diff --git a/common/fdlimit/fdlimit_darwin.go b/common/fdlimit/fdlimit_darwin.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..88dd0f56c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/fdlimit/fdlimit_darwin.go
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+// Copyright 2019 The go-ethereum Authors
+// This file is part of the go-ethereum library.
+//
+// The go-ethereum library is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// The go-ethereum library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
+// GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+// along with the go-ethereum library. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+package fdlimit
+
+import "syscall"
+
+// hardlimit is the number of file descriptors allowed at max by the kernel.
+const hardlimit = 10240
+
+// Raise tries to maximize the file descriptor allowance of this process
+// to the maximum hard-limit allowed by the OS.
+// Returns the size it was set to (may differ from the desired 'max')
+func Raise(max uint64) (uint64, error) {
+	// Get the current limit
+	var limit syscall.Rlimit
+	if err := syscall.Getrlimit(syscall.RLIMIT_NOFILE, &limit); err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	// Try to update the limit to the max allowance
+	limit.Cur = limit.Max
+	if limit.Cur > max {
+		limit.Cur = max
+	}
+	if err := syscall.Setrlimit(syscall.RLIMIT_NOFILE, &limit); err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	// MacOS can silently apply further caps, so retrieve the actually set limit
+	if err := syscall.Getrlimit(syscall.RLIMIT_NOFILE, &limit); err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	return limit.Cur, nil
+}
+
+// Current retrieves the number of file descriptors allowed to be opened by this
+// process.
+func Current() (int, error) {
+	var limit syscall.Rlimit
+	if err := syscall.Getrlimit(syscall.RLIMIT_NOFILE, &limit); err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	return int(limit.Cur), nil
+}
+
+// Maximum retrieves the maximum number of file descriptors this process is
+// allowed to request for itself.
+func Maximum() (int, error) {
+	// Retrieve the maximum allowed by dynamic OS limits
+	var limit syscall.Rlimit
+	if err := syscall.Getrlimit(syscall.RLIMIT_NOFILE, &limit); err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	// Cap it to OPEN_MAX (10240) because macos is a special snowflake
+	if limit.Max > hardlimit {
+		limit.Max = hardlimit
+	}
+	return int(limit.Max), nil
+}
diff --git a/common/fdlimit/fdlimit_unix.go b/common/fdlimit/fdlimit_unix.go
index 670112751..e5a575f7a 100644
--- a/common/fdlimit/fdlimit_unix.go
+++ b/common/fdlimit/fdlimit_unix.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 // You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
 // along with the go-ethereum library. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
-// +build linux darwin netbsd openbsd solaris
+// +build linux netbsd openbsd solaris
 
 package fdlimit
 
diff --git a/common/fdlimit/fdlimit_windows.go b/common/fdlimit/fdlimit_windows.go
index 63a44e0de..f47215366 100644
--- a/common/fdlimit/fdlimit_windows.go
+++ b/common/fdlimit/fdlimit_windows.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package fdlimit
 
 import "fmt"
 
+// hardlimit is the number of file descriptors allowed at max by the kernel.
 const hardlimit = 16384
 
 // Raise tries to maximize the file descriptor allowance of this process