Proposal for memory limiting in the scrape loop - #76

Open

dashpole wants to merge 30 commits into

prometheus:mainfrom

dashpole:memory_limiter_proposal

Commits on Sep 8, 2026

proposal: Add memory limiting in the scrape loop
dashpole
committed
84b4282
mention increased cardinality from a target
dashpole
committed
f5c4a82
adddress comments
dashpole
committed
caaa29d
address interaction between GOMEMLIMIT and scrape memory limiting
dashpole
committed
4ae4e59
expand proposal to include other memory mitigations
dashpole
committed
39cbd93
Refine memory limiter mitigations and action plan based on review feedback
dashpole
committed
d7551cf
Adopt post-GC live heap relative to GOMEMLIMIT as single memory pressure signal
dashpole
committed
5bd91e5
Add operator guidance on rule pausing for external alerting pipelines
dashpole
committed
9ea62bb
Adopt in-use memory ratio signal and address review feedback
dashpole
committed
e52a63a
Simplify explanation of default memory limit ratios in plain English
dashpole
committed
5e46d27
Replace pre-calculated ratio metrics with boolean active gauge and existing Go runtime metrics
dashpole
committed
7fb6b40
Document rejected alternatives for live heap signal and forced manual GC
dashpole
committed
7c7390a
Document capacity planning with GOGC and expose evaluated limit bytes metric
dashpole
committed
2f6aee7
Fix markdown formatting with mdox
dashpole
committed
78a2a60
Tone down formal language to be more direct and conversational
dashpole
committed
ee28a52
Address review feedback: Align heading level and template conventions
dashpole
committed
3dd8ea7
Address review feedback: Clarify scrape check placement and per-scrape peak allocation bounds
dashpole
committed
94459d4
Address review feedback: Add controller damping and clarify compaction memory bounds
dashpole
committed
186b162
Address review feedback: Reconcile global memory limiter with existing per-scrape limits
dashpole
committed
f7ea484
Address review feedback: Mandate scrape cache preservation and clarify staleness marker handling
dashpole
committed
54cbf2c
Address review feedback: Specify GC cycle counter comparison for hard limit trigger
dashpole
committed
8b4d6dc
Address review feedback: Clarify Go runtime memory scope versus mmap TSDB memory
dashpole
committed
26e3b48
Address review feedback: Clarify load-shedding allocation cessation and GC recovery dynamics
dashpole
committed
12aefdd
Address review feedback: Reconcile test plan metric names with debuggability definitions
dashpole
committed
348cccf
Address review feedback: Clarify explicit 503 retry semantics for remote read and federation
dashpole
committed
3d4e6b4
Address review feedback: Add series churn rate heuristic alternative and comparison
dashpole
committed
5e7d5a8
Address review feedback: Clarify dynamic scrape limits alternative
dashpole
committed
c43520f
Address review feedback: Clarify body_size_limit default and sample_limit allocation scope
dashpole
committed
91620fa
Address review feedback: Prevent sentinel false positives and underflow in GC limiter check
dashpole
committed
830a93d
Address review feedback: Specify hook location in scrapeLoop.scrapeAndReport
dashpole
committed
78671e6