How can I prevent Java from creating hsperfdata files?

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I'm writing a Java application that runs on Linux (using Sun's JDK). It keeps creating /tmp/hsperfdata_username directories, which I would like to prevent. Is there any way to stop java from creating these files?

Preference answered 16/9, 2008 at 20:3 Comment(0)

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Try JVM option -XX:-UsePerfData

more info

The following might be helpful that is from link https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/technotes/tools/unix/java.html

-XX:+UsePerfData

    Enables the perfdata feature. This option is enabled by default
    to allow JVM monitoring and performance testing. Disabling it 
    suppresses the creation of the hsperfdata_userid directories. 
    To disable the perfdata feature, specify -XX:-UsePerfData.

Johnnyjohnnycake answered 16/9, 2008 at 20:13 Comment(2)

Just to point out that using either of -XX:+PerfDisableSharedMem or -XX:-UsePerfData will not allow JConsole, VisualVM and similar tools to connect to the JVM unless you activate JMX. – Stockish 9/1, 2012 at 9:48

The "more info" link has been fixed. – Johnnyjohnnycake 17/4, 2013 at 12:49

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Use the JVM option -XX:-UsePerfData.

This will not have a negative effect on performance, as some other answers say.

By default jvmstat instrumentation is turned on in the HotSpot JVM. The JVM option -XX:-UsePerfData turns it off. If anything, I would speculate, turning off the instrumentation would improve performance (a trivial amount).

So the downside of turning off jvmstat instrumentation is that you lose the performance monitoring information.

jvmstat is described here http://java.sun.com/performance/jvmstat/

Here's a thread with someone who is worried that by turning on jvmstat - with the option -XX:+UsePerfData - will hurt performance. http://www.theserverside.com/discussions/thread.tss?thread_id=33833
(It probably won't since jvmstat is designed to be "'always on', yet has negligible performance impact".)

Lenten answered 14/10, 2010 at 13:24 Comment(1)

Also see this blog post from a softare engineer at Twitter: evanjones.ca/jvm-mmap-pause.html There he describes a positive effect on garbage collector pause times. – Driblet 31/3, 2015 at 10:52

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Rather than switching it off, change the java.io.tmpdir location. Add -Djava.io.tmpdir=/mydir/somewhere/else/ to your Java startup command and then the file will be somewhere that you control.

Note a comment by @simonc: this only works in a few versions of the JVM and is no longer supported. See https://bugs.java.com/bugdatabase/view_bug?bug_id=6447182, https://bugs.java.com/bugdatabase/view_bug?bug_id=6938627, https://bugs.java.com/bugdatabase/view_bug?bug_id=7009828 for more information.

Titleholder answered 25/3, 2011 at 17:12 Comment(1)

I know this is an old question, but for the Google searchers: this only works in a few versions of the JVM and is no longer supported. See: bugs.sun.com/view_bug.do?bug_id=6447182, bugs.sun.com/view_bug.do?bug_id=6938627, bugs.sun.com/view_bug.do?bug_id=7009828. – Sunn 22/2, 2012 at 3:56

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There is also "-XX:+PerfDisableSharedMem" option (recommended by Sun) which should cause less performance issues than use of "-XX:-UsePerfData" option.

Patriarchy answered 17/6, 2010 at 9:9 Comment(1)

" which should cause less performance issues " . Interesting, but do you have any official source ? – Abrasion 22/3, 2018 at 18:41

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As an addendum to Mack's reply (answered Mar 25 '11 at 17:12), the option java.tmp.dir looks no longer available since Java 8. See the info at: https://bugs.java.com/view_bug.do?bug_id=8189674

So disabling the option using -XX:-UsePerfData seems the only option not to have hsperfdata_* files.

Reimpression answered 3/10, 2018 at 15:12 Comment(0)

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EDIT: Cleanup info and summarize

Summary:

Its a feature, not a bug
It can be turned of with -XX:-UsePerfData which might hurt performance

Relevant info:

Triumph answered 16/9, 2008 at 20:12 Comment(2)

The bottom of that page outlines a solution, that does indeed work. – Pontic 16/9, 2008 at 20:20

Down votes are not hostile actions. They just reflect the percieved accuracy of your answer. Your original answer indicated it could not be solved ("Looks like you cant"). That just was not true. – Campanulate 16/9, 2008 at 21:2

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From svrist's link:

The first item in http://java.sun.com/performance/jvmstat/faq.html mentions an option which you can turn off to disable the whole suite of features: -XX:-UsePerfData.

Campanulate answered 16/9, 2008 at 20:19 Comment(0)

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According to the filed bug report there is a work-around:

This undocumented option will disable the perfdata feature:
-XX:-UsePerfData

It's worth mentioning that it is a feature though, not a bug. The above work-around just disables the feature.

Ul answered 16/9, 2008 at 20:20 Comment(0)

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