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tracking issue: #138568

tagging #134213 #90957

This PR puts #[target_feature(/* ... */)] on #[naked] functions behind its own feature gate, so that naked functions can be stabilized. It turns out that supporting target_feature on naked functions is tricky on some targets, so we're splitting it out to not block stabilization of naked functions themselves. See the tracking issue for more information and workarounds.

Note that at the time of writing, the target_features attribute is ignored when generating code for naked functions.

r? @Amanieu

@rustbot rustbot added A-attributes Area: Attributes (`#[…]`, `#![…]`) S-waiting-on-review Status: Awaiting review from the assignee but also interested parties. T-compiler Relevant to the compiler team, which will review and decide on the PR/issue. labels Mar 16, 2025
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rustbot commented Mar 16, 2025

Some changes occurred in compiler/rustc_passes/src/check_attr.rs

cc @jdonszelmann

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@folkertdev folkertdev force-pushed the naked-function-target-feature-gate branch from e92560c to c261426 Compare March 16, 2025 21:07
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Amanieu commented Mar 20, 2025

@bors r+

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bors commented Mar 20, 2025

📌 Commit c261426 has been approved by Amanieu

It is now in the queue for this repository.

@bors bors added S-waiting-on-bors Status: Waiting on bors to run and complete tests. Bors will change the label on completion. and removed S-waiting-on-review Status: Awaiting review from the assignee but also interested parties. labels Mar 20, 2025
matthiaskrgr added a commit to matthiaskrgr/rust that referenced this pull request Mar 21, 2025
…eature-gate, r=Amanieu

add `naked_functions_target_feature` unstable feature

tracking issue: rust-lang#138568

tagging rust-lang#134213 rust-lang#90957

This PR puts `#[target_feature(/* ... */)]` on `#[naked]` functions behind its own feature gate, so that naked functions can be stabilized. It turns out that supporting `target_feature` on naked functions is tricky on some targets, so we're splitting it out to not block stabilization of naked functions themselves. See the tracking issue for more information and workarounds.

Note that at the time of writing, the `target_features` attribute is ignored when generating code for naked functions.

r? `@Amanieu`
bors added a commit to rust-lang-ci/rust that referenced this pull request Mar 21, 2025
Rollup of 10 pull requests

Successful merges:

 - rust-lang#138364 (ports the compiler test cases to new rust_intrinsic format)
 - rust-lang#138570 (add `naked_functions_target_feature` unstable feature)
 - rust-lang#138623 ([bootstrap] Use llvm_runtimes for compiler-rt)
 - rust-lang#138627 (Autodiff cleanups)
 - rust-lang#138669 (tests: accept some noise from LLVM 21 in symbols-all-mangled)
 - rust-lang#138706 (Improve bootstrap git modified path handling)
 - rust-lang#138709 (Update GCC submodule)
 - rust-lang#138717 (Add an attribute that makes the spans from a macro edition 2021, and fix pin on edition 2024 with it)
 - rust-lang#138721 (Use explicit cpu in some asm and codegen tests.)
 - rust-lang#138728 (Update `compiler-builtins` to 0.1.152)

r? `@ghost`
`@rustbot` modify labels: rollup

try-job: aarch64-apple
try-job: x86_64-msvc-1
try-job: x86_64-gnu
try-job: dist-i586-gnu-i586-i686-musl
bors added a commit to rust-lang-ci/rust that referenced this pull request Mar 21, 2025
…iaskrgr

Rollup of 10 pull requests

Successful merges:

 - rust-lang#138364 (ports the compiler test cases to new rust_intrinsic format)
 - rust-lang#138570 (add `naked_functions_target_feature` unstable feature)
 - rust-lang#138623 ([bootstrap] Use llvm_runtimes for compiler-rt)
 - rust-lang#138627 (Autodiff cleanups)
 - rust-lang#138669 (tests: accept some noise from LLVM 21 in symbols-all-mangled)
 - rust-lang#138706 (Improve bootstrap git modified path handling)
 - rust-lang#138709 (Update GCC submodule)
 - rust-lang#138717 (Add an attribute that makes the spans from a macro edition 2021, and fix pin on edition 2024 with it)
 - rust-lang#138721 (Use explicit cpu in some asm and codegen tests.)
 - rust-lang#138728 (Update `compiler-builtins` to 0.1.152)

r? `@ghost`
`@rustbot` modify labels: rollup

try-job: aarch64-apple
try-job: x86_64-msvc-1
try-job: x86_64-gnu
try-job: dist-i586-gnu-i586-i686-musl
bors added a commit to rust-lang-ci/rust that referenced this pull request Mar 21, 2025
…iaskrgr

