How to resolve inotify watcher limits during installation?

During the ITRS Analytics setup or preflight check, you might see this message if the system’s file watchers limit is too low. The error failed to create fsnotify watcher: too many open files occurs when the system cannot create an inotify watcher, which is a mechanism used by Linux to monitor file system events.

The problem is usually caused by the Linux kernel parameter fs.inotify.max_user_instances. This setting defines the maximum number of inotify instances a single user can create.

By default, most Linux distributions set this value to 128, which is not enough for ITRS Analytics extensive file monitoring requirements. As a result, KOTS fails to create the necessary watchers.

Adjust the inotify watcher limit Copied

You can resolve the issue by increasing the fs.inotify.max_user_instances value.
For example, increase it from 128 to 1024.

1. To modify this value, run the following command:

   sudo sysctl -w fs.inotify.max_user_instances=1024
   

2. To verify that the change has been applied, use:

   sysctl fs.inotify.max_user_instances
   

   The terminal output should reflect the update:

   fs.inotify.max_user_instances = 1024
   

This allows KOTS to successfully create the required inotify watchers and continue with the setup process.