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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-24T05:39:35+00:00

Failed system call was shmget(key=5432001, size=16498688, 03600). HINT: This error usually means that PostgreSQL’s

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 Failed system call was shmget(key=5432001, size=16498688, 03600).
HINT:  This error usually means that PostgreSQL's request for a shared memory segment exceeded your kernel's SHMMAX parameter.  You can either reduce the request size or reconfigure the kernel with larger SHMMAX.  To reduce the request size (currently 16498688 bytes), reduce PostgreSQL's shared_buffers parameter (currently 1536) and/or its max_connections parameter (currently 104).
    If the request size is already small, it's possible that it is less than your kernel's SHMMIN parameter, in which case raising the request size or reconfiguring SHMMIN is called for.
    The PostgreSQL documentation contains more information about shared memory configuration.
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  1. Editorial Team

    This has to do with the Shared Memory parameter (shared_buffers) in the PostgreSQL configuration file. Linux also has settings in place to limit the amount of memory an application can request. These settings are stored in three files :-

    /proc/sys/kernel/shmall

    /proc/sys/kernel/shmmax

    /proc/sys/kernel/shmmni

    One or more of these files need to be amended or by using the “sysctl” executable. Ask your system administrator to do this. The error message tells you what the values should be. PostgreSQL should then be able to startup properly.

    If you are unable to change the values, reduce the shared_buffers parameter to a point where it is below the threshold

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