Rollup of 9 pull requests

Successful merges:

 - rust-lang#138364 (ports the compiler test cases to new rust_intrinsic format)
 - rust-lang#138570 (add `naked_functions_target_feature` unstable feature)
 - rust-lang#138623 ([bootstrap] Use llvm_runtimes for compiler-rt)
 - rust-lang#138627 (Autodiff cleanups)
 - rust-lang#138669 (tests: accept some noise from LLVM 21 in symbols-all-mangled)
 - rust-lang#138706 (Improve bootstrap git modified path handling)
 - rust-lang#138709 (Update GCC submodule)
 - rust-lang#138717 (Add an attribute that makes the spans from a macro edition 2021, and fix pin on edition 2024 with it)
 - rust-lang#138721 (Use explicit cpu in some asm and codegen tests.)

r? `@ghost`
`@rustbot` modify labels: rollup
@bors bors merged commit c354a97 into rust-lang:master Mar 21, 2025
6 checks passed
@rustbot rustbot added this to the 1.87.0 milestone Mar 21, 2025
rust-timer added a commit to rust-lang-ci/rust that referenced this pull request Mar 21, 2025
Rollup merge of rust-lang#138570 - folkertdev:naked-function-target-feature-gate, r=Amanieu

add `naked_functions_target_feature` unstable feature

tracking issue: rust-lang#138568

tagging rust-lang#134213 rust-lang#90957

This PR puts `#[target_feature(/* ... */)]` on `#[naked]` functions behind its own feature gate, so that naked functions can be stabilized. It turns out that supporting `target_feature` on naked functions is tricky on some targets, so we're splitting it out to not block stabilization of naked functions themselves. See the tracking issue for more information and workarounds.

Note that at the time of writing, the `target_features` attribute is ignored when generating code for naked functions.

r? ``@Amanieu``
@traviscross traviscross added the F-naked_functions_target_feature `#![feature(naked_functions_target_feature)]` label Mar 23, 2025
jieyouxu added a commit to jieyouxu/rust that referenced this pull request Apr 21, 2025
…ns, r=tgross35,Amanieu,traviscross

Stabilize `naked_functions`

tracking issue: rust-lang#90957
request for stabilization on tracking issue: rust-lang#90957 (comment)
reference PR: rust-lang/reference#1689

# Request for Stabilization

Two years later, we're ready to try this again. Even though this issue is already marked as having passed FCP, given the amount of time that has passed and the changes in implementation strategy, we should follow the process again.

## Summary

The `naked_functions` feature has two main parts: the `#[naked]` function attribute, and the `naked_asm!` macro.

An example of a naked function:

```rust
const THREE: usize = 3;

#[naked]
pub extern "sysv64" fn add_n(number: usize) -> usize {
    // SAFETY: the validity of the used registers
    // is guaranteed according to the "sysv64" ABI
    unsafe {
        core::arch::naked_asm!(
            "add rdi, {}",
            "mov rax, rdi",
            "ret",
            const THREE,
        )
    }
}
```

When the `#[naked]` attribute is applied to a function, the compiler won't emit a [function prologue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Function_prologue_and_epilogue) or epilogue when generating code for this function. This attribute is analogous to [`__attribute__((naked))`](https://developer.arm.com/documentation/100067/0608/Compiler-specific-Function--Variable--and-Type-Attributes/--attribute----naked---function-attribute) in C. The use of this feature allows the programmer to have precise control over the assembly that is generated for a given function.

