Lambda: Runtime exited with error: signal: killed (Runtime.ExitError)
The function process was killed — almost always because it ran out of its configured memory.
Seen on:
AWS
Meaning
Lambda kills the runtime when it exceeds the memory setting. REPORT lines show “Max Memory Used” equal to “Memory Size”. Large files read into memory, image processing, and leaks across warm invocations are typical causes.
Common causes
- Memory setting too low for the workload
- Loading whole files/objects into memory
- Memory leak across warm invocations (global caches)
- Child processes using memory
⚡ Quick fix
- Increase memory (also increases CPU)
- Stream data instead of loading it all
- Check REPORT Max Memory Used in CloudWatch Logs
Detailed fix by platform
AWS CLI
aws lambda update-function-configuration --function-name resize --memory-size 2048
How to diagnose
- Memory — REPORT line Max Memory Used vs Memory Size
- Payload — Size of data processed
- Trend — Grows across invocations?
🔧 Still not fixed?
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Last updated 7 Oct 2026