hashicorp/nomad · error

minimum CPU value is %d; got %d

Error message

minimum CPU value is %d; got %d

What it means

Resources.MeetsMinResources() (a COMPAT/0.10 legacy check) verifies that a task's CPU request meets the cluster's minimum defined by MinResources(). The check is skipped when the job uses the newer Cores field (r.Cores != 0), since cores-based specs define CPU differently.

Source

Thrown at nomad/structs/structs.go:2602

		r.Devices = nil
	}

	for _, n := range r.Networks {
		n.Canonicalize()
	}

	r.NUMA.Canonicalize()
}

// MeetsMinResources returns an error if the resources specified are less than
// the minimum allowed.
// This is based on the minimums defined in the Resources type
// COMPAT(0.10): Remove in 0.10
func (r *Resources) MeetsMinResources() error {
	var mErr multierror.Error
	minResources := MinResources()
	if r.CPU < minResources.CPU && r.Cores == 0 {
		mErr.Errors = append(mErr.Errors, fmt.Errorf("minimum CPU value is %d; got %d", minResources.CPU, r.CPU))
	}
	if r.MemoryMB < minResources.MemoryMB {
		mErr.Errors = append(mErr.Errors, fmt.Errorf("minimum MemoryMB value is %d; got %d", minResources.MemoryMB, r.MemoryMB))
	}
	return mErr.ErrorOrNil()
}

// Copy returns a deep copy of the resources
func (r *Resources) Copy() *Resources {
	if r == nil {
		return nil
	}
	return &Resources{
		CPU:         r.CPU,
		Cores:       r.Cores,
		MemoryMB:    r.MemoryMB,
		MemoryMaxMB: r.MemoryMaxMB,
		DiskMB:      r.DiskMB,

View on GitHub (pinned to 482b49bf1a)

Solutions

1. Raise Resources.CPU (cpu) to at least minResources.CPU as reported in the error
2. Use the Cores field instead for CPU allocation, which bypasses the legacy CPU check
3. Update the job template to current Nomad minimum resource values

Example fix

// before
resources {
  cpu = 50
}
// after
resources {
  cpu = 100
}

min := structs.MinResources()
if r.Cores == 0 && r.CPU < min.CPU {
    return fmt.Errorf("cpu must be >= %d", min.CPU)
}

func meetsMinCPU(r *structs.Resources) bool { return r.Cores != 0 || r.CPU >= structs.MinResources().CPU }

When it happens

Trigger: Submitting a job spec with Resources.CPU below the MinResources() CPU floor while Cores is 0, e.g. cpu = 50 with minimum 100.

Common situations: Porting old or hand-minimized job files; downgrading CPU to fit more tasks; specs written for clusters with different minimums; legacy templates predating current minimums.

Related errors

• Task can only ask for 'cpu' or 'cores' resource, not both.
• Missing task resources
• MemoryMaxMB value (%d) should be larger than MemoryMB value
• SecretsMB value (%d) cannot be larger than MemoryMB value (%
• SecretsMB value (%d) cannot be negative

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/nomad@482b49bf1a (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6e507e1f0b3abc03. Report an issue: GitHub.