# google/tcmalloc

Repository: https://github.com/google/tcmalloc
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/tcmalloc
Language: C++
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-08-26T23:09:37+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 77/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2567, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 5333, forks 566 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:15.751685+00:00)

## What it is
TCMalloc is Google's fast, multi-threaded memory allocator implementing C's malloc() and C++'s operator new. It is a drop-in replacement allocator designed for high performance in multithreaded C and C++ applications.

## Use cases
- replace glibc malloc with a faster allocator in a C++ server
- reduce lock contention in multithreaded allocation-heavy workloads
- profile and tune memory allocation behavior in production services
- link a custom allocator into an existing C or C++ codebase

## When to choose
- your application is multithreaded and allocation performance matters
- you need a battle-tested allocator used at Google scale
- you want per-thread caching to reduce allocator contention

## When to avoid
- your workload is single-threaded with minimal allocation overhead
- you need a platform not listed in TCMalloc's supported platforms guide
- you require a simple allocator with minimal build complexity

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: caching, concurrency, developer-tools
- domain: performance, developer-tools, operating-systems
- platform: cpp, cross-platform
- tags: memory-allocator, malloc, thread-caching, performance-optimization, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- google/tcmalloc (main) score 77

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:15.751685+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:58:52.157070+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/google/tcmalloc (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:15.751685+00:00, sha 835d9e578830)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.