@normanmaurer do you mean MAX_MESSAGES_PER_READ in netty-5.0.0.Alpha ? Ups yes https://github.com/netty/netty/blob/4.1/transport/src/main/java/io/netty/channel/ChannelOption.java#L83
LocalChannel / LocalServerChannel not respect ChannelOption. MAX_MESSAGES_PER_READ
LocalChannel / LocalServerChannel not respect ChannelOption.MAX_MESSAGES_PER_READ and just keeps processing messages until there are no more present.
transport/src/main/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalChannel.java transport/src/main/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalServerChannel.java
transport/src/main/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalChannel.java transport/src/main/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalServerChannel.java
transport/src/test/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalChannelTest.java
diff --git a/transport/src/main/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalChannel.java b/transport/src/main/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalChannel.java
index 0d4ca82075c..62bd4d6a1cb 100644
--- a/transport/src/main/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalChannel.java
+++ b/transport/src/main/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalChannel.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 import io.netty.channel.DefaultChannelConfig;
 import io.netty.channel.EventLoop;
 import io.netty.channel.PreferHeapByteBufAllocator;
+import io.netty.channel.RecvByteBufAllocator;
 import io.netty.channel.SingleThreadEventLoop;
 import io.netty.util.ReferenceCountUtil;
 import io.netty.util.concurrent.Future;
@@ -67,17 +68,13 @@ private enum State { OPEN, BOUND, CONNECTED, CLOSED }
     private final Runnable readTask = new Runnable() {
         @Override
         public void run() {
-            ChannelPipeline pipeline = pipeline();
-            for (;;) {
-                Object m = inboundBuffer.poll();
-                if (m == null) {
-                    break;
-                }
-                pipeline.fireChannelRead(m);
+            // Ensure the inboundBuffer is not empty as readInbound() will always call fireChannelReadComplete()
+            if (!inboundBuffer.isEmpty()) {
+                readInbound();
             }
-            pipeline.fireChannelReadComplete();
         }
     };
+
     private final Runnable shutdownHook = new Runnable() {
         @Override
         public void run() {
@@ -295,13 +292,27 @@ protected void doDeregister() throws Exception {
         ((SingleThreadEventExecutor) eventLoop()).removeShutdownHook(shutdownHook);
     }
 
+    private void readInbound() {
+        RecvByteBufAllocator.Handle handle = unsafe().recvBufAllocHandle();
+        handle.reset(config());
+        ChannelPipeline pipeline = pipeline();
+        do {
+            Object received = inboundBuffer.poll();
+            if (received == null) {
+                break;
+            }
+            pipeline.fireChannelRead(received);
+        } while (handle.continueReading());
+
+        pipeline.fireChannelReadComplete();
+    }
+
     @Override
     protected void doBeginRead() throws Exception {
         if (readInProgress) {
             return;
         }
 
-        ChannelPipeline pipeline = pipeline();
         Queue<Object> inboundBuffer = this.inboundBuffer;
         if (inboundBuffer.isEmpty()) {
             readInProgress = true;
@@ -313,14 +324,7 @@ protected void doBeginRead() throws Exception {
         if (stackDepth < MAX_READER_STACK_DEPTH) {
             threadLocals.setLocalChannelReaderStackDepth(stackDepth + 1);
             try {
-                for (;;) {
-                    Object received = inboundBuffer.poll();
-                    if (received == null) {
-                        break;
-                    }
-                    pipeline.fireChannelRead(received);
-                }
-                pipeline.fireChannelReadComplete();
+                readInbound();
             } finally {
                 threadLocals.setLocalChannelReaderStackDepth(stackDepth);
             }
@@ -435,19 +439,11 @@ private void finishPeerRead0(LocalChannel peer) {
                 FINISH_READ_FUTURE_UPDATER.compareAndSet(peer, peerFinishReadFuture, null);
             }
         }
-        ChannelPipeline peerPipeline = peer.pipeline();
         // We should only set readInProgress to false if there is any data that was read as otherwise we may miss to
         // forward data later on.
         if (peer.readInProgress && !peer.inboundBuffer.isEmpty()) {
             peer.readInProgress = false;
-            for (;;) {
-                Object received = peer.inboundBuffer.poll();
-                if (received == null) {
-                    break;
-                }
-                peerPipeline.fireChannelRead(received);
-            }
-            peerPipeline.fireChannelReadComplete();
+            peer.readInbound();
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/transport/src/main/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalServerChannel.java b/transport/src/main/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalServerChannel.java
index 422435cd182..6b3437547a2 100644
--- a/transport/src/main/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalServerChannel.java
+++ b/transport/src/main/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalServerChannel.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import io.netty.channel.DefaultChannelConfig;
 import io.netty.channel.EventLoop;
 import io.netty.channel.PreferHeapByteBufAllocator;
+import io.netty.channel.RecvByteBufAllocator;
 import io.netty.channel.ServerChannel;
 import io.netty.channel.SingleThreadEventLoop;
 import io.netty.util.concurrent.SingleThreadEventExecutor;
@@ -126,15 +127,7 @@ protected void doBeginRead() throws Exception {
             return;
         }
 
