// troubleshooting guide · opensearch
OpenSearch OutOfMemoryError and Circuit Breaker
- Status
- Ongoing
- platforms:
- Self-hosted, Amazon OpenSearch Service
- updated:
- November 15, 2026
- reports:
- 2
- Method
- how we research
RUNBOOK · opensearch/out-of-memory-circuit-breaker4 FIXES
// quick answer
A JVM OutOfMemoryError usually means a circuit breaker was hit. Find the heavy query or mapping, then reduce load or scale; raise breaker limits only with care.
Most likely fix: Identify the breaker
How to fix it
// try these in order, the most common fix is first
FIX 1Identify the breaker
- 01GET _nodes/stats/breaker
- 02GET _nodes/stats/jvm?pretty
Did this fix it?FIX 2Lower memory demand
- 01Simplify aggregations
- 02Reduce bucket sizes
- 03Fix mapping explosions and fielddata on text
Did this fix it?FIX 3Adjust settings carefully
- 01Tune indices.breaker.request.limit or indices.breaker.fielddata.limit only if the workload needs it
- 02Prefer adding memory over raising limits
Did this fix it?FIX 4Scale out
- 01Add nodes or increase instance size so heap is under 32 GB per node
Did this fix it?
Symptoms
Nodes crash or restart with OutOfMemoryError, or requests fail with circuit_breaking_exception.
Why it happens
- C-01Parent breaker (default 95% of heap) exceeded
- C-02Fielddata breaker (40%) from large fields
- C-03Request breaker (60%) from big aggregations
- C-04Heap too small or oversized shards
// this guide also covers
- opensearch outofmemoryerror
- opensearch circuit breaking exception
- opensearch data too large
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