diff --git a/hydroflow_plus/src/builder/mod.rs b/hydroflow_plus/src/builder/mod.rs
index a28357e1ac22..dbfe070ede72 100644
--- a/hydroflow_plus/src/builder/mod.rs
+++ b/hydroflow_plus/src/builder/mod.rs
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ use crate::deploy::{ClusterSpec, Deploy, ExternalSpec, IntoProcessSpec, LocalDep
 use crate::ir::HfPlusLeaf;
 use crate::location::{Cluster, ExternalProcess, Process};
 use crate::staging_util::Invariant;
-use crate::RuntimeContext;
 
 pub mod built;
 pub mod compiled;
@@ -159,10 +158,6 @@ impl<'a> FlowBuilder<'a> {
         }
     }
 
-    pub fn runtime_context(&self) -> RuntimeContext<'a> {
-        RuntimeContext::new()
-    }
-
     pub fn with_process<P, D: LocalDeploy<'a>>(
         self,
         process: &Process<P>,
diff --git a/hydroflow_plus/src/lib.rs b/hydroflow_plus/src/lib.rs
index e6e4af74fd81..758e71098a28 100644
--- a/hydroflow_plus/src/lib.rs
+++ b/hydroflow_plus/src/lib.rs
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ pub mod runtime_support {
 }
 
 pub mod runtime_context;
-pub use runtime_context::RuntimeContext;
+pub use runtime_context::RUNTIME_CONTEXT;
 
 pub mod boundedness;
 pub use boundedness::{Bounded, Unbounded};
diff --git a/hydroflow_plus/src/rewrites/profiler.rs b/hydroflow_plus/src/rewrites/profiler.rs
index e7d344a8f459..379952a54dac 100644
--- a/hydroflow_plus/src/rewrites/profiler.rs
+++ b/hydroflow_plus/src/rewrites/profiler.rs
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ use stageleft::*;
 
 use super::profiler as myself; // TODO(shadaj): stageleft does not support `self::...`
 use crate::ir::*;
-use crate::RuntimeContext;
 
 pub fn increment_counter(count: &mut u64) {
     *count += 1;
@@ -18,7 +17,6 @@ fn quoted_any_fn<'a, F: Fn(&usize) + 'a, Q: IntoQuotedMut<'a, F, ()>>(q: Q) -> Q
 /// Add a profiling node before each node to count the cardinality of its input
 fn add_profiling_node<'a>(
     node: &mut HfPlusNode,
-    _context: RuntimeContext<'a>,
     counters: RuntimeData<&'a RefCell<Vec<u64>>>,
     counter_queue: RuntimeData<&'a RefCell<UnboundedSender<(usize, u64)>>>,
     id: &mut u32,
@@ -28,9 +26,7 @@ fn add_profiling_node<'a>(
     *id += 1;
 
     node.transform_children(
-        |node, seen_tees| {
-            add_profiling_node(node, _context, counters, counter_queue, id, seen_tees)
-        },
+        |node, seen_tees| add_profiling_node(node, counters, counter_queue, id, seen_tees),
         seen_tees,
     );
     let orig_node = std::mem::replace(node, HfPlusNode::Placeholder);
@@ -55,7 +51,6 @@ fn add_profiling_node<'a>(
 /// Count the cardinality of each input and periodically output to a file
 pub fn profiling<'a>(
     ir: Vec<HfPlusLeaf>,
-    context: RuntimeContext<'a>,
     counters: RuntimeData<&'a RefCell<Vec<u64>>>,
     counter_queue: RuntimeData<&'a RefCell<UnboundedSender<(usize, u64)>>>,
 ) -> Vec<HfPlusLeaf> {
@@ -65,7 +60,7 @@ pub fn profiling<'a>(
         .map(|l| {
             l.transform_children(
                 |node, seen_tees| {
-                    add_profiling_node(node, context, counters, counter_queue, &mut id, seen_tees)
+                    add_profiling_node(node, counters, counter_queue, &mut id, seen_tees)
                 },
                 &mut seen_tees,
             )
@@ -90,7 +85,6 @@ mod tests {
             .map(q!(|v| v + 1))
             .for_each(q!(|n| println!("{}", n)));
 