-        ChannelPipeline pipeline = pipeline();
-        for (;;) {
-            Object m = inboundBuffer.poll();
-            if (m == null) {
-                break;
-            }
-            pipeline.fireChannelRead(m);
-        }
-        pipeline.fireChannelReadComplete();
+        readInbound();
     }
 
     LocalChannel serve(final LocalChannel peer) {
@@ -143,15 +136,30 @@ LocalChannel serve(final LocalChannel peer) {
             serve0(child);
         } else {
             eventLoop().execute(new Runnable() {
-              @Override
-              public void run() {
-                serve0(child);
-              }
+                @Override
+                public void run() {
+                    serve0(child);
+                }
             });
         }
         return child;
     }
 
+    private void readInbound() {
+        RecvByteBufAllocator.Handle handle = unsafe().recvBufAllocHandle();
+        handle.reset(config());
+        ChannelPipeline pipeline = pipeline();
+        do {
+            Object m = inboundBuffer.poll();
+            if (m == null) {
+                break;
+            }
+            pipeline.fireChannelRead(m);
+        } while (handle.continueReading());
+
+        pipeline.fireChannelReadComplete();
+    }
+
     /**
      * A factory method for {@link LocalChannel}s. Users may override it
      * to create custom instances of {@link LocalChannel}s.
@@ -164,15 +172,8 @@ private void serve0(final LocalChannel child) {
         inboundBuffer.add(child);
         if (acceptInProgress) {
             acceptInProgress = false;
-            ChannelPipeline pipeline = pipeline();
-            for (;;) {
-                Object m = inboundBuffer.poll();
-                if (m == null) {
-                    break;
-                }
-                pipeline.fireChannelRead(m);
-            }
-            pipeline.fireChannelReadComplete();
+
+            readInbound();
         }
     }
 }

diff --git a/transport/src/test/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalChannelTest.java b/transport/src/test/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalChannelTest.java
index 2ec4c29a6a4..628f621f4e1 100644
--- a/transport/src/test/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalChannelTest.java
+++ b/transport/src/test/java/io/netty/channel/local/LocalChannelTest.java
@@ -46,11 +46,13 @@
 import java.nio.channels.ClosedChannelException;
 import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
 import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
 