The body of a naked function must consist of a single `naked_asm!` invocation, a heavily restricted variant of the `asm!` macro: the only legal operands are `const` and `sym`, and the only legal options are `raw` and `att_syntax`. In lieu of specifying operands, the `naked_asm!` within a naked function relies on the function's calling convention to determine the validity of registers.

## Documentation

The Rust Reference: rust-lang/reference#1689
(Previous PR: rust-lang/reference#1153)

## Tests

* [tests/run-make/naked-symbol-visiblity](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn) verifies that `pub`, `#[no_mangle]` and `#[linkage = "..."]` work correctly for naked functions
* [tests/codegen/naked-fn](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn) has tests for function alignment, use of generics, and validates the exact assembly output on linux, macos, windows and thumb
* [tests/ui/asm/naked-*](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/tests/ui/asm) tests for incompatible attributes, generating errors around incorrect use of `naked_asm!`, etc

## Interaction with other (unstable) features

### [fn_align](rust-lang#82232)

Combining `#[naked]` with `#[repr(align(N))]` works well, and is tested e.g. here

- https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn/aligned.rs
- https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn/min-function-alignment.rs

It's tested extensively because we do need to explicitly support the `repr(align)` attribute (and make sure we e.g. don't mistake powers of two for number of bytes).

## History

This feature was originally proposed in [RFC 1201](rust-lang/rfcs#1201), filed on 2015-07-10 and accepted on 2016-03-21. Support for this feature was added in [rust-lang#32410](rust-lang#32410), landing on 2016-03-23. Development languished for several years as it was realized that the semantics given in RFC 1201 were insufficiently specific. To address this, a minimal subset of naked functions was specified by [RFC 2972](rust-lang/rfcs#2972), filed on 2020-08-07 and accepted on 2021-11-16. Prior to the acceptance of RFC 2972, all of the stricter behavior specified by RFC 2972 was implemented as a series of warn-by-default lints that would trigger on existing uses of the `naked` attribute; these lints became hard errors in [rust-lang#93153](rust-lang#93153) on 2022-01-22. As a result, today RFC 2972 has completely superseded RFC 1201 in describing the semantics of the `naked` attribute.

More recently, the `naked_asm!` macro was added to replace the earlier use of a heavily restricted `asm!` invocation. The `naked_asm!` name is clearer in error messages, and provides a place for documenting the specific requirements of inline assembly in naked functions.

The implementation strategy was changed to emitting a global assembly block. In effect, an extern function

```rust
extern "C" fn foo() {
    core::arch::naked_asm!("ret")
}
```

is emitted as something similar to

```rust
core::arch::global_asm!(
    "foo:",
    "ret"
);

extern "C" {
    fn foo();
}
```

The codegen approach was chosen over the llvm naked function attribute because:

- the rust compiler can guarantee the behavior (no sneaky additional instructions, no inlining, etc.)
- behavior is the same on all backends (llvm, cranelift, gcc, etc)

Finally, there is now an allow list of compatible attributes on naked functions, so that e.g. `#[inline]` is rejected with an error. The `#[target_feature]` attribute on naked functions was later made separately unstable, because implementing it is complex and we did not want to block naked functions themselves on how target features work on them. See also rust-lang#138568.

relevant PRs for these recent changes

- rust-lang#127853
- rust-lang#128651
- rust-lang#128004
- rust-lang#138570
-
### Various historical notes

#### `noreturn`
[RFC 2972](https://github.com/rust-lang/rfcs/blob/master/text/2972-constrained-naked.md) mentions that naked functions

> must have a body which contains only a single asm!() statement which:
> iii. must contain the noreturn option.

Instead of `asm!`, the current implementation mandates that the body contain a single `naked_asm!` statement. The `naked_asm!` macro is a heavily restricted version of the `asm!` macro, making it easier to talk about and document the rules of assembly in naked functions and give dedicated error messages.

For `naked_asm!`, the behavior of the `asm!`'s `noreturn` option is implicit. The `noreturn` option means that it is UB for control flow to fall through the end of the assembly block. With `asm!`, this option is usually used for blocks that diverge (and thus have no return and can be typed as `!`). With `naked_asm!`, the intent is different: usually naked funtions do return, but they must do so from within the assembly block. The `noreturn` option was used so that the compiler would not itself also insert a `ret` instruction at the very end.

