Strip CLI and plugin binaries to reduce their size (#596)

* Use the local "builder" version When running the tests for the sample-plugin, the "builder" plugin needs to be installed. However, it may happen that there was a change in the sample-plugin Makefile and the builder plugin code. This means we must use the local "builder" version and not the one currently published to the central repository. This commit does this by: 1. building the "builder" plugin under bin/ 2. using bin/builder to build the "builder" plugin so it can be installed under the tanzu CLI Signed-off-by: Marc Khouzam <[email protected]> * Optimize CLI and plugin binaries to reduce their size Overall binary reduction achieved by this commit: - 28% decrease for Darwin - 36% decrease for Linux and Windows This commit does two optimizations described below. Note that these optimizations are done directly within the builder plugin and not as part of the "plugin-tooling.mk.tmpl" file. This approach will make it easier for plugin authors to get their hands on these improvements, without having to update their copy of the "plugin-tooling.mk" file (which they may not do very often). Optimizations: ============= 1. Remove symbol tables (reduce about 30% for Linux/Windows, 22% for Mac) -- When compiling the CLI and plugins, this commit adds the "-s" and "-w" flags. The "-s" flag omits the symbol table and debug information while "-w" omits the DWARF symbol table. These symbol tables are used by debuggers. The impact in removing them will be that it will not be possible to use a debugger on a production binary; this is acceptable and it is actually a standard approach to ship production binaries without debug symbols. If a debugger needs to be used, a binary can built with the symbol tables. Note that the removal of debug symbols does not prevent proper traces from being shown in a go "panic". To build a CLI with debug symbols use TANZU_CLI_ENABLE_DEBUG=1 To build plugins with debug symbols use PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG=1 2. Disable function inlining (reduce about 6% on every OS) -- Adding the flag "-gcflags=all=-l" removes function inlining. This normally reduces performance a little but saves space. Considering we are dealing with a CLI tool which does not perform CPU intensive operations, the slight possible performance degradation is not of concern. Signed-off-by: Marc Khouzam <[email protected]> --------- Signed-off-by: Marc Khouzam <[email protected]>
vmware-tanzu · Dec 7, 2023 · 6f528f5 · 6f528f5
1 parent d1ab769
commit 6f528f5
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diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
@@ -65,6 +65,12 @@ LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-cli/pkg/buildinfo.Date=$(BUILD_DAT
 LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-cli/pkg/buildinfo.SHA=$(BUILD_SHA)'
 LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-cli/pkg/buildinfo.Version=$(BUILD_VERSION)'
 
+# Remove debug symbols to reduce binary size
+# To build with debug symbols: TANZU_CLI_ENABLE_DEBUG=1
+ifneq ($(strip $(TANZU_CLI_ENABLE_DEBUG)),1)
+LD_FLAGS += -w -s
+endif
+
 APT_IMAGE=ubuntu
 ifdef APT_BUILDER_IMAGE
 APT_IMAGE=$(APT_BUILDER_IMAGE)
@@ -133,9 +139,9 @@ build-cli-%: ##Build the Tanzu Core CLI for a platform
 	fi
 
 	@if [ "$(OS)" = "windows" ]; then \
-		GOOS=$(OS) GOARCH=$(ARCH) $(GO) build --ldflags "$(LD_FLAGS)"  -o "$(ARTIFACTS_DIR)/$(OS)/$(ARCH)/cli/core/$(BUILD_VERSION)/tanzu-cli-$(OS)_$(ARCH).exe" ./cmd/tanzu/main.go;\
+		GOOS=$(OS) GOARCH=$(ARCH) $(GO) build -gcflags=all="-l" --ldflags "$(LD_FLAGS)" -o "$(ARTIFACTS_DIR)/$(OS)/$(ARCH)/cli/core/$(BUILD_VERSION)/tanzu-cli-$(OS)_$(ARCH).exe" ./cmd/tanzu/main.go;\
 	else \
-		GOOS=$(OS) GOARCH=$(ARCH) $(GO) build --ldflags "$(LD_FLAGS)"  -o "$(ARTIFACTS_DIR)/$(OS)/$(ARCH)/cli/core/$(BUILD_VERSION)/tanzu-cli-$(OS)_$(ARCH)" ./cmd/tanzu/main.go;\
+		GOOS=$(OS) GOARCH=$(ARCH) $(GO) build -gcflags=all="-l" --ldflags "$(LD_FLAGS)" -o "$(ARTIFACTS_DIR)/$(OS)/$(ARCH)/cli/core/$(BUILD_VERSION)/tanzu-cli-$(OS)_$(ARCH)" ./cmd/tanzu/main.go;\
 	fi
 
