diff --git a/init/Android.bp b/init/Android.bp
index efa5a02..33dfe56 100644
--- a/init/Android.bp
+++ b/init/Android.bp
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@
         "security.cpp",
         "selinux.cpp",
         "service.cpp",
+        "rlimit_parser.cpp",
         "tokenizer.cpp",
         "uevent_listener.cpp",
         "ueventd_parser.cpp",
@@ -163,6 +164,7 @@
         "init_test.cpp",
         "property_service_test.cpp",
         "result_test.cpp",
+        "rlimit_parser_test.cpp",
         "service_test.cpp",
         "ueventd_test.cpp",
         "util_test.cpp",
diff --git a/init/README.md b/init/README.md
index 0ea00fb..b681f21 100644
--- a/init/README.md
+++ b/init/README.md
@@ -216,6 +216,12 @@
   http://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man7/capabilities.7.html for a list of Linux
   capabilities.
 
+`setrlimit <resource> <cur> <max>`
+> This applies the given rlimit to the service. rlimits are inherited by child
+  processes, so this effectively applies the given rlimit to the process tree
+  started by this service.
+  It is parsed similarly to the setrlimit command specified below.
+
 `seclabel <seclabel>`
 > Change to 'seclabel' before exec'ing this service.
   Primarily for use by services run from the rootfs, e.g. ueventd, adbd.
@@ -455,7 +461,11 @@
   within _value_.
 
 `setrlimit <resource> <cur> <max>`
-> Set the rlimit for a resource.
+> Set the rlimit for a resource. This applies to all processes launched after
+  the limit is set. It is intended to be set early in init and applied globally.
+  _resource_ is best specified using its text representation ('cpu', 'rtio', etc
+  or 'RLIM_CPU', 'RLIM_RTIO', etc). It also may be specified as the int value
+  that the resource enum corresponds to.
 
 `start <service>`
 > Start a service running if it is not already running.
diff --git a/init/builtins.cpp b/init/builtins.cpp
index 54ccf09..e2e3d93 100644
--- a/init/builtins.cpp
+++ b/init/builtins.cpp
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@
 #include "parser.h"
 #include "property_service.h"
 #include "reboot.h"
+#include "rlimit_parser.h"
 #include "service.h"
 #include "signal_handler.h"
 #include "util.h"
@@ -563,20 +564,10 @@
 }
 
 static Result<Success> do_setrlimit(const std::vector<std::string>& args) {
-    int resource;
-    if (!android::base::ParseInt(args[1], &resource)) {
-        return Error() << "unable to parse resource, " << args[1];
-    }
+    auto rlimit = ParseRlimit(args);
+    if (!rlimit) return rlimit.error();
 
