Anton WieheandBen Kunkle
d12e456be7
# Objective Fixes #46470 Relates to #53901, #62486, #20806 Processes launched via GUI (such as `launchd`, Finder, Spotlight, or Dock on macOS) inherit a default soft `RLIMIT_NOFILE` of only 256 open files (lazily raised to 2,560 by Apple frameworks on first use of certain APIs). In active workspaces—especially those running multiple language servers, MCP context servers, active filesystem watchers (`FSEventStream`), and agent tool calls—baseline file descriptor consumption sits near 200–250. During bursts of file activity or shell tool spawning, Zed quickly exhausts this soft limit and fails with `EMFILE (os error 24: Too many open files)`. Similar desktop runtimes and editors (Chromium, VS Code, Node.js, Go, JVM) raise their soft descriptor limit at startup for this exact reason. ## Solution - Added `util::increase_open_file_limit()` called early in `main()` right after tracing initialization. - On macOS, query `getrlimit(RLIMIT_NOFILE)` and raise `rlim_cur` to `limit.rlim_max.min(OPEN_MAX)`, where `OPEN_MAX = 10,240` (from `<sys/syslimits.h>`). Note that macOS `setrlimit(2)` returns `EINVAL` if `rlim_cur > 10240` even when `rlim_max` is `RLIM_INFINITY`. - On other Unix platforms (Linux), raise `rlim_cur` to `limit.rlim_max.min(65536)`. - If the current limit is already at or above the target, it remains untouched. - Added a unit test in `crates/util/src/util.rs` verifying limit querying and retention. ## Testing - Added `test_increase_open_file_limit` in `crates/util/src/util.rs`. - Ran `cargo test -p util` (134 passed, 0 failed). - Ran `cargo check -p zed` (passed cleanly). ## Self-Review Checklist: - [x] I've reviewed my own diff for quality, security, and reliability - [x] Unsafe blocks (if any) have justifying comments - [x] The content adheres to Zed's UI standards ([UX/UI](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#uiux-checklist) and [icon](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/main/crates/icons/README.md) guidelines) - [x] Tests cover the new/changed behavior - [x] Performance impact has been considered and is acceptable --- Release Notes: - Raised the default open file descriptor soft limit at startup on Unix/macOS to prevent `EMFILE` (`Too many open files`) errors in large workspaces. --------- Co-authored-by: Ben Kunkle <ben@zed.dev>
Zed
Welcome to Zed, a high-performance, multiplayer code editor from the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter.
Installation
On macOS, Linux, and Windows you can download Zed directly or install Zed via your local package manager (macOS/Linux/Windows).
Other platforms are not yet available:
- Web (tracking discussion)
Developing Zed
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md for ways you can contribute to Zed.
Also... we're hiring! Check out our jobs page for open roles.
Licensing
Zed source code is licensed primarily under GPL-3.0-or-later, with Apache-2.0 components where marked.
License information for third party dependencies must be correctly provided for CI to pass.
We use cargo-about to automatically comply with open source licenses. If CI is failing, check the following:
- Is it showing a
no license specifiederror for a crate you've created? If so, addpublish = falseunder[package]in your crate's Cargo.toml. - Is the error
failed to satisfy license requirementsfor a dependency? If so, first determine what license the project has and whether this system is sufficient to comply with this license's requirements. If you're unsure, ask a lawyer. Once you've verified that this system is acceptable add the license's SPDX identifier to theacceptedarray inscript/licenses/zed-licenses.toml. - Is
cargo-aboutunable to find the license for a dependency? If so, add a clarification field at the end ofscript/licenses/zed-licenses.toml, as specified in the cargo-about book.
Sponsorship
Zed is developed by Zed Industries, Inc., a for-profit company.
If you’d like to financially support the project, you can do so via GitHub Sponsors. Sponsorships go directly to Zed Industries and are used as general company revenue. There are no perks or entitlements associated with sponsorship.