---

name: webrtc/ref-counted-base-for-concrete-classes description: When defining reference-counted classes, inherit standalone types from RefCountedBase or RefCountedNonVirtual, avoid manual AddRef/Release/RefCounter implementations, and instantiate RefCountInterface implementations with make_ref_counted rubric: readability severity: blocking

Rule. When defining reference-counted classes, avoid manually implementing intrusive reference counting (such as embedding private webrtc_impl::RefCounter / RefCounter members, open-coding AddRef()/Release(), or calling delete this). For standalone concrete classes without polymorphic interface requirements, inherit from webrtc::RefCountedBase (or webrtc::RefCountedNonVirtual) or wrap concrete types in FinalRefCountedObject. When implementing interfaces derived from webrtc::RefCountInterface, do not override AddRef() and Release(); instantiate the class using webrtc::make_ref_counted() or RefCountedObject.

Why. WebRTC provides standard reference-counting base classes and wrappers in api/ref_count.h, api/make_ref_counted.h, and rtc_base/ref_counted_object.h. Manually implementing AddRef, Release, and delete this with raw RefCounter members introduces boilerplate, risks memory management bugs during destruction, and bypasses optimizations. RefCountedBase and RefCountedNonVirtual (or FinalRefCountedObject) provide efficient non-virtual ref-counting for standalone classes, while webrtc::make_ref_counted automatically generates standard AddRef and Release overrides for classes derived from RefCountInterface without virtual overhead where not needed.

Examples

Bad:

// Standalone concrete class with manual ref-counting
class RefCountedBuffer {
 public:
  void AddRef() { ref_count_.IncRef(); }
  void Release() {
    if (ref_count_.DecRef() == RefCountReleaseStatus::kDroppedLastRef) {
      delete this;
    }
  }
 private:
  webrtc_impl::RefCounter ref_count_;
};

// RefCountInterface implementation with manual AddRef/Release overrides
class Source : public webrtc::VideoTrackSourceInterface {
 public:
  void AddRef() const override { ref_count_.IncRef(); }
  RefCountReleaseStatus Release() const override { ... }
 private:
  mutable webrtc_impl::RefCounter ref_count_{0};
};

Good:

// Standalone concrete class using RefCountedBase or FinalRefCountedObject
class Buffer final : public rtc::RefCountedBase { ... };
auto buffer = webrtc::make_ref_counted<Buffer>();

// RefCountInterface implementation omitting manual ref-count overrides
class Source : public webrtc::VideoTrackSourceInterface {
  // Omit manual AddRef/Release overrides and RefCounter member
};
auto source = webrtc::make_ref_counted<Source>();