choom tips — authorized oom-score literacy

Snapshot

Tip checklist (authorized only)

1. Confirm you may run choom on the lab host (syllabus box you own or were given access to).
2. Prefer documenting who / why / ticket before any OOM-score change — never poke production without change control.
3. Record short factual notes; quote short Evidence (pid / oom_score_adj labels — never secrets from target processes).
4. Optional: resource peer → prlimit-tips / ulimit-resource-tips.
5. Optional: scheduler peer → nice-tips.
6. Prefer disposable lab PIDs for choom drills; quote non-secret labels afterward as Evidence.
7. Prefer read-back (-p) modes for most Evidence binders unless the syllabus asks for write drills.
8. Stop at literacy — no attack or unauthorized OOM-kill cookbooks.

Allowed framing

• Classroom labs reviewing choom on authorized disposable processes (choom -p read-backs / syllabus-approved adjusts).
• Binding short factual notes as Evidence (oom_score_adj labels — no secrets).
• Documenting expected vs observed OOM-score literacy for authorized inventory notes.
• Comparing choom ↔ peer tip pages under one binder.
• Testing score writes only when the syllabus authorizes that drill on lab resources.

Scope we will not cover

• No crack/pirate/keygen via choom.
• No intentional unauthorized OOM pressure against foreign production jobs.
• No secret-theft or credential harvesting via process inspect on hosts you do not own.
• No cookbooks that weaken OOM killer / cgroup memory controls on foreign hosts without authorization.

Beginner path (authorized only)

1. Obtain one syllabus-approved disposable lab host with a usable choom toolchain.
2. Prefer a throwaway lab process before any write drill.
3. With authorization, run a syllabus-approved choom -p <lab-pid>; quote oom_score_adj labels as Evidence.
4. Optional: peer tip pages above when the syllabus asks.
5. Stop at literacy — no attack or unauthorized OOM-kill cookbooks.

Practical notes for authorized labs

• choom reads/writes /proc/<pid>/oom_score_adj — keep Evidence labels distinct from prlimit-tips RLIMIT pairs.
• Pair with systemd-run-tips only for syllabus-approved transient unit memory literacy on lab hosts.
• Target process command lines may embed secrets — never paste them into notes or git.
• Prefer documenting oom_score_adj values the syllabus authorized without dumping full /proc secret context.
• Never commit choom dumps with secrets to git — even for labs.

FAQ

Sources