 ## --------------------------------------

diff --git a/cmd/plugin/builder/command/cli_compile.go b/cmd/plugin/builder/command/cli_compile.go
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ type PluginCompileArgs struct {
 	PluginScopeAssociationFile string
 	TargetArch                 []string
 	GroupByOSArch              bool
+	DebugSymbols               bool
 }
 
 const local = "local"
@@ -103,6 +104,20 @@ func setGlobals(compileArgs *PluginCompileArgs) {
 
 	// Append version specific ldflag by default so that user doesn't need to pass this ldflag always.
 	ldflags = fmt.Sprintf("%s -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.Version=%s'", ldflags, version)
+
+	// Remove debug symbols to reduce binary size
+	if !compileArgs.DebugSymbols {
+		ldflags = fmt.Sprintf("%s -w -s", ldflags)
+	}
+
+	// Disable function inlining to reduce binary size
+	disableInlining := "-gcflags=all=-l"
+	if len(goflags) > 0 {
+		// Append the user-defined goflags so they can override the default if needed
+		goflags = fmt.Sprintf("%s %s", disableInlining, goflags)
+	} else {
+		goflags = disableInlining
+	}
 }
 
 func Compile(compileArgs *PluginCompileArgs) error {

diff --git a/cmd/plugin/builder/plugin.go b/cmd/plugin/builder/plugin.go
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ type pluginBuildFlags struct {
 	Match                      string
 	PluginScopeAssociationFile string
 	GoFlags                    string
+	DebugSymbols               bool
 }
 
 type pluginBuildPackageFlags struct {
@@ -82,6 +83,7 @@ func newPluginBuildCmd() *cobra.Command {
 				PluginScopeAssociationFile: pbFlags.PluginScopeAssociationFile,
 				GroupByOSArch:              true,
 				GoFlags:                    pbFlags.GoFlags,
+				DebugSymbols:               pbFlags.DebugSymbols,
 			}
 
 			return command.Compile(compileArgs)
@@ -96,6 +98,7 @@ func newPluginBuildCmd() *cobra.Command {
 	pluginBuildCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&pbFlags.Match, "match", "", "*", "match a plugin name to build, supports globbing")
 	pluginBuildCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&pbFlags.PluginScopeAssociationFile, "plugin-scope-association-file", "", "", "file specifying plugin scope association")
 	pluginBuildCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&pbFlags.GoFlags, "goflags", "", "", "goflags to set on build")
+	pluginBuildCmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&pbFlags.DebugSymbols, "debug-symbols", "", false, "include debug symbols in the build")
 
 	_ = pluginBuildCmd.MarkFlagRequired("version")
 

diff --git a/cmd/plugin/builder/template/plugintemplates/plugin-tooling.mk.tmpl b/cmd/plugin/builder/template/plugintemplates/plugin-tooling.mk.tmpl
@@ -20,8 +20,21 @@ endif
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.Date=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_DATE)'
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.SHA=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_SHA)'
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.Version=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_VERSION)'
+
+# This variable can be used to pass additional go flags to the build command.
+# Note that the builder plugin already implicitly sets the go flags "-gcflags=all=-l"
+# which disable function inlining to reduce binary size.  If you want to prevent the
+# use of this flag, you can set PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS to "-gcflags=all=" which will replace
+# the default value.
 PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS ?=
 
