In this article, we will see the potential causes and strategies for addressing “java.lang. OutOfMemoryError: unable to create new native Thread” runtime error

Causes of this error:

This runtime error usually happens when a Java application is unable to create new native threads due to a shortage of system resources. Each thread in Java corresponds to a native operating system thread, and when the operating system’s thread limit is reached, attempting to create a new thread results in this error.

Improper thread management and insufficient system resources usually lead to this issue.

How to resolve this issue?

To resolve this issue, analyze the resource consumption, review your application thread usage, and optimize it.

Also, make sure that your application does not have any bugs that lead to infinite thread creation.

In the following example, an excessive number of threads are being created in an uncontrolled manner, which can lead to the “unable to create new native Thread” error.

public class ThreadCreationExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try {
            while (true) {
                new Thread(() -> {
                    while (true) {
                        // Perform some work here
                    }
                }).start();
            }
        } catch (Throwable e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

References:

https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/lang/Thread.html

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