---
title: "Limiting the size of journal (.jnl) files with max-journal-size"
slug: "aa-00374"
description: "You can use the max-journal-size configuration option to specify a maximum BIND journal size."
updated: 2021-05-25T19:48:15Z
published: 2021-05-25T19:48:15Z
canonical: "kb.isc.org/aa-00374"
---

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# Limiting the size of journal (.jnl) files with max-journal-size

#### I am using BIND to serve information for dynamic zones. After running for some time the journal files can get quite large. Is there a way to limit their growth within BIND?

Yes, you can use the `max-journal-size` configuration option to specify a maximum size on a per-zone basis, e.g.:

```
max-journal-size size_spec;
```

"size_spec" is defined as one of the following:

```
A number, the word unlimited, or the word default.

An unlimited size_spec requests unlimited use, or the maximum available amount. A default size_spec uses the limit that was in force when the server was started.

A number can optionally be followed by a scaling factor: K or k for kilobytes, M or m for megabytes, and G or g for gigabytes, which scale by 1024, 1024*1024, and 1024*1024*1024 respectively.

The value must be representable as a 64-bit unsigned integer (0 to 18446744073709551615, inclusive). Using unlimited is the best way to safely set a really large number.
```

          Default Behavior

          

In versions of BIND older than 9.11, the default value for the `max-journal-size` parameter is "unlimited". The largest permitted value is 2 gigabytes. So the default ("unlimited") effectively means 2 GB. Therefore, unless you specify a maximum, default behavior is to allow growth without limit up to 2 GB. From BIND 9.12 and newer, the maximum size of a zone journal file is twice the size of the zone's contents. This can be overridden by setting `max-journal-size` to "unlimited" or to an explicit value up to 2 GB.

Note that any limit on the journal file sizes is guidance to the `named` process but is not a hard limit. If the update rate is high or there are many zones to write out, this limit will be exceeded, but `named` will still try to keep within or close to the requested size. More information on choosing a good value for `max-journal-size` can be found here: [Choosing the right value for max-journal-size](https://kb.isc.org/docs/aa-01641).