+# To build with debug symbols use PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG=1
+ifeq ($(strip $(PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG)),1)
+PLUGIN_DEBUG=true
+else
+PLUGIN_DEBUG=false
+endif
+
 # Add supported OS-ARCHITECTURE combinations here
 PLUGIN_BUILD_OS_ARCH ?= linux-amd64 windows-amd64 darwin-amd64 darwin-arm64 linux-arm64
 
@@ -102,7 +115,8 @@ plugin-build-%:
 		--goflags "$(PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS)" \
 		--os-arch $(OS)_$(ARCH) \
 		--match "$(PLUGIN_NAME)" \
-		--plugin-scope-association-file $(PLUGIN_SCOPE_ASSOCIATION_FILE)
+		--plugin-scope-association-file $(PLUGIN_SCOPE_ASSOCIATION_FILE) \
+		--debug-symbols=$(PLUGIN_DEBUG)
 
 .PHONY: plugin-build-packages
 plugin-build-packages: ## Build plugin packages

diff --git a/docs/dev/README.md b/docs/dev/README.md
@@ -55,6 +55,17 @@ To run e2e tests for the repository:
 make e2e-cli-core
 ```
 
+### Debugging
+
+By default the CLI is built without debug symbols to reduce its binary size;
+this has the side-effect of preventing the use of a debugger towards the built
+binary.  However, when using an IDE, a different binary is used, one built by
+the IDE, and therefore the debugger can be used directly from the IDE.
+
+If you require using a debugger directly on a CLI binary, you have to build
+a binary that includes the debug symbols.  You can build such a binary by using
+`TANZU_CLI_ENABLE_DEBUG=1` along with your build command.
+
 ## Centralized Discovery of Plugins
 
 The Tanzu CLI uses a system of plugins to provide functionality to interact

diff --git a/docs/plugindev/README.md b/docs/plugindev/README.md
@@ -231,6 +231,30 @@ well.
 
 Edit the file as appropriate.
 
+#### Optimizations, debugging and build flags
+
+By default the `builder` plugin `v1.2.0` or later optimizes build flags to
+reduce the binary size of the plugin being built.  Two optimizations are done:
+building without debug symbols (which reduces the binary size by up to 30%),
+and deactivating function inlining (which reduces the binary size by about 6%).
+
+Building without debug symbols has the side-effect of preventing the use of a
+debugger towards the built binary.  However, when using an IDE, a different
+binary is used, one built by the IDE, and therefore the debugger can be used
+directly from the IDE.
+
+If you require using a debugger directly on a plugin binary, you have to build
+a binary that includes the debug symbols.  You can build such a binary by using
+`PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG=1` along with your `make` command.
+
+The `builder` plugin deactivates function inlining by implicitly injecting
+the `-gcflags=all=-l` go flags.  Be aware that if you use the `PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS`
+variable to inject other `-gcflags`, you should pay attention to also include
+the `all=-l` to keep the optimization. If for some reason you need to activate
+function inlining (at the cost of a larger binary), you can do so by
+using `PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS=-gcflags=all=` (without the `-l` specified), which will
+have the effect of replacing the go flags specified by the `builder` plugin.
+
 ### Publishing a plugin
 
 To publish one or more built plugins to a target repository, one would need to

diff --git a/plugin-tooling.mk b/plugin-tooling.mk
@@ -24,8 +24,21 @@ endif
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.Date=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_DATE)'
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.SHA=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_SHA)'
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.Version=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_VERSION)'
+
+# This variable can be used to pass additional go flags to the build command.
+# Note that the builder plugin already implicitly sets the go flags "-gcflags=all=-l"