-        let runtime_context = flow.runtime_context();
         let built = flow.finalize();
 
         insta::assert_debug_snapshot!(&built.ir());
@@ -106,7 +100,7 @@ mod tests {
 
         let pushed_down = built
             .optimize_with(crate::rewrites::persist_pullup::persist_pullup)
-            .optimize_with(|ir| super::profiling(ir, runtime_context, counters, counter_queue));
+            .optimize_with(|ir| super::profiling(ir, counters, counter_queue));
 
         insta::assert_debug_snapshot!(&pushed_down.ir());
 
diff --git a/hydroflow_plus/src/runtime_context.rs b/hydroflow_plus/src/runtime_context.rs
index 6f93a186cbb3..8fe289c252ea 100644
--- a/hydroflow_plus/src/runtime_context.rs
+++ b/hydroflow_plus/src/runtime_context.rs
@@ -1,37 +1,60 @@
-use std::marker::PhantomData;
-
 use hydroflow::scheduled::context::Context;
 use proc_macro2::TokenStream;
 use quote::quote;
 use stageleft::runtime_support::FreeVariableWithContext;
 
-use crate::staging_util::Invariant;
+use crate::Location;
+
+pub static RUNTIME_CONTEXT: RuntimeContext = RuntimeContext { _private: &() };
 
-#[derive(Clone)]
+#[derive(Clone, Copy)]
 pub struct RuntimeContext<'a> {
-    _phantom: Invariant<'a>,
+    _private: &'a (),
 }
 
-impl RuntimeContext<'_> {
-    pub fn new() -> Self {
-        Self {
-            _phantom: PhantomData,
-        }
+impl<'a, L: Location<'a>> FreeVariableWithContext<L> for RuntimeContext<'a> {
+    type O = &'a Context;
+
+    fn to_tokens(self, _ctx: &L) -> (Option<TokenStream>, Option<TokenStream>) {
+        (None, Some(quote!(&context)))
     }
 }
 
-impl Copy for RuntimeContext<'_> {}
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use hydro_deploy::Deployment;
+    use hydroflow::futures::StreamExt;
 
-impl Default for RuntimeContext<'_> {
-    fn default() -> Self {
-        Self::new()
-    }
-}
+    use crate::*;
 
-impl<'a, Ctx> FreeVariableWithContext<Ctx> for RuntimeContext<'a> {
-    type O = &'a Context;
+    struct P1 {}
 
-    fn to_tokens(self, _ctx: &Ctx) -> (Option<TokenStream>, Option<TokenStream>) {
-        (None, Some(quote!(&context)))
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn runtime_context() {
+        let mut deployment = Deployment::new();
+
+        let flow = FlowBuilder::new();
+        let node = flow.process::<P1>();
+        let external = flow.external_process::<()>();
+
+        let out_port = node
+            .source_iter(q!(0..5))
+            .map(q!(|v| (v, RUNTIME_CONTEXT.current_tick().0)))
+            .send_bincode_external(&external);
+
+        let nodes = flow
+            .with_process(&node, deployment.Localhost())
+            .with_external(&external, deployment.Localhost())
+            .deploy(&mut deployment);
+
+        deployment.deploy().await.unwrap();
+
+        let mut external_out = nodes.connect_source_bincode(out_port).await;
+
+        deployment.start().await.unwrap();
+
+        for i in 0..5 {
+            assert_eq!(external_out.next().await.unwrap(), (i, 0));
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/hydroflow_plus_test/examples/perf_compute_pi.rs b/hydroflow_plus_test/examples/perf_compute_pi.rs
index 8382e0b18fc2..da9e491ec632 100644
--- a/hydroflow_plus_test/examples/perf_compute_pi.rs
+++ b/hydroflow_plus_test/examples/perf_compute_pi.rs
@@ -45,9 +45,8 @@ async fn main() {
     let (cluster, leader) = hydroflow_plus_test::cluster::compute_pi::compute_pi(&builder, 8192);
 
     // Uncomment below, change .bin("counter_compute_pi") in order to track cardinality per operation
-    // let runtime_context = builder.runtime_context();
     // dbg!(builder.with_default_optimize()
-    //     .optimize_with(|ir| profiling(ir, runtime_context, RuntimeData::new("FAKE"), RuntimeData::new("FAKE")))
+    //     .optimize_with(|ir| profiling(ir, RuntimeData::new("FAKE"), RuntimeData::new("FAKE")))
     //     .ir());
 
     let _nodes = builder