#### padding / `ud2`

A `naked_asm!` block that violates the safety assumption that control flow must not fall through the end of the assembly block is UB. Because no return instruction is emitted, whatever bytes follow the naked function will be executed, resulting in truly undefined behavior. There has been discussion whether rustc should emit an invalid instruction (e.g. `ud2`  on x86) after the `naked_asm!` block to at least fail early in the case of an invalid `naked_asm!`. It was however decided that it is more useful to guarantee that `#[naked]` functions NEVER contain any instructions besides those in the `naked_asm!` block.

# unresolved questions

None

r? `@Amanieu`

I've validated the tests on x86_64 and aarch64
ChrisDenton added a commit to ChrisDenton/rust that referenced this pull request Apr 21, 2025
…ns, r=tgross35,Amanieu,traviscross

Stabilize `naked_functions`

tracking issue: rust-lang#90957
request for stabilization on tracking issue: rust-lang#90957 (comment)
reference PR: rust-lang/reference#1689

# Request for Stabilization

Two years later, we're ready to try this again. Even though this issue is already marked as having passed FCP, given the amount of time that has passed and the changes in implementation strategy, we should follow the process again.

## Summary

The `naked_functions` feature has two main parts: the `#[naked]` function attribute, and the `naked_asm!` macro.

An example of a naked function:

```rust
const THREE: usize = 3;

#[naked]
pub extern "sysv64" fn add_n(number: usize) -> usize {
    // SAFETY: the validity of the used registers
    // is guaranteed according to the "sysv64" ABI
    unsafe {
        core::arch::naked_asm!(
            "add rdi, {}",
            "mov rax, rdi",
            "ret",
            const THREE,
        )
    }
}
```

When the `#[naked]` attribute is applied to a function, the compiler won't emit a [function prologue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Function_prologue_and_epilogue) or epilogue when generating code for this function. This attribute is analogous to [`__attribute__((naked))`](https://developer.arm.com/documentation/100067/0608/Compiler-specific-Function--Variable--and-Type-Attributes/--attribute----naked---function-attribute) in C. The use of this feature allows the programmer to have precise control over the assembly that is generated for a given function.

The body of a naked function must consist of a single `naked_asm!` invocation, a heavily restricted variant of the `asm!` macro: the only legal operands are `const` and `sym`, and the only legal options are `raw` and `att_syntax`. In lieu of specifying operands, the `naked_asm!` within a naked function relies on the function's calling convention to determine the validity of registers.

## Documentation

The Rust Reference: rust-lang/reference#1689
(Previous PR: rust-lang/reference#1153)

## Tests

* [tests/run-make/naked-symbol-visiblity](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn) verifies that `pub`, `#[no_mangle]` and `#[linkage = "..."]` work correctly for naked functions
* [tests/codegen/naked-fn](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn) has tests for function alignment, use of generics, and validates the exact assembly output on linux, macos, windows and thumb
* [tests/ui/asm/naked-*](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/tests/ui/asm) tests for incompatible attributes, generating errors around incorrect use of `naked_asm!`, etc

## Interaction with other (unstable) features

### [fn_align](rust-lang#82232)

Combining `#[naked]` with `#[repr(align(N))]` works well, and is tested e.g. here

- https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn/aligned.rs
- https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn/min-function-alignment.rs

It's tested extensively because we do need to explicitly support the `repr(align)` attribute (and make sure we e.g. don't mistake powers of two for number of bytes).

## History

This feature was originally proposed in [RFC 1201](rust-lang/rfcs#1201), filed on 2015-07-10 and accepted on 2016-03-21. Support for this feature was added in [rust-lang#32410](rust-lang#32410), landing on 2016-03-23. Development languished for several years as it was realized that the semantics given in RFC 1201 were insufficiently specific. To address this, a minimal subset of naked functions was specified by [RFC 2972](rust-lang/rfcs#2972), filed on 2020-08-07 and accepted on 2021-11-16. Prior to the acceptance of RFC 2972, all of the stricter behavior specified by RFC 2972 was implemented as a series of warn-by-default lints that would trigger on existing uses of the `naked` attribute; these lints became hard errors in [rust-lang#93153](rust-lang#93153) on 2022-01-22. As a result, today RFC 2972 has completely superseded RFC 1201 in describing the semantics of the `naked` attribute.