-    struct rlimit limit;
-    if (!android::base::ParseUint(args[2], &limit.rlim_cur)) {
-        return Error() << "unable to parse rlim_cur, " << args[2];
-    }
-    if (!android::base::ParseUint(args[3], &limit.rlim_max)) {
-        return Error() << "unable to parse rlim_max, " << args[3];
-    }
-
-    if (setrlimit(resource, &limit) == -1) {
+    if (setrlimit(rlimit->first, &rlimit->second) == -1) {
         return ErrnoError() << "setrlimit failed";
     }
     return Success();
diff --git a/init/rlimit_parser.cpp b/init/rlimit_parser.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fe1d6a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/init/rlimit_parser.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 The Android Open Source Project
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include "rlimit_parser.h"
+
+#include <android-base/parseint.h>
+#include <android-base/strings.h>
+
+using android::base::EqualsIgnoreCase;
+using android::base::ParseInt;
+using android::base::ParseUint;
+using android::base::StartsWith;
+
+namespace android {
+namespace init {
+
+// Builtins and service definitions both have their arguments start at 1 and finish at 3.
+Result<std::pair<int, rlimit>> ParseRlimit(const std::vector<std::string>& args) {
+    static const std::vector<std::pair<const char*, int>> text_to_resources = {
+        {"cpu", 0},       {"fsize", 1}, {"data", 2},    {"stack", 3},
+        {"core", 4},      {"rss", 5},   {"nproc", 6},   {"nofile", 7},
+        {"memlock", 8},   {"as", 9},    {"locks", 10},  {"sigpending", 11},
+        {"msgqueue", 12}, {"nice", 13}, {"rtprio", 14}, {"rttime", 15},
+    };
+
+    int resource;
+
+    if (ParseInt(args[1], &resource)) {
+        if (resource >= RLIM_NLIMITS) {
+            return Error() << "Resource '" << args[1] << "' over the maximum resource value '"
+                           << RLIM_NLIMITS << "'";
+        } else if (resource < 0) {
+            return Error() << "Resource '" << args[1] << "' below the minimum resource value '0'";
+        }
+    } else {
+        std::string resource_string;
+        if (StartsWith(args[1], "RLIM_")) {
+            resource_string = args[1].substr(5);
+        } else {
+            resource_string = args[1];
+        }
+
+        auto it = std::find_if(text_to_resources.begin(), text_to_resources.end(),
+                               [&resource_string](const auto& entry) {
+                                   return EqualsIgnoreCase(resource_string, entry.first);
+                               });
+        if (it == text_to_resources.end()) {
+            return Error() << "Could not parse resource '" << args[1] << "'";
+        }
+
+        resource = it->second;
+    }
+
+    rlimit limit;
+    if (!ParseUint(args[2], &limit.rlim_cur)) {
+        return Error() << "Could not parse soft limit '" << args[2] << "'";
+    }
+    if (!ParseUint(args[3], &limit.rlim_max)) {
+        return Error() << "Could not parse hard limit '" << args[3] << "'";
+    }
+    return {resource, limit};
+}
+
+}  // namespace init
+}  // namespace android
diff --git a/init/rlimit_parser.h b/init/rlimit_parser.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0396463
--- /dev/null
+++ b/init/rlimit_parser.h
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 The Android Open Source Project
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#ifndef _INIT_RLIMIT_PARSER_H
+#define _INIT_RLIMIT_PARSER_H
+
+#include <sys/resource.h>
+
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+
+#include "result.h"
+
+namespace android {
+namespace init {
+
+Result<std::pair<int, rlimit>> ParseRlimit(const std::vector<std::string>& args);
+
+}  // namespace init
+}  // namespace android
+
+#endif
diff --git a/init/rlimit_parser_test.cpp b/init/rlimit_parser_test.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f3f9eb4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/init/rlimit_parser_test.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 The Android Open Source Project
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include "rlimit_parser.h"
+
+#include <iostream>
+
+#include <gtest/gtest.h>
+
+namespace android {
+namespace init {
+
+void TestRlimitSuccess(std::vector<std::string> input,
+                       const std::pair<int, rlimit>& expected_result) {
+    input.emplace(input.begin(), "");
+    ASSERT_EQ(4U, input.size());
+    auto result = ParseRlimit(input);
+
+    ASSERT_TRUE(result) << "input: " << input[1];
+    const auto& [resource, rlimit] = *result;
+    const auto& [expected_resource, expected_rlimit] = expected_result;
+    EXPECT_EQ(expected_resource, resource);
+    EXPECT_EQ(expected_rlimit.rlim_cur, rlimit.rlim_cur);
+    EXPECT_EQ(expected_rlimit.rlim_max, rlimit.rlim_max);
+}
+
+void TestRlimitFailure(std::vector<std::string> input, const std::string& expected_result) {
+    input.emplace(input.begin(), "");
+    ASSERT_EQ(4U, input.size());
+    auto result = ParseRlimit(input);
+
+    ASSERT_FALSE(result) << "input: " << input[1];
+    EXPECT_EQ(expected_result, result.error_string());
+    EXPECT_EQ(0, result.error_errno());
+}
+
+TEST(rlimit, RlimitSuccess) {
+    const std::vector<std::pair<std::vector<std::string>, std::pair<int, rlimit>>>
+        inputs_and_results = {
+            {{"cpu", "10", "10"}, {0, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"fsize", "10", "10"}, {1, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"data", "10", "10"}, {2, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"stack", "10", "10"}, {3, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"core", "10", "10"}, {4, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"rss", "10", "10"}, {5, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"nproc", "10", "10"}, {6, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"nofile", "10", "10"}, {7, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"memlock", "10", "10"}, {8, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"as", "10", "10"}, {9, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"locks", "10", "10"}, {10, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"sigpending", "10", "10"}, {11, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"msgqueue", "10", "10"}, {12, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"nice", "10", "10"}, {13, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"rtprio", "10", "10"}, {14, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"rttime", "10", "10"}, {15, {10, 10}}},
+
+            {{"RLIM_CPU", "10", "10"}, {0, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_FSIZE", "10", "10"}, {1, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_DATA", "10", "10"}, {2, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_STACK", "10", "10"}, {3, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_CORE", "10", "10"}, {4, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_RSS", "10", "10"}, {5, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_NPROC", "10", "10"}, {6, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_NOFILE", "10", "10"}, {7, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_MEMLOCK", "10", "10"}, {8, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_AS", "10", "10"}, {9, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_LOCKS", "10", "10"}, {10, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_SIGPENDING", "10", "10"}, {11, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_MSGQUEUE", "10", "10"}, {12, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_NICE", "10", "10"}, {13, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_RTPRIO", "10", "10"}, {14, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"RLIM_RTTIME", "10", "10"}, {15, {10, 10}}},
+
+            {{"0", "10", "10"}, {0, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"1", "10", "10"}, {1, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"2", "10", "10"}, {2, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"3", "10", "10"}, {3, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"4", "10", "10"}, {4, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"5", "10", "10"}, {5, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"6", "10", "10"}, {6, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"7", "10", "10"}, {7, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"8", "10", "10"}, {8, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"9", "10", "10"}, {9, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"10", "10", "10"}, {10, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"11", "10", "10"}, {11, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"12", "10", "10"}, {12, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"13", "10", "10"}, {13, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"14", "10", "10"}, {14, {10, 10}}},
+            {{"15", "10", "10"}, {15, {10, 10}}},
+        };
+
+    for (const auto& [input, expected_result] : inputs_and_results) {
+        TestRlimitSuccess(input, expected_result);
+    }
+}
+
+TEST(rlimit, RlimitFailure) {
+    const std::vector<std::pair<std::vector<std::string>, std::string>> inputs_and_results = {
+        {{"-4", "10", "10"}, "Resource '-4' below the minimum resource value '0'"},
+        {{"100", "10", "10"}, "Resource '100' over the maximum resource value '16'"},
+        {{"bad_string", "10", "10"}, "Could not parse resource 'bad_string'"},
+        {{"RLIM_", "10", "10"}, "Could not parse resource 'RLIM_'"},
+        {{"cpu", "abc", "10"}, "Could not parse soft limit 'abc'"},
+        {{"cpu", "10", "abc"}, "Could not parse hard limit 'abc'"},
+    };
+
+    for (const auto& [input, expected_result] : inputs_and_results) {
+        TestRlimitFailure(input, expected_result);
+    }
+}
+
+}  // namespace init
+}  // namespace android
diff --git a/init/service.cpp b/init/service.cpp
index d3c9f92..bb3a621 100644
--- a/init/service.cpp
+++ b/init/service.cpp
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
 
