Mac OS Open Files Limit

mac_os_open_files_limit.md

Open Files Limit

Changing Limit For Current Session

Most operating systems can change the open-files limit for the current shell session using the ulimit -n command:

ulimit -n 200000

Mac OS X El Capitan

Start by checking the current open file limit values with:

launchctl limit maxfiles

The response should look something like this:

maxfiles    65536          65536

The first column is the soft limit and the last column is the hard limit.

To change the open files limits on Mac OS X El Capitan, perform the following steps:

1. Add the following line to your .bash_profile or analogous file:

ulimit -n 65536 200000

2. Save and close the file. Next open /etc/sysctl.conf (or create it if it doesn’t already exist) and add the following settings:

kern.maxfiles=200000
kern.maxfilesperproc=200000

3. Restart your computer and enter ulimit -n into your terminal. If your system is configured correctly, you should see that maxfiles has been set to 200000.

Mac OS X Yosemite

Start by checking the current open file limit values with:

launchctl limit maxfiles

The response should look something like this:

maxfiles    65536          65536

The first column is the soft limit and the last column is the hard limit.

To change the open files limits on Mac OS X Yosemite, perform these steps:

1. Add the following line to your .bash_profile or analogous file:

ulimit -n 65536 200000

2. Save and close the file. Next edit the /etc/launchd.conf file and add:

limit maxfiles 200000

3. Save and close the file.

4. After restarting, verify the new limits by running:

launchctl limit maxfiles

The response output should look something like this:

maxfiles    65536          200000

Mac OS X Older Versions

Start by checking the current open file limit values with:

launchctl limit maxfiles

The response should look something like this:

maxfiles    10240          10240

The first column is the soft limit and the last column is the hard limit.

To adjust the maximum open file limits in OS X 10.7 (Lion) up to but not including OS X Yosemite, perform the following steps:

1. Edit (or create) /etc/launchd.conf and increase the limits by adding:

limit maxfiles 65536 200000

2. Save the file and restart the system for the new limits to take effect.

3. After restarting, verify the new limits by running:

launchctl limit maxfiles

The response output should look something like this:

maxfiles    65536          200000