More recently, the `naked_asm!` macro was added to replace the earlier use of a heavily restricted `asm!` invocation. The `naked_asm!` name is clearer in error messages, and provides a place for documenting the specific requirements of inline assembly in naked functions.

The implementation strategy was changed to emitting a global assembly block. In effect, an extern function

```rust
extern "C" fn foo() {
    core::arch::naked_asm!("ret")
}
```

is emitted as something similar to

```rust
core::arch::global_asm!(
    "foo:",
    "ret"
);

extern "C" {
    fn foo();
}
```

The codegen approach was chosen over the llvm naked function attribute because:

- the rust compiler can guarantee the behavior (no sneaky additional instructions, no inlining, etc.)
- behavior is the same on all backends (llvm, cranelift, gcc, etc)

Finally, there is now an allow list of compatible attributes on naked functions, so that e.g. `#[inline]` is rejected with an error. The `#[target_feature]` attribute on naked functions was later made separately unstable, because implementing it is complex and we did not want to block naked functions themselves on how target features work on them. See also rust-lang#138568.

relevant PRs for these recent changes

- rust-lang#127853
- rust-lang#128651
- rust-lang#128004
- rust-lang#138570
-
### Various historical notes

#### `noreturn`
[RFC 2972](https://github.com/rust-lang/rfcs/blob/master/text/2972-constrained-naked.md) mentions that naked functions

> must have a body which contains only a single asm!() statement which:
> iii. must contain the noreturn option.

Instead of `asm!`, the current implementation mandates that the body contain a single `naked_asm!` statement. The `naked_asm!` macro is a heavily restricted version of the `asm!` macro, making it easier to talk about and document the rules of assembly in naked functions and give dedicated error messages.

For `naked_asm!`, the behavior of the `asm!`'s `noreturn` option is implicit. The `noreturn` option means that it is UB for control flow to fall through the end of the assembly block. With `asm!`, this option is usually used for blocks that diverge (and thus have no return and can be typed as `!`). With `naked_asm!`, the intent is different: usually naked funtions do return, but they must do so from within the assembly block. The `noreturn` option was used so that the compiler would not itself also insert a `ret` instruction at the very end.

#### padding / `ud2`

A `naked_asm!` block that violates the safety assumption that control flow must not fall through the end of the assembly block is UB. Because no return instruction is emitted, whatever bytes follow the naked function will be executed, resulting in truly undefined behavior. There has been discussion whether rustc should emit an invalid instruction (e.g. `ud2`  on x86) after the `naked_asm!` block to at least fail early in the case of an invalid `naked_asm!`. It was however decided that it is more useful to guarantee that `#[naked]` functions NEVER contain any instructions besides those in the `naked_asm!` block.

# unresolved questions

None

r? ``@Amanieu``

I've validated the tests on x86_64 and aarch64
rust-timer added a commit to rust-lang-ci/rust that referenced this pull request Apr 21, 2025
Rollup merge of rust-lang#134213 - folkertdev:stabilize-naked-functions, r=tgross35,Amanieu,traviscross

Stabilize `naked_functions`

tracking issue: rust-lang#90957
request for stabilization on tracking issue: rust-lang#90957 (comment)
reference PR: rust-lang/reference#1689

# Request for Stabilization

Two years later, we're ready to try this again. Even though this issue is already marked as having passed FCP, given the amount of time that has passed and the changes in implementation strategy, we should follow the process again.

## Summary

The `naked_functions` feature has two main parts: the `#[naked]` function attribute, and the `naked_asm!` macro.