 #include "init.h"
 #include "property_service.h"
+#include "rlimit_parser.h"
 #include "util.h"
 
 using android::base::boot_clock;
@@ -216,6 +217,12 @@
 }
 
 void Service::SetProcessAttributes() {
+    for (const auto& rlimit : rlimits_) {
+        if (setrlimit(rlimit.first, &rlimit.second) == -1) {
+            LOG(FATAL) << StringPrintf("setrlimit(%d, {rlim_cur=%ld, rlim_max=%ld}) failed",
+                                       rlimit.first, rlimit.second.rlim_cur, rlimit.second.rlim_max);
+        }
+    }
     // Keep capabilites on uid change.
     if (capabilities_.any() && uid_) {
         // If Android is running in a container, some securebits might already
@@ -489,6 +496,14 @@
     return Success();
 }
 
+Result<Success> Service::ParseProcessRlimit(const std::vector<std::string>& args) {
+    auto rlimit = ParseRlimit(args);
+    if (!rlimit) return rlimit.error();
+
+    rlimits_.emplace_back(*rlimit);
+    return Success();
+}
+
 Result<Success> Service::ParseSeclabel(const std::vector<std::string>& args) {
     seclabel_ = args[1];
     return Success();
@@ -609,6 +624,7 @@
         {"memcg.limit_in_bytes",
                         {1,     1,    &Service::ParseMemcgLimitInBytes}},
         {"namespace",   {1,     2,    &Service::ParseNamespace}},
+        {"rlimit",      {3,     3,    &Service::ParseProcessRlimit}},
         {"seclabel",    {1,     1,    &Service::ParseSeclabel}},
         {"setenv",      {2,     2,    &Service::ParseSetenv}},
         {"shutdown",    {1,     1,    &Service::ParseShutdown}},
diff --git a/init/service.h b/init/service.h
index 1f2c44f..67542ca 100644
--- a/init/service.h
+++ b/init/service.h
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 #ifndef _INIT_SERVICE_H
 #define _INIT_SERVICE_H
 
+#include <sys/resource.h>
 #include <sys/types.h>
 
 #include <memory>
@@ -138,6 +139,7 @@
     Result<Success> ParseMemcgSoftLimitInBytes(const std::vector<std::string>& args);
     Result<Success> ParseMemcgSwappiness(const std::vector<std::string>& args);
     Result<Success> ParseNamespace(const std::vector<std::string>& args);
+    Result<Success> ParseProcessRlimit(const std::vector<std::string>& args);
     Result<Success> ParseSeclabel(const std::vector<std::string>& args);
     Result<Success> ParseSetenv(const std::vector<std::string>& args);
     Result<Success> ParseShutdown(const std::vector<std::string>& args);
@@ -195,6 +197,8 @@
 
     unsigned long start_order_;
 
+    std::vector<std::pair<int, rlimit>> rlimits_;
+
     std::vector<std::string> args_;
 };