diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 8615e1aa3..d463bff2c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ on:
     # midnight, every Monday and Thursday
     - cron: '0 0 * * 1,4'
 
+env:
+  SBT_OPTS: "-XX:MaxMetaspaceSize=4G -XX:MaxInlineLevel=20 -Xss2m -Xms512M -Xmx6G -XX:ReservedCodeCacheSize=256M"
+
 concurrency:
   group: ci-${{ github.ref }}
   cancel-in-progress: true
@@ -62,8 +65,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run tests
         run: |
           sbt test_$BUILD_KEY \
-              pushRemoteCache_$BUILD_KEY \
-              -J-Xmx4G
+              pushRemoteCache_$BUILD_KEY
 
       - name: Run plugin tests
         if: matrix.scalaVersion == '2_12' && matrix.scalaPlatform == 'jvm'
@@ -134,7 +136,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Publish ${{ github.ref }}
         run: |
           echo $PGP_SECRET | base64 --decode | gpg --import --no-tty --batch --yes
-          sbt 'pullRemoteCache; release' -J-Xmx2G
+          sbt 'pullRemoteCache; release'
         env:
           PGP_PASSPHRASE: ${{ secrets.PGP_PASSPHRASE }}
           PGP_SECRET: ${{ secrets.PGP_SECRET }}
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ac125a60d..6ad921464 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -68,3 +68,5 @@ version
 
 #smithy cli metadata
 build/smithy/classpath.json
+
+.sbtopts
diff --git a/.sbtopts b/.sbtopts.example
similarity index 100%
rename from .sbtopts
rename to .sbtopts.example
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d87d38482..29eec1887 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -62,3 +62,12 @@ ThisBuild / bloopAllowedCombos := Seq(
   )
 )
 ```
+
+## Note for .sbtopts
+
+You usually should use `.sbtopts` to add some more memory for `sbt`, as Smithy4s is complex. You copy the `.sbtopts.example` to `.sbtopts` and adjust the values to your needs:
+
+```bash
+cp .sbtopts.example .sbtopts
+```
+