An example of a naked function:

```rust
const THREE: usize = 3;

#[naked]
pub extern "sysv64" fn add_n(number: usize) -> usize {
    // SAFETY: the validity of the used registers
    // is guaranteed according to the "sysv64" ABI
    unsafe {
        core::arch::naked_asm!(
            "add rdi, {}",
            "mov rax, rdi",
            "ret",
            const THREE,
        )
    }
}
```

When the `#[naked]` attribute is applied to a function, the compiler won't emit a [function prologue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Function_prologue_and_epilogue) or epilogue when generating code for this function. This attribute is analogous to [`__attribute__((naked))`](https://developer.arm.com/documentation/100067/0608/Compiler-specific-Function--Variable--and-Type-Attributes/--attribute----naked---function-attribute) in C. The use of this feature allows the programmer to have precise control over the assembly that is generated for a given function.

The body of a naked function must consist of a single `naked_asm!` invocation, a heavily restricted variant of the `asm!` macro: the only legal operands are `const` and `sym`, and the only legal options are `raw` and `att_syntax`. In lieu of specifying operands, the `naked_asm!` within a naked function relies on the function's calling convention to determine the validity of registers.

## Documentation

The Rust Reference: rust-lang/reference#1689
(Previous PR: rust-lang/reference#1153)

## Tests

* [tests/run-make/naked-symbol-visiblity](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn) verifies that `pub`, `#[no_mangle]` and `#[linkage = "..."]` work correctly for naked functions
* [tests/codegen/naked-fn](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn) has tests for function alignment, use of generics, and validates the exact assembly output on linux, macos, windows and thumb
* [tests/ui/asm/naked-*](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/tests/ui/asm) tests for incompatible attributes, generating errors around incorrect use of `naked_asm!`, etc

## Interaction with other (unstable) features

### [fn_align](rust-lang#82232)

Combining `#[naked]` with `#[repr(align(N))]` works well, and is tested e.g. here

- https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn/aligned.rs
- https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn/min-function-alignment.rs

It's tested extensively because we do need to explicitly support the `repr(align)` attribute (and make sure we e.g. don't mistake powers of two for number of bytes).

## History

This feature was originally proposed in [RFC 1201](rust-lang/rfcs#1201), filed on 2015-07-10 and accepted on 2016-03-21. Support for this feature was added in [rust-lang#32410](rust-lang#32410), landing on 2016-03-23. Development languished for several years as it was realized that the semantics given in RFC 1201 were insufficiently specific. To address this, a minimal subset of naked functions was specified by [RFC 2972](rust-lang/rfcs#2972), filed on 2020-08-07 and accepted on 2021-11-16. Prior to the acceptance of RFC 2972, all of the stricter behavior specified by RFC 2972 was implemented as a series of warn-by-default lints that would trigger on existing uses of the `naked` attribute; these lints became hard errors in [rust-lang#93153](rust-lang#93153) on 2022-01-22. As a result, today RFC 2972 has completely superseded RFC 1201 in describing the semantics of the `naked` attribute.

More recently, the `naked_asm!` macro was added to replace the earlier use of a heavily restricted `asm!` invocation. The `naked_asm!` name is clearer in error messages, and provides a place for documenting the specific requirements of inline assembly in naked functions.

The implementation strategy was changed to emitting a global assembly block. In effect, an extern function

```rust
extern "C" fn foo() {
    core::arch::naked_asm!("ret")
}
```

is emitted as something similar to

```rust
core::arch::global_asm!(
    "foo:",
    "ret"
);

extern "C" {
    fn foo();
}
```

The codegen approach was chosen over the llvm naked function attribute because:

- the rust compiler can guarantee the behavior (no sneaky additional instructions, no inlining, etc.)
- behavior is the same on all backends (llvm, cranelift, gcc, etc)

Finally, there is now an allow list of compatible attributes on naked functions, so that e.g. `#[inline]` is rejected with an error. The `#[target_feature]` attribute on naked functions was later made separately unstable, because implementing it is complex and we did not want to block naked functions themselves on how target features work on them. See also rust-lang#138568.

relevant PRs for these recent changes

- rust-lang#127853
- rust-lang#128651
- rust-lang#128004
- rust-lang#138570
-
### Various historical notes

#### `noreturn`
[RFC 2972](https://github.com/rust-lang/rfcs/blob/master/text/2972-constrained-naked.md) mentions that naked functions

> must have a body which contains only a single asm!() statement which:
> iii. must contain the noreturn option.

