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Load test suite for matchmaking, battles and messaging

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Assessment

Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Newbie friendliness
45/100
Issue type
Feature
Clarity
Clearly specified
Activity status
Active
Tech stack
javascript, node.js
Domain
backend, performance, testing

Research direction

Start by reading the backend socket protocol and existing test setup, then run the app with npm run dev and CODEARENA_RUNNER=local. Build the suite under backend/loadtest/ to cover matchmaking, battles and messaging, with correctness checks and latency summaries; ensure it refuses non-local targets unless explicitly overridden. Run npm test and node scripts/check-boundary.js, then commit docs/performance.md with real measurements and the first bottleneck found.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

enhancement help wanted

Nobody knows how many simultaneous battles one CodeArena backend can handle, or what breaks first. There are no load tests in the repo.

What to do

Add a load test suite in backend/loadtest/ that drives the real socket protocol:

  • Matchmaking: N players join the queue at once at a spread of ratings. Measure time to match and check nobody is matched twice or left behind.
  • Battles: N concurrent battles where both players send throttled code-update events and submit at realistic times. Measure event latency to the opponent and submission round trip.
  • Messaging: bursts of direct and group messages.
  • Use a fake runner for code execution so the test measures CodeArena, not Judge0. A separate mode can hit a real Judge0 to find its limits.
  • One command with flags for scale and duration, plus a summary of p50, p95 and p99 latencies and error counts.

Deliverable beyond the tool

A short report in docs/performance.md: the numbers on a stated machine, the first bottleneck found, and its cause. If the cause is a bug, open an issue or fix it.

Rules

  • The suite must assert correctness, not just measure speed. For example, every battle ends with exactly one result and no player is in two battles.
  • Never runs against production by default. Refuse unless the target is localhost or --i-know-what-im-doing is passed.

Definition of done

  • Runs locally against npm run dev with CODEARENA_RUNNER=local.
  • Report committed with real numbers.
  • npm test and node scripts/check-boundary.js pass.
Dominant language
JavaScript
Stars
0
Forks
2
No merged PRs in 30d

Getting set up

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

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