Python resource management with context managers, cleanup patterns, and streaming. Use when managing connections, file handles, implementing cleanup logic, or building streaming responses with accumulated state.
npx skills add https://github.com/wshobson/agents --skill python-resource-management
Manage resources deterministically using context managers. Resources like database connections, file handles, and network sockets should be released reliably, even when exceptions occur.
The with statement ensures resources are released automatically, even on exceptions.
__enter__/__exit__ for sync, __aenter__/__aexit__ for async resource management.
__exit__ always runs, regardless of whether an exception occurred.
Return True from __exit__ to suppress exceptions, False to propagate them.
from contextlib import contextmanager
@contextmanager
def managed_resource():
resource = acquire_resource()
try:
yield resource
finally:
resource.cleanup()
with managed_resource() as r:
r.do_work()
Implement the context manager protocol for complex resources.
class DatabaseConnection:
"""Database connection with automatic cleanup."""
def __init__(self, dsn: str) -> None:
self._dsn = dsn
self._conn: Connection | None = None
def connect(self) -> None:
"""Establish database connection."""
self._conn = psycopg.connect(self._dsn)
def close(self) -> None:
"""Close connection if open."""
if self._conn is not None:
self._conn.close()
self._conn = None
def __enter__(self) -> "DatabaseConnection":
"""Enter context: connect and return self."""
self.connect()
return self
def __exit__(
self,
exc_type: type[BaseException] | None,
exc_val: BaseException | None,
exc_tb: TracebackType | None,
) -> None:
"""Exit context: always close connection."""
self.close()
# Usage with context manager (preferred)
with DatabaseConnection(dsn) as db:
result = db.execute(query)
# Manual management when needed
db = DatabaseConnection(dsn)
db.connect()
try:
result = db.execute(query)
finally:
db.close()
For async resources, implement the async protocol.
class AsyncDatabasePool:
"""Async database connection pool."""
def __init__(self, dsn: str, min_size: int = 1, max_size: int = 10) -> None:
self._dsn = dsn
self._min_size = min_size
self._max_size = max_size
self._pool: asyncpg.Pool | None = None
async def __aenter__(self) -> "AsyncDatabasePool":
"""Create connection pool."""
self._pool = await asyncpg.create_pool(
self._dsn,
min_size=self._min_size,
max_size=self._max_size,
)
return self
async def __aexit__(
self,
exc_type: type[BaseException] | None,
exc_val: BaseException | None,
exc_tb: TracebackType | None,
) -> None:
"""Close all connections in pool."""
if self._pool is not None:
await self._pool.close()
async def execute(self, query: str, *args) -> list[dict]:
"""Execute query using pooled connection."""
async with self._pool.acquire() as conn:
return await conn.fetch(query, *args)
# Usage
async with AsyncDatabasePool(dsn) as pool:
users = await pool.execute("SELECT * FROM users WHERE active = $1", True)
Simplify context managers with the decorator for straightforward cases.
from contextlib import contextmanager, asynccontextmanager
import time
import structlog
logger = structlog.get_logger()
@contextmanager
def timed_block(name: str):
"""Time a block of code."""
start = time.perf_counter()
try:
yield
finally:
elapsed = time.perf_counter() - start
logger.info(f"{name} completed", duration_seconds=round(elapsed, 3))
# Usage
with timed_block("data_processing"):
process_large_dataset()
@asynccontextmanager
async def database_transaction(conn: AsyncConnection):
"""Manage database transaction."""
await conn.execute("BEGIN")
try:
yield conn
await conn.execute("COMMIT")
except Exception:
await conn.execute("ROLLBACK")
raise
# Usage
async with database_transaction(conn) as tx:
await tx.execute("INSERT INTO users ...")
await tx.execute("INSERT INTO audit_log ...")
Always clean up resources in __exit__, regardless of exceptions.
class FileProcessor:
"""Process file with guaranteed cleanup."""
def __init__(self, path: str) -> None:
self._path = path
self._file: IO | None = None
self._temp_files: list[Path] = []
def __enter__(self) -> "FileProcessor":
self._file = open(self._path, "r")
return self
def __exit__(
self,
exc_type: type[BaseException] | None,
exc_val: BaseException | None,
exc_tb: TracebackType | None,
) -> None:
"""Clean up all resources unconditionally."""
# Close main file
if self._file is not None:
self._file.close()
# Clean up any temporary files
for temp_file in self._temp_files:
try:
temp_file.unlink()
except OSError:
pass # Best effort cleanup
# Return None/False to propagate any exception
Detailed sections (starting with ## Advanced Patterns) live in references/details.md. Read that file when the navigation summary above is insufficient.
__exit__ runs even on exceptionFalse unless suppression is intentionalwith and manual management10. Test cleanup paths - Verify resources are released on errors
Guide for creating high-quality MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers that enable LLMs to interact with external services through well-designed tools. Use when building MCP servers to integrate external APIs or services, whether in Python (FastMCP) or Node/TypeScript (MCP SDK).
Automatically creates user-facing changelogs from git commits by analyzing commit history, categorizing changes, and transforming technical commits into clear, customer-friendly release notes. Turns hours of manual changelog writing into minutes of automated generation.
Use when implementation is complete, all tests pass, and you need to decide how to integrate the work - guides completion of development work by presenting structured options for merge, PR, or cleanup
Guide for creating high-quality MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers that enable LLMs to interact with external services through well-designed tools. Use when building MCP servers to integrate external APIs or services, whether in Python (FastMCP) or Node/TypeScript (MCP SDK).
React Native and Expo best practices for building performant mobile apps. Use when building React Native components, optimizing list performance, implementing animations, or working with native modules. Triggers on tasks involving React Native, Expo, mobile performance, or native platform APIs.
React and Next.js performance optimization guidelines from Vercel Engineering. This skill should be used when writing, reviewing, or refactoring React/Next.js code to ensure optimal performance patterns. Triggers on tasks involving React components, Next.js pages, data fetching, bundle optimization, or performance improvements.
Next.js best practices - file conventions, RSC boundaries, data patterns, async APIs, metadata, error handling, route handlers, image/font optimization, bundling
Use when starting feature work that needs isolation from current workspace or before executing implementation plans - creates isolated git worktrees with smart directory selection and safety verification
Take wshobson/python-resource-management from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal
use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.
The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the
same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.