Linux in a Nutshell, Third Edition

Name

limit

Synopsis

limit [-h] [resource [limit]]

Description

Display limits or set a limit on resources used by the current process and by each process it creates. If no limit is given, the current limit is printed for resource. If resource also is omitted, all limits are printed. By default, the current limits are shown or set; with -h, hard limits are used. A hard limit imposes an absolute limit that can’t be exceeded. Only a privileged user may raise it. See also unlimit.

Option

-h

Use hard, not current, limits.

Resource

cputime

Maximum number of seconds the CPU can spend; can be abbreviated as cpu.

filesize

Maximum size of any one file.

datasize

Maximum size of data (including stack).

stacksize

Maximum size of stack.

coredumpsize

Maximum size of a core dump file.

Limit

A number followed by an optional character (a unit specifier).

For cputime:	n h (for n hours)
	n m (for n minutes)
	mm:ss (minutes and seconds)
For others:	n k (for n kilobytes, the default)
	n m (for n megabytes)