Instead of `asm!`, the current implementation mandates that the body contain a single `naked_asm!` statement. The `naked_asm!` macro is a heavily restricted version of the `asm!` macro, making it easier to talk about and document the rules of assembly in naked functions and give dedicated error messages.

For `naked_asm!`, the behavior of the `asm!`'s `noreturn` option is implicit. The `noreturn` option means that it is UB for control flow to fall through the end of the assembly block. With `asm!`, this option is usually used for blocks that diverge (and thus have no return and can be typed as `!`). With `naked_asm!`, the intent is different: usually naked funtions do return, but they must do so from within the assembly block. The `noreturn` option was used so that the compiler would not itself also insert a `ret` instruction at the very end.

#### padding / `ud2`

A `naked_asm!` block that violates the safety assumption that control flow must not fall through the end of the assembly block is UB. Because no return instruction is emitted, whatever bytes follow the naked function will be executed, resulting in truly undefined behavior. There has been discussion whether rustc should emit an invalid instruction (e.g. `ud2`  on x86) after the `naked_asm!` block to at least fail early in the case of an invalid `naked_asm!`. It was however decided that it is more useful to guarantee that `#[naked]` functions NEVER contain any instructions besides those in the `naked_asm!` block.

# unresolved questions

None

r? ``@Amanieu``

I've validated the tests on x86_64 and aarch64
github-actions bot pushed a commit to rust-lang/miri that referenced this pull request Apr 22, 2025
…oss35,Amanieu,traviscross

Stabilize `naked_functions`

tracking issue: rust-lang/rust#90957
request for stabilization on tracking issue: rust-lang/rust#90957 (comment)
reference PR: rust-lang/reference#1689

# Request for Stabilization

Two years later, we're ready to try this again. Even though this issue is already marked as having passed FCP, given the amount of time that has passed and the changes in implementation strategy, we should follow the process again.

## Summary

The `naked_functions` feature has two main parts: the `#[naked]` function attribute, and the `naked_asm!` macro.

An example of a naked function:

```rust
const THREE: usize = 3;

#[naked]
pub extern "sysv64" fn add_n(number: usize) -> usize {
    // SAFETY: the validity of the used registers
    // is guaranteed according to the "sysv64" ABI
    unsafe {
        core::arch::naked_asm!(
            "add rdi, {}",
            "mov rax, rdi",
            "ret",
            const THREE,
        )
    }
}
```

When the `#[naked]` attribute is applied to a function, the compiler won't emit a [function prologue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Function_prologue_and_epilogue) or epilogue when generating code for this function. This attribute is analogous to [`__attribute__((naked))`](https://developer.arm.com/documentation/100067/0608/Compiler-specific-Function--Variable--and-Type-Attributes/--attribute----naked---function-attribute) in C. The use of this feature allows the programmer to have precise control over the assembly that is generated for a given function.

The body of a naked function must consist of a single `naked_asm!` invocation, a heavily restricted variant of the `asm!` macro: the only legal operands are `const` and `sym`, and the only legal options are `raw` and `att_syntax`. In lieu of specifying operands, the `naked_asm!` within a naked function relies on the function's calling convention to determine the validity of registers.

## Documentation

The Rust Reference: rust-lang/reference#1689
(Previous PR: rust-lang/reference#1153)

## Tests

* [tests/run-make/naked-symbol-visiblity](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn) verifies that `pub`, `#[no_mangle]` and `#[linkage = "..."]` work correctly for naked functions
* [tests/codegen/naked-fn](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn) has tests for function alignment, use of generics, and validates the exact assembly output on linux, macos, windows and thumb
* [tests/ui/asm/naked-*](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/tests/ui/asm) tests for incompatible attributes, generating errors around incorrect use of `naked_asm!`, etc

## Interaction with other (unstable) features

### [fn_align](rust-lang/rust#82232)

Combining `#[naked]` with `#[repr(align(N))]` works well, and is tested e.g. here

- https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn/aligned.rs
- https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/tests/codegen/naked-fn/min-function-alignment.rs

It's tested extensively because we do need to explicitly support the `repr(align)` attribute (and make sure we e.g. don't mistake powers of two for number of bytes).

