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 text-file called "JDownloader2.vmoptions".
If it doesn't exist, you may create it.
You can edit it using a text editor of your choice.

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