Systems Settings For Ubuntu 24.04 Dev Boxes
While Docker’s documentation does a great job covering installation and steps like enabling non-root usage, it tends to leave out important system-level configuration—like how to properly set file limits on Ubuntu. These limits are critical when running containers or Kubernetes clusters locally, especially under heavier workloads.
So, I’m documenting the necessary changes here to save future me (and maybe you) from having to dig through scattered resources the next time.
Step 1: Increase File Limits with systemd
Edit /etc/systemd/user.conf
sudo vi /etc/systemd/user.conf
Uncomment and set the following line:
DefaultLimitNOFILE=65535
Edit /etc/systemd/system.conf
sudo vi /etc/systemd/system.conf
Again, uncomment and set the following line:
DefaultLimitNOFILE=65535:524288
Step 2: Tune Kernel Parameters
Edit /etc/sysctl.conf
sudo vi /etc/sysctl.conf
Add the following lines at the end of the file:
net.ipv4.ip_unprivileged_port_start=0
fs.inotify.max_user_instances=2048
Explanation:
-
net.ipv4.ip_unprivileged_port_start=0: Allows Kind to bind to ports below 1024 (like 80 and 443), which is useful for ingress testing. -
fs.inotify.max_user_instances=2048: Raises the number of inotify watchers available per user. This is needed for Zed and other tools that monitor file changes.
Step 3: Reboot and Verify
Reboot the system to apply the changes:
sudo reboot
After logging back in, check that the limits have been updated:
$ ulimit -n
65535
$ sysctl fs.inotify
fs.inotify.max_queued_events = 16384
fs.inotify.max_user_instances = 2048
fs.inotify.max_user_watches = 65536
Final Notes
These configuration changes got the new laptop running both Kind and Zed without issue. I suspect they’ll also help ensure the rest of the development environment runs reliably—especially when working with containerized workflows or tools that depend on real-time file system events.
By increasing system limits up front, you can prevent hard-to-diagnose runtime errors and avoid wasting time troubleshooting environment-related problems later on.
Tags: Linux Ubuntu systemd limits