vm: explain how to share promises between contexts w/ afterEvaluate

ericrannaud · Sep 7, 2025 · Sep 10, 2025 · Sep 19, 2025 · Sep 20, 2025 · d70b25c90ace65e3bcc7b9a77896563e06bd1761
commit d70b25c90ace65e3bcc7b9a77896563e06bd1761
diff --git a/doc/api/vm.md b/doc/api/vm.md
@@ -1916,6 +1916,68 @@ inside a `vm.Context`, functions passed to them will be added to global queues,
 which are shared by all contexts. Therefore, callbacks passed to those functions
 are not controllable through the timeout either.
 
+### When `microtaskMode` is `'afterEvaluate'`, beware sharing Promises between Contexts
+
+In `'afterEvaluate'` mode, the `Context` has its own microtask queue, separate
+from the global microtask queue used by the outer (main) context. While this
+mode is necessary to enforce `timeout` and enable `breakOnSigint` with
+asynchronous tasks, it also makes sharing promises between contexts challenging.
+
+In the example below, a promise is created in the inner context and shared with
+the outer context. When the outer context `await` on the promise, the execution
+flow of the outer context is disrupted in a surprising way: the log statement
+is never executed.
+
+```mjs
+import * as vm from 'node:vm';
+
+const inner_context = vm.createContext({}, { microtaskMode: 'afterEvaluate' });
+
+// runInContext() returns a Promise created in the inner context.
+const inner_promise = vm.runInContext(
+  'Promise.resolve()',
+  context,
+);
+
+// As part of performing `await`, the JavaScript runtime must enqueue a task
+// on the microtask queue of the context where `inner_promise` was created.
+// A task is added on the inner microtask queue, but **it will not be run
+// automatically**: this task will remain pending indefinitely.
+//
+// Since the outer microtask queue is empty, execution in the outer module
+// falls through, and the log statement below is never executed.
+await inner_promise;
+
+console.log('this will NOT be printed');
+```
+
+To successfully share promises between contexts with different microtask queues,
+it is necessary to ensure that tasks on the inner microtask queue will be run
+**whenever** the outer context enqueues a task on the inner microtask queue.
+
+The tasks on the microtask queue of a given context are run whenever
+`runInContext()` or `SourceTextModule.evaluate()` are invoked on a script or
+module using this context. In our example, the normal execution flow can be
+restored by scheduling a second call to `runInContext()` _before_ `await
+inner_promise`.
+
+```mjs
+// Schedule `runInContext()` to manually drain the inner context microtask
+// queue; it will run after the `await` statement below.
+setImmediate(() => {
+  vm.runInContext('', context);
+});
+
+await inner_promise;
+
+console.log('OK');
+```
+
+**Note:** Strictly speaking, in this mode, `node:vm` departs from the letter of
+the ECMAScript specification for [enqueing jobs][], by allowing asynchronous
+tasks from different contexts to run in a different order than they were
+enqueued.
+
 ## Support of dynamic `import()` in compilation APIs
 
 The following APIs support an `importModuleDynamically` option to enable dynamic
@@ -2153,6 +2215,7 @@ const { Script, SyntheticModule } = require('node:vm');
 [`vm.runInContext()`]: #vmrunincontextcode-contextifiedobject-options
 [`vm.runInThisContext()`]: #vmruninthiscontextcode-options
 [contextified]: #what-does-it-mean-to-contextify-an-object
+[enqueing jobs]: https://tc39.es/ecma262/#sec-hostenqueuepromisejob
 [global object]: https://tc39.es/ecma262/#sec-global-object
 [indirect `eval()` call]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/eval#direct_and_indirect_eval
 [origin]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Origin
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-vm-module-after-evaluate.js b/test/parallel/test-vm-module-after-evaluate.js
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ const microtaskMode = 'afterEvaluate';
 
 (async () => {
   const mustNotCall1 = common.mustNotCall();
+  const mustNotCall2 = common.mustNotCall();
   const mustCall1 = common.mustCall();
 
   const inner = {};
@@ -30,4 +31,41 @@ const microtaskMode = 'afterEvaluate';
 
   // Prior to the fix for Issue 59541, the next statement was never executed.
   mustCall1();
+
+  await inner.promise;
+
+  // This is expected: the await statement above enqueues a (thenable job) task
+  // onto the inner context microtask queue, but it will not be checkpointed,
+  // therefore we never make progress.
+  mustNotCall2();
+})().then(common.mustNotCall());
+
+(async () => {
+  const mustNotCall1 = common.mustNotCall();
+  const mustCall1 = common.mustCall();
+  const mustCall2 = common.mustCall();
+  const mustCall3 = common.mustCall();
+
+  const inner = {};
+
+  const context = vm.createContext({ inner }, { microtaskMode });
+
+  const module = new vm.SourceTextModule(
+    'inner.promise = Promise.resolve();',
+    { context },
+  );
+
+  await module.link(mustNotCall1);
+  await module.evaluate();
+  mustCall1();
+
+  setImmediate(() => {
+    mustCall2();
+    // This will checkpoint the inner context microtask queue, and allow the
+    // promise from the inner context to be resolved in the outer context.
+    module.evaluate();
+  });
+
+  await inner.promise;
+  mustCall3();
 })().then(common.mustCall());
diff --git a/test/parallel/test-vm-script-after-evaluate.js b/test/parallel/test-vm-script-after-evaluate.js
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+'use strict';
+
+// https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/59541
+//
+// Promises created in a context using microtaskMode: "aferEvaluate" (meaning
+// it has its own microtask queue), when resolved in the surrounding context,
+// will schedule a task back onto the inner context queue. This test checks that
+// the async execution progresses normally.
+
+const common = require('../common');
+const vm = require('vm');
+
+const microtaskMode = 'afterEvaluate';
+
+(async () => {
+  const mustNotCall1 = common.mustNotCall();
+
+  await vm.runInNewContext(
+    `Promise.resolve()`,
+    {}, { microtaskMode });
+
+  // Expected behavior: resolving an promise created in the inner context, from
+  // the outer context results in the execution flow falling through, unless the
+  // inner context microtask queue is manually drained, which we don't do here.
+  mustNotCall1();
+})().then(common.mustNotCall());
+
+(async () => {
+  const mustCall1 = common.mustCall();
+  const mustCall2 = common.mustCall();
+  const mustCall3 = common.mustCall();
+
+  // Create a new context.
+  const context = vm.createContext({}, { microtaskMode });
+
+  setImmediate(() => {
+    // This will drain the context microtask queue, after the `await` statement
+    // below, and allow the promise from the inner context, created below, to be
+    // resolved in the outer context.
+    vm.runInContext('', context);
+    mustCall2();
+  });
+
+  const inner_promise = vm.runInContext(
+    `Promise.resolve()`,
+    context);
+  mustCall1();
+
+  await inner_promise;
+  mustCall3();
+})().then(common.mustCall());
+
+{
+  const mustNotCall1 = common.mustNotCall();
+  const mustCall1 = common.mustCall();
+
+  const context = vm.createContext({ setImmediate, mustNotCall1 }, { microtaskMode });
+
+  // setImmediate() will be run after runInContext() returns, and since the
+  // anonymous function passed to `then` is defined in the inner context, the
+  // thenable job task will be enqueued on the inner context microtask queue,
+  // but at this point, it will not be drained automatically.
+  vm.runInContext(`new Promise(setImmediate).then(() => mustNotCall1())`, context);
+
+  mustCall1();
+}