Always ensure buffers, containers, and data structures are properly initialized before passing them to functions that will dereference them. This prevents null pointer dereferences and undefined behavior. Key practices: 1. **Initialize buffers before use**: When using dynamic containers like kvec, ensure they are properly sized before passing to functions that access their contents 2. **Use null safety annotations**: Apply `FUNC_ATTR_NONNULL_ALL` and similar attributes to function parameters that must not be null 3. **Make precise assertions**: Use specific assertions like `assert(argc > 0)` rather than `assert(argc >= 0)` when zero values are not valid 4. **Handle potentially null returns**: When calling functions like `os_getenv()` that can return null, check the result before dereferencing Example from the codebase: ```c // Before: Potential null dereference if (swap_exists_action != SEA_NONE) { choice = (sea_choice_T)do_dialog(VIM_WARNING, _("VIM - ATTENTION"), msg.items, ...); } // After: Ensure buffer is initialized kv_resize(*msg, IOSIZE); // Initialize buffer before use if (swap_exists_action != SEA_NONE) { choice = (sea_choice_T)do_dialog(VIM_WARNING, _("VIM - ATTENTION"), msg.items, ...); } ``` This approach prevents static analysis tools from flagging potential null dereferences and ensures runtime safety by establishing clear contracts about what data must be valid before use.