---
title: "context-cancel-in-loop"
description: "Detect derived contexts retained across loop iterations."
image: "https://strider.gempir.com/og.png"
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://strider.gempir.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# context-cancel-in-loop

**Default severity:** `warning`

`context.WithCancel`, `WithTimeout`, and `WithDeadline` retain parent or timer
resources until cancellation. A defer in the surrounding function runs too
late; cancel during the iteration or move the body into a helper.

## Bad

```go
for _, item := range items {
	itemCtx, cancel := context.WithCancel(ctx)
	defer cancel()
	use(itemCtx, item)
}
```

## Good

```go
for _, item := range items {
	if err := handleItem(ctx, item); err != nil {
		return err
	}
}

func handleItem(ctx context.Context, item Item) error {
	itemCtx, cancel := context.WithCancel(ctx)
	defer cancel()
	return use(itemCtx, item)
}
```

Source: https://strider.gempir.com/analyzers/context-cancel-in-loop/index.mdx