proc_pid_limits(5)

🌸 proc_pid_limits(5) — bestie edition 🌸

okay so this is from the File Formats Manual section, it's proc_pid_limits(5), and if you've ever been like "why is my process acting like it's being held back by an invisible leash" — congrats, you're in the right doc. 🎀

---

✨ NAME ✨

/proc/pid/limits — resource limits 💅

---

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

/proc/pid/limits (that's a thing since Linux 2.6.24, so like… ancient history, but make it slay)

this file is literally the receipts for every resource limit your process is living with. it shows you, for each of the process's resource limits:

• the soft limit (the day-to-day one that actually gets enforced)
• the hard limit (the ceiling you can't climb past)
• and the units of measurement so you know what the numbers even mean

and babes, if you want the full lore on resource limits, go read getrlimit(2). that's the main character of this whole story. 👑

---

🙈 a whole permissions glow-up (the lore)

not to be that girl but the history here is juicy:

• up to and including Linux 2.6.35 — this file was locked down, and it was only readable by the real UID of the process. so basically: not you, unless it's yours. 💀
• since Linux 2.6.36 — glow-up era. this file is now readable by all users on the system. sharing is caring, periodt. ✨

---

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• proc(5) — the mothership, go read her 🫶

---

---

okay that's the whole thing, she's short and she ate 💅 this was brought to you by Linux man-pages 6.20, dated 2026-02-08 — and that's the tea, bestie, mwah 🎀🦋💖