memorylimitinbytes

memorylimitinbytes is a numeric parameter representing the maximum amount of memory a program or environment is allowed to allocate, measured in bytes. It is commonly exposed as a configuration setting or environment variable and may appear in different naming styles (memoryLimitInBytes, MEMORY_LIMIT_BYTES).

Used in containerized apps (Docker, Kubernetes), serverless runtimes, and language runtimes to constrain memory usage. In languages that manage memory automatically, memorylimitinbytes often bounds the heap or total memory the runtime can allocate.

If the process attempts to allocate beyond this limit, the runtime may trigger an out-of-memory error or termination. Some platforms allow dynamic adjustment, others require restarting the process or container.

Practically, set memorylimitinbytes based on workload, with headroom for peak usage and garbage collection or allocator overhead. Typical values range from tens of megabytes to several gigabytes, depending on the application and environment.

Considerations include alignment with available physical memory and other quotas, memory pressure monitoring, burst traffic, and the overhead of kernel, language runtime, and allocators. Incorrect limits can lead to resource contention or frequent restarts.

Related concepts include memory limit, heap size, RAM, and container quotas.