Purpose of .vmoptions files

Purpose of .vmoptions files

This article is typically being linked as part of this troubleshooting article.

Important: Fresh JDownloader installations should auto assign enough RAM so if you do not want to fiddle around with the .vmoptions file, try this first:

1. Start JDownloader, go to Help -> About JDownloader -> Take a screenshot of that window
2. Backup your configuration, close JDownloader and remove/reinstall JD using an installer bundled with 64bit Java Version.
3. Optional: Restore your config in the new installation (see backup & restore article linked in point 2 of these instructions).
4. Start JDownloader and take another screenshot of the about window.
   If your JDownloader has enough/more max RAM now (see end of this article), you're done.
   If not you may edit the .vmoptions file on your own as described down below.

About the .vmoptions file:

In your JDownloader install directory you might see a file called "JDownloader2.vmoptions".
If it doesn't exist, you may create it.

This file is used to define the Java VM parameters for JDownloader.
Every line contains one VM parameter.
Lines starting with # are comments (= ignored).
Most of all times you would want to use it to increase the max. memory available for JD.

1. Remove all -Xms and -Xmx lines if existent.
2. Add a new line e.g. -Xmx2g (for 2GB max) or -Xmx1000m (for 1000MB max)

Please know that larger memory settings (e.g. larger than 1GB or larger than 2GB) do require a 64bit Java version and will fail on 32bit Java version.

When you're done with your changes:
Start JDownloader. You should see your defined -Xmx value in:
Help -> About JDownloader -> Memory -> See "Max:"
Screenshot:

You can find more Information about Java VM parameters here but only change other parameters than the ones mentioned in this article if you know what you're doing!

Tags: Memory, RAM, java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space