The XRP Ledger has finally implemented the fixDirectoryLimit fix, removing the outdated “hard cap” on the number of items that can be stored in a given list in the ledger.
Previously, the network blocked adding new items if one list was too long. This happens when the user has enough XRP to make the payment.
Now, that arbitrary restriction is gone and the network instead relies on Reserve (XRP locking up to create objects) to prevent spam.
why is this important
Think of a directory as a specific folder within your file cabinet. XRPL uses directories to group similar things. The most common example is a purchase order.
If 500 people all want to buy XRP for exactly $2.50, the ledger will group all 500 offers into a single “directory” for that price range.
Previously, the code had a hard limit on the number of “pages” that this folder could contain.
If a particular price point ($2.50) becomes so popular that thousands of offers flood in, the directory can become effectively “full.”
The user receives an error code similar to tecDIR_FULL. This means that a valid transaction failed simply because that particular “folder” is technically full.
The proposed amendment would remove this restriction. Because the network already has an “owner reserve,” there is no need for hard-coded limits to stop spam. To create an offer or object, you need to lock up XRP. Its economic cost is enough to stop people from spamming endless objects.
Validators no longer need to waste resources checking whether a directory page is “full.”
Meanwhile, traders and apps will not encounter unexpected tecDIR_FULL errors during high traffic.
A busy year
This year has been a busy year for XRPL. This was the first major revision of the year. Added “clawback” functionality specifically for Automated Market Maker (AMM) pools. The network introduced DynamicNFT functionality, allowing non-fungible tokens to update their metadata over time without being destroyed or reminted.
