hashicorp/nomad · error

minimum MemoryMB value is %d; got %d

Error message

minimum MemoryMB value is %d; got %d

What it means

Resources.MeetsMinResources() verifies MemoryMB meets the floor from MinResources(). Task memory below the documented minimum is rejected at job validation time because drivers and the scheduler assume a viable baseline footprint.

Source

Thrown at nomad/structs/structs.go:2605

	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,
		IOPS:        r.IOPS,
		Networks:    r.Networks.Copy(),
		Devices:     r.Devices.Copy(),

View on GitHub (pinned to 482b49bf1a)

Solutions

1. Raise MemoryMB (memory) to at least the minimum shown in the error message
2. Update saved job templates to the current minimum value
3. Check nomad job validate output for the exact required minimum in your version

Example fix

// before
resources {
  memory = 10
}
// after
resources {
  memory = 128
}

min := structs.MinResources()
if r.MemoryMB < min.MemoryMB {
    return fmt.Errorf("memory must be >= %d", min.MemoryMB)
}

func meetsMinMemory(r *structs.Resources) bool { return r.MemoryMB >= structs.MinResources().MemoryMB }

When it happens

Trigger: Submitting a job whose task Resources.MemoryMB is less than MinResources().MemoryMB, e.g. memory = 10 with minimum 128.

Common situations: Specifying unrealistically tiny memory to overpack nodes; legacy specs from older Nomad versions with smaller minimums; typos (memory = 12 instead of 128).

Related errors

• MemoryMaxMB value (%d) should be larger than MemoryMB value
• SecretsMB value (%d) cannot be larger than MemoryMB value (%
• Missing task resources
• QEMU memory assignment out of bounds
• Memory oversubscription is not enabled; Task "%v.%v" memory_

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/nomad@482b49bf1a (2026-09-04). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1935a998084d33a0. Report an issue: GitHub.