On this page 
Warning:
CockroachDB v21.1 is no longer supported as of November 18, 2022. For more details, refer to the Release Support Policy.
The cockroach debug ballast command creates a large, unused file that you can place in a node's storage directory. In the case that a node runs out of disk space and shuts down, you can delete the ballast file to free up enough space to be able to restart the node.
- Do not run
cockroach debug ballastwith a unixrootuser. Doing so brings the risk of mistakenly affecting system directories or files. - New in v21.1:
cockroach debug ballastnow refuses to overwrite the target ballast file if it already exists. This change is intended to prevent mistaken uses of theballastcommand. Consider adding anrmcommand to scripts that integratecockroach debug ballast, or provide a new file name every time and then remove the old file. - In addition to placing a ballast file in each node's storage directory, it is important to actively monitor remaining disk space.
- Ballast files may be created in many ways, including the standard
ddcommand.cockroach debug ballastuses thefallocatesystem call when available, so it will be faster thandd.
Subcommands
While the cockroach debug command has a few subcommands, users are expected to use only the zip, encryption-active-key, merge-logs, list-files, and ballast subcommands.
The other debug subcommands are useful only to CockroachDB's developers and contributors.
Synopsis
Create a ballast file:
$ cockroach debug ballast [path to ballast file] [flags]
View help:
$ cockroach debug ballast --help
Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
--size-z |
The amount of space to fill, or to leave available, in a node's storage directory via a ballast file. Positive values equal the size of the ballast file. Negative values equal the amount of space to leave after creating the ballast file. This can be a percentage (notated as a decimal or with %) or any bytes-based unit, for example:--size=1000000000 ----> 1000000000 bytes--size=1GiB ----> 1073741824 bytes--size=5% ----> 5% of available space--size=0.05 ----> 5% of available space--size=.05 ----> 5% of available spaceDefault: 1GB |
Examples
Create a 1GB ballast file (default)
$ cockroach debug ballast cockroach-data/ballast.txt
Create a ballast file of a different size
$ cockroach debug ballast cockroach-data/ballast.txt --size=2GB
See also
Was this helpful?
