Understanding 'exceeds memory allocation' error messages


The error message to be displayed are as follows:

job info:
This job was terminated because it used more memory than it was allocated.
Please click the bug icon to report this problem if you need help.

Or

stderr:
Fatal error: Exit code 1 ()
slurmstepd: error: Detected 1 oom-kill event(s) in step XXXXXXX.batch cgroup.

Sometimes this message may appear at the bottom

job stderr:
slurmstepd: error: Detected 1 oom-kill event(s) in step XXXXXXX.batch cgroup.

In rare cases when the memory quota is exceeded very quickly, an error message such as the following can appear

job stderr:
Fatal error: Exit code 1 ()
Traceback (most recent call last):
(other lines)
Memory Error

Note: Job runtime memory is different from the amount of free storage space (quota) in an account.

  • Causes:
    • The job ran out of memory while executing on the cluster node that ran the job.
    • The most common reasons for this error are input and tool parameters problems that must be adjusted/corrected.
  • Solutions:
    • Try at least one rerun to execute the job on a different cluster node.
    • Review the Solutions section of the Understanding input error messages FAQ.
    • Your data may actually be too large to process at a public Galaxy server. Alternatives include setting up a private Galaxy server.
Still have questions?
Gitter Chat Support
Galaxy Help Forum
Want to embed this snippet (FAQ) in your GTN Tutorial?
{% snippet  faqs/galaxy/troubleshooting_excess_memory.md %}