+# which disable function inlining to reduce binary size.  If you want to prevent the
+# use of this flag, you can set PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS to "-gcflags=all=" which will replace
+# the default value.
 PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS ?=
 
+# To build with debug symbols use PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG=1
+ifeq ($(strip $(PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG)),1)
+PLUGIN_DEBUG=true
+else
+PLUGIN_DEBUG=false
+endif
+
 # Add supported OS-ARCHITECTURE combinations here
 PLUGIN_BUILD_OS_ARCH ?= linux-amd64 windows-amd64 darwin-amd64 darwin-arm64 linux-arm64
 
@@ -106,7 +119,8 @@ plugin-build-%:
 		--goflags "$(PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS)" \
 		--os-arch $(OS)_$(ARCH) \
 		--match "$(PLUGIN_NAME)" \
-		--plugin-scope-association-file $(PLUGIN_SCOPE_ASSOCIATION_FILE)
+		--plugin-scope-association-file $(PLUGIN_SCOPE_ASSOCIATION_FILE) \
+		--debug-symbols=$(PLUGIN_DEBUG)
 
 .PHONY: plugin-build-packages
 plugin-build-packages:  ## Build plugin packages

diff --git a/test/sample-plugin/Makefile b/test/sample-plugin/Makefile
@@ -37,9 +37,11 @@ $(GOLANGCI_LINT): $(TOOLS_BIN_DIR) ## Install golangci-lint
 
 .PHONY: install-builder
 install-builder: ## Install builder
+	$(MAKE) -C $(ROOT_DIR_RELATIVE)/../.. prepare-builder
+	unset BUILDER_PLUGIN ; \
 	export TANZU_CLI_CEIP_OPT_IN_PROMPT_ANSWER="No" ; \
 	export TANZU_CLI_EULA_PROMPT_ANSWER="Yes" ; \
-	tanzu plugin install builder
+	$(MAKE) -C $(ROOT_DIR_RELATIVE)/../.. plugin-build-install-local PLUGIN_NAME=builder
 
 .PHONEY: e2e-tests-simple-plugin ## Run all e2e tests for simple plugin
 e2e-tests-simple-plugin: install-builder plugin-build-local plugin-install-local e2e-tests-sample-plugin-functionality e2e-tests-sample-plugin-e2e-api

diff --git a/test/sample-plugin/plugin-tooling.mk b/test/sample-plugin/plugin-tooling.mk
@@ -20,8 +20,21 @@ endif
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.Date=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_DATE)'
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.SHA=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_SHA)'
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.Version=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_VERSION)'
+
+# This variable can be used to pass additional go flags to the build command.
+# Note that the builder plugin already implicitly sets the go flags "-gcflags=all=-l"
+# which disable function inlining to reduce binary size.  If you want to prevent the
+# use of this flag, you can set PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS to "-gcflags=all=" which will replace
+# the default value.
 PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS ?=
 
+# To build with debug symbols use PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG=1
+ifeq ($(strip $(PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG)),1)
+PLUGIN_DEBUG=true
+else
+PLUGIN_DEBUG=false
+endif
+
 # Add supported OS-ARCHITECTURE combinations here
 PLUGIN_BUILD_OS_ARCH ?= linux-amd64 windows-amd64 darwin-amd64 darwin-arm64 linux-arm64
 
@@ -88,8 +101,9 @@ plugin-install-local:
 .PHONY: plugin-build
 plugin-build: $(PLUGIN_BUILD_TARGETS) generate-plugin-bundle ## Build all plugin binaries for all supported os-arch
 
+.PHONY: plugin-build-local
 plugin-build-local: plugin-build-$(GOHOSTOS)-$(GOHOSTARCH) ## Build all plugin binaries for local platform
-	
+
 plugin-build-%:
 	$(eval ARCH = $(word 2,$(subst -, ,$*)))
 	$(eval OS = $(word 1,$(subst -, ,$*)))
@@ -101,7 +115,8 @@ plugin-build-%:
 		--goflags "$(PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS)" \
 		--os-arch $(OS)_$(ARCH) \
 		--match "$(PLUGIN_NAME)" \
-		--plugin-scope-association-file $(PLUGIN_SCOPE_ASSOCIATION_FILE)
+		--plugin-scope-association-file $(PLUGIN_SCOPE_ASSOCIATION_FILE) \
+		--debug-symbols=$(PLUGIN_DEBUG)
 
 .PHONY: plugin-build-packages
 plugin-build-packages: ## Build plugin packages