[jqpabc123]

... hitting inode limit

Use a better file system with the ability to "scale up".

Attempting to predict and limit the max. number of allowed files at the time of creation is an unbelievably audacious yet hamstrung and self limiting design --- one that is totally unnecessary and as you point out, doomed to fail at some point --- often before storage and address space are depleted.

I find this particularly egregious in an era of constantly increasing storage demands, changing volume capacities and drive pooling in an OS often promoted for it's server prowess and flexibility.