# Container quotas

You can set quotas on the size and number of objects stored in a container by setting the following metadata:

- `X-Container-Meta-Quota-Bytes`. The size, in bytes, of objects that can be stored in a container.

- `X-Container-Meta-Quota-Count`. The number of objects that can be stored in a container.

When you exceed a container quota, subsequent requests to create objects fail with a 413 Request Entity Too Large error.

The Object Storage system uses an eventual consistency model. When you create a new object, the container size and object count might not be immediately updated. Consequently, you might be allowed to create objects even though you have actually exceeded the quota.

At some later time, the system updates the container size and object count to the actual values. At this time, subsequent requests fails. In addition, if you are currently under the `X-Container-Meta-Quota-Bytes` limit and a request uses chunked transfer encoding, the system cannot know if the request will exceed the quota so the system allows the request. However, once the quota is exceeded, any subsequent uploads that use chunked transfer encoding fail.

this page last updated: 2026-04-08 16:47:21

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