## History

This feature was originally proposed in [RFC 1201](rust-lang/rfcs#1201), filed on 2015-07-10 and accepted on 2016-03-21. Support for this feature was added in [#32410](rust-lang/rust#32410), landing on 2016-03-23. Development languished for several years as it was realized that the semantics given in RFC 1201 were insufficiently specific. To address this, a minimal subset of naked functions was specified by [RFC 2972](rust-lang/rfcs#2972), filed on 2020-08-07 and accepted on 2021-11-16. Prior to the acceptance of RFC 2972, all of the stricter behavior specified by RFC 2972 was implemented as a series of warn-by-default lints that would trigger on existing uses of the `naked` attribute; these lints became hard errors in [#93153](rust-lang/rust#93153) on 2022-01-22. As a result, today RFC 2972 has completely superseded RFC 1201 in describing the semantics of the `naked` attribute.

More recently, the `naked_asm!` macro was added to replace the earlier use of a heavily restricted `asm!` invocation. The `naked_asm!` name is clearer in error messages, and provides a place for documenting the specific requirements of inline assembly in naked functions.

The implementation strategy was changed to emitting a global assembly block. In effect, an extern function

```rust
extern "C" fn foo() {
    core::arch::naked_asm!("ret")
}
```

is emitted as something similar to

```rust
core::arch::global_asm!(
    "foo:",
    "ret"
);

extern "C" {
    fn foo();
}
```

The codegen approach was chosen over the llvm naked function attribute because:

- the rust compiler can guarantee the behavior (no sneaky additional instructions, no inlining, etc.)
- behavior is the same on all backends (llvm, cranelift, gcc, etc)

Finally, there is now an allow list of compatible attributes on naked functions, so that e.g. `#[inline]` is rejected with an error. The `#[target_feature]` attribute on naked functions was later made separately unstable, because implementing it is complex and we did not want to block naked functions themselves on how target features work on them. See also rust-lang/rust#138568.

relevant PRs for these recent changes

- rust-lang/rust#127853
- rust-lang/rust#128651
- rust-lang/rust#128004
- rust-lang/rust#138570
-
### Various historical notes

#### `noreturn`
[RFC 2972](https://github.com/rust-lang/rfcs/blob/master/text/2972-constrained-naked.md) mentions that naked functions

> must have a body which contains only a single asm!() statement which:
> iii. must contain the noreturn option.

Instead of `asm!`, the current implementation mandates that the body contain a single `naked_asm!` statement. The `naked_asm!` macro is a heavily restricted version of the `asm!` macro, making it easier to talk about and document the rules of assembly in naked functions and give dedicated error messages.

For `naked_asm!`, the behavior of the `asm!`'s `noreturn` option is implicit. The `noreturn` option means that it is UB for control flow to fall through the end of the assembly block. With `asm!`, this option is usually used for blocks that diverge (and thus have no return and can be typed as `!`). With `naked_asm!`, the intent is different: usually naked funtions do return, but they must do so from within the assembly block. The `noreturn` option was used so that the compiler would not itself also insert a `ret` instruction at the very end.

#### padding / `ud2`

A `naked_asm!` block that violates the safety assumption that control flow must not fall through the end of the assembly block is UB. Because no return instruction is emitted, whatever bytes follow the naked function will be executed, resulting in truly undefined behavior. There has been discussion whether rustc should emit an invalid instruction (e.g. `ud2`  on x86) after the `naked_asm!` block to at least fail early in the case of an invalid `naked_asm!`. It was however decided that it is more useful to guarantee that `#[naked]` functions NEVER contain any instructions besides those in the `naked_asm!` block.

# unresolved questions

None

r? ``@Amanieu``

I've validated the tests on x86_64 and aarch64
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