Manual: prlimit

PRLIMIT(1)						User Commands						  PRLIMIT(1)

NAME
       prlimit - get and set process resource limits

SYNOPSIS
       prlimit [options] [--resource[=limits]] [--pid PID]

       prlimit [options] [--resource[=limits]] command [argument...]

DESCRIPTION
       Given a process ID and one or more resources, prlimit tries to retrieve and/or modify the limits.

       When command is given, prlimit will run this command with the given arguments.

       The limits parameter is composed of a soft and a hard value, separated by a colon (:), in order to modify the
       existing values. If no limits are given, prlimit will display the current values. If one of the values is not given,
       then the existing one will be used. To specify the unlimited or infinity limit (RLIM_INFINITY), the -1 or 'unlimited'
       string can be passed.

       Because of the nature of limits, the soft limit must be lower or equal to the high limit (also called the ceiling).
       To see all available resource limits, refer to the RESOURCE OPTIONS section.

       •   soft:hard Specify both limits.

       •   soft: Specify only the soft limit.

       •   :hard Specify only the hard limit.

       •   value Specify both limits to the same value.

GENERAL OPTIONS
       --noheadings
	   Do not print a header line.

       -o, --output list
	   Define the output columns to use. If no output arrangement is specified, then a default set is used. Use --help
	   to get a list of all supported columns.

       -p, --pid PID
	   Specify the process ID. Without this option (and without a command), the running process will be used.

       --raw
	   Use the raw output format.

       --verbose
	   Verbose mode.

       -h, --help
	   Display help text and exit.

       -V, --version
	   Display version and exit.

RESOURCE OPTIONS
       -c, --core[=limits]
	   Maximum size of a core file.

       -d, --data[=limits]
	   Maximum data size.

       -e, --nice[=limits]
	   Maximum nice priority allowed to raise.

       -f, --fsize[=limits]
	   Maximum file size.

       -i, --sigpending[=limits]
	   Maximum number of pending signals.

       -l, --memlock[=limits]
	   Maximum locked-in-memory address space.

       -m, --rss[=limits]
	   Maximum Resident Set Size (RSS).

       -n, --nofile[=limits]
	   Maximum number of open files.

       -q, --msgqueue[=limits]
	   Maximum number of bytes in POSIX message queues.

       -r, --rtprio[=limits]
	   Maximum real-time priority.

       -s, --stack[=limits]
	   Maximum size of the stack.

       -t, --cpu[=limits]
	   CPU time, in seconds.

       -u, --nproc[=limits]
	   Maximum number of processes.

       -v, --as[=limits]
	   Address space limit.

       -x, --locks[=limits]
	   Maximum number of file locks held.

       -y, --rttime[=limits]
	   Timeout for real-time tasks.

NOTES
       The prlimit(2) system call is supported since Linux 2.6.36, older kernels will break this program.

EXAMPLES
       prlimit --pid 13134
	   Display limit values for all current resources.

       prlimit --pid 13134 --rss --nofile=1024:4095
	   Display the limits of the RSS, and set the soft and hard limits for the number of open files to 1024 and 4095,
	   respectively.

       prlimit --pid 13134 --nproc=512:
	   Modify only the soft limit for the number of processes.

       prlimit --pid $$ --nproc=unlimited
	   Set for the current process both the soft and ceiling values for the number of processes to unlimited.

       prlimit --cpu=10 sort -u hugefile
	   Set both the soft and hard CPU time limit to ten seconds and run sort(1).

AUTHORS
       Davidlohr Bueso  - In memory of Dennis M. Ritchie.

SEE ALSO
       ulimit(1p), prlimit(2)

REPORTING BUGS
       For bug reports, use the issue tracker .

AVAILABILITY
       The prlimit command is part of the util-linux package which can be downloaded from Linux Kernel Archive
       .

util-linux 2.41.3					 2025-12-15						  PRLIMIT(1)