Java VisualVM Enable Heap Dump on OOME

Question

According to documentation one could automatically take a heap dump when the application encounters an OutOfMemoryException.
After OutOfMemoryException process just disappear from left menu.
How does this feature works in VisualVM?

Thanks.

---

C:\work\temp>java -XX:HeapDumpPath=c:/work/temp/file.hprof -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError -jar example.jar

Answer 1

As far as I know, that option in JVisualVM is equivalent to specifying -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError as a JVM parameter. This causes the JVM to create a heap dump file when it encounters an OutOfMemoryError. This file can be then loaded into JVisualVM (or into a profiler) and analyzed there. The directory where the file is stored is defined by the -XX:HeapDumpPath parameter.

See also:

• Troubleshooting Guide for Java SE 6 with HotSpot VM
• Java HotSpot VM Options
• StackOverflow: Using HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError parameter

Answer 2

Seems application just exited upon OOM. In this case, you must run your app with special -XX params. See "dump" params in JVM documentation. After application dies, you can examine dump in your tool.