 import static java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.SECONDS;
 import static org.hamcrest.CoreMatchers.instanceOf;
 import static org.hamcrest.CoreMatchers.is;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertNull;
 import static org.junit.Assert.assertThat;
@@ -1020,4 +1022,176 @@ public void channelRead(final ChannelHandlerContext ctx, Object msg) throws Exce
             closeChannel(sc);
         }
     }
+
+    @Test(timeout = 5000)
+    public void testMaxMessagesPerReadRespectedWithAutoReadSharedGroup() throws Exception {
+        testMaxMessagesPerReadRespected(sharedGroup, sharedGroup, true);
+    }
+
+    @Test(timeout = 5000)
+    public void testMaxMessagesPerReadRespectedWithoutAutoReadSharedGroup() throws Exception {
+        testMaxMessagesPerReadRespected(sharedGroup, sharedGroup, false);
+    }
+
+    @Test(timeout = 5000)
+    public void testMaxMessagesPerReadRespectedWithAutoReadDifferentGroup() throws Exception {
+        testMaxMessagesPerReadRespected(group1, group2, true);
+    }
+
+    @Test(timeout = 5000)
+    public void testMaxMessagesPerReadRespectedWithoutAutoReadDifferentGroup() throws Exception {
+        testMaxMessagesPerReadRespected(group1, group2, false);
+    }
+
+    private static void testMaxMessagesPerReadRespected(
+            EventLoopGroup serverGroup, EventLoopGroup clientGroup, final boolean autoRead) throws Exception {
+        final CountDownLatch countDownLatch = new CountDownLatch(5);
+        Bootstrap cb = new Bootstrap();
+        ServerBootstrap sb = new ServerBootstrap();
+
+        cb.group(serverGroup)
+                .channel(LocalChannel.class)
+                .option(ChannelOption.AUTO_READ, autoRead)
+                .option(ChannelOption.MAX_MESSAGES_PER_READ, 1)
+                .handler(new ChannelReadHandler(countDownLatch, autoRead));
+        sb.group(clientGroup)
+                .channel(LocalServerChannel.class)
+                .childHandler(new ChannelInboundHandlerAdapter() {
+                    @Override
+                    public void channelActive(final ChannelHandlerContext ctx) {
+                        for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
+                            ctx.write(i);
+                        }
+                        ctx.flush();
+                    }
+                });
+
+        Channel sc = null;
+        Channel cc = null;
+        try {
+            // Start server
+            sc = sb.bind(TEST_ADDRESS).sync().channel();
+            cc = cb.connect(TEST_ADDRESS).sync().channel();
+
+            countDownLatch.await();
+        } finally {
+            closeChannel(cc);
+            closeChannel(sc);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test(timeout = 5000)
+    public void testServerMaxMessagesPerReadRespectedWithAutoReadSharedGroup() throws Exception {
+        testServerMaxMessagesPerReadRespected(sharedGroup, sharedGroup, true);
+    }
+
+    @Test(timeout = 5000)
+    public void testServerMaxMessagesPerReadRespectedWithoutAutoReadSharedGroup() throws Exception {
+        testServerMaxMessagesPerReadRespected(sharedGroup, sharedGroup, false);
+    }
+
+    @Test(timeout = 5000)
+    public void testServerMaxMessagesPerReadRespectedWithAutoReadDifferentGroup() throws Exception {
+        testServerMaxMessagesPerReadRespected(group1, group2, true);
+    }
+
+    @Test(timeout = 5000)
+    public void testServerMaxMessagesPerReadRespectedWithoutAutoReadDifferentGroup() throws Exception {
+        testServerMaxMessagesPerReadRespected(group1, group2, false);
+    }
+
+    private void testServerMaxMessagesPerReadRespected(
+            EventLoopGroup serverGroup, EventLoopGroup clientGroup, final boolean autoRead) throws Exception {
+        final CountDownLatch countDownLatch = new CountDownLatch(5);
+        Bootstrap cb = new Bootstrap();
+        ServerBootstrap sb = new ServerBootstrap();
+
+        cb.group(serverGroup)
+                .channel(LocalChannel.class)
+                .handler(new ChannelInitializer<Channel>() {
+                    @Override
+                    protected void initChannel(Channel ch) {
+                        // NOOP
+                    }
+                });
+
+        sb.group(clientGroup)
+                .channel(LocalServerChannel.class)
+                .option(ChannelOption.AUTO_READ, autoRead)
+                .option(ChannelOption.MAX_MESSAGES_PER_READ, 1)
+                .handler(new ChannelReadHandler(countDownLatch, autoRead))
+                .childHandler(new ChannelInitializer<Channel>() {
+                    @Override
+                    protected void initChannel(Channel ch) {
+                        // NOOP
+                    }
+                });
+
+        Channel sc = null;
+        Channel cc = null;
+        try {
+            // Start server
+            sc = sb.bind(TEST_ADDRESS).sync().channel();
+            for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
+                try {
+                    cc = cb.connect(TEST_ADDRESS).sync().channel();
+                } finally {
+                    closeChannel(cc);
+                }
+            }
+
+            countDownLatch.await();
+        } finally {
+            closeChannel(sc);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static final class ChannelReadHandler extends ChannelInboundHandlerAdapter {
+
+        private final CountDownLatch latch;
+        private final boolean autoRead;
+        private int read;
+
+        ChannelReadHandler(CountDownLatch latch, boolean autoRead) {
+            this.latch = latch;
+            this.autoRead = autoRead;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void channelActive(ChannelHandlerContext ctx) {
+            if (!autoRead) {
+                ctx.read();
+            }
+            ctx.fireChannelActive();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void channelRead(final ChannelHandlerContext ctx, Object msg) {
+            assertEquals(0, read);
+            read++;
+            ctx.fireChannelRead(msg);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void channelReadComplete(final ChannelHandlerContext ctx) {
+            assertEquals(1, read);
+            latch.countDown();
+            if (latch.getCount() > 0) {
+                if (!autoRead) {
+                    // The read will be scheduled 100ms in the future to ensure we not receive any
+                    // channelRead calls in the meantime.
+                    ctx.executor().schedule(new Runnable() {
+                        @Override
+                        public void run() {
+                            read = 0;
+                            ctx.read();
+                        }
+                    }, 100, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
+                } else {
+                    read = 0;
+                }
+            }
+            ctx.fireChannelReadComplete();
+        }
+    }
 }
