so the worker waits for tasks to complete before exiting:

use wasm_safe_thread::{task_begin, task_finished};

task_begin();
wasm_bindgen_futures::spawn_local(async {
    // ... async work ...
    task_finished();
});

These functions are no-ops on native platforms, so you can use them unconditionally in cross-platform code.

WASM Limitations

Main thread restrictions

The browser main thread cannot use blocking APIs:

• join() - Use join_async().await instead
• park() / park_timeout() - Only works from background threads
• Mutex::lock() from std - Use wasm_safe_mutex instead

SharedArrayBuffer requirements

Threading requires SharedArrayBuffer, which needs these HTTP headers:

Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy: same-origin
Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy: require-corp

See Mozilla's documentation for details.

Environment support

• Browser: Web Workers with shared memory
• Node.js: worker_threads module

Building for WASM

Standard library must be rebuilt with atomics support:

# Install nightly and components
rustup toolchain install nightly
rustup component add rust-src --toolchain nightly

# Build with atomics
RUSTFLAGS='-C target-feature=+atomics,+bulk-memory' \
cargo +nightly build -Z build-std=std,panic_abort \
    --target wasm32-unknown-unknown

License

Licensed under either of

• Apache License, Version 2.0 (LICENSE-APACHE or http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0)
• MIT license (LICENSE-MIT or http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)

at your option.