WindowServer High RAM Usage After macOS Tahoe Update

Others have reported this, but I cannot replicate it on my 16” M4 Pro MacBook Pro (with or without my 5K:2K display connected).

Apple will not investigate reports on this forum. Bugs can be reported to Apple here:

Feedback - macOS - Apple

Note that in Activity Monitor, you can secondary-click on the column headers to show Real Memory, that may be a more relevant metric.

See if there is anything relevant here for your issue—

https://www.macobserver.com/news/developers-push-fix-for-macos-tahoe-gpu-slowdown-in-electron-apps/

When they say " secondary-click on the column headers to show Real Memory "

This is equivalent to Control + click which would bring up a Sub Menu

The tick " Real Memory "

In my setup with a M4 Desktop with Tahoe 26.1

WindowServer seems about normal

Remembering what WindowsServer does

Quote from @ Grant Bennet-Alder

" WindowServer is the task that makes sure the right stuff is in every window, manages multiple windows in multiple positions on the screen, possibly overlapping or not, and generally manages all issues related to drawing the stuff on the screen. " End Quote 

canyigiterol wrote:

Hello,

After installing the recent macOS update “Tahoe”, the system process “WindowServer” began consuming a very large amount of RAM. After only a few hours of normal use, the computer becomes nearly unusable. I observed in Activity Monitor that the memory usage for “WindowServer” keeps rising. There is no external monitor attached, and yet the issue occurs even during standard everyday usage.

Also, I kindly request that Apple investigate this issue and provide a fix or guidance if available.

Thank you.

[Edited by Moderator]

Aside from " WindowServer " consuming a lot of CPU and Memory

What else is appearing in Activity Monitor that is consuming CPU / Memory "

Perhaps a screen shot will enlighten us

Post the screen sgot using the " Image Insertion " icon that looks like a TV screen

Use the Activity Monitor application and select View >> View All Processes. Identify the processes using the most CPU and memory. 

Often, it’s a combination of processes. 

When the computer uses a lot of CPU and Memory, it may indicate a lack of empty space on the drive. 

In this case, the CPU and memory usage increase as the system searches for empty space to save changes. 

Also, consider the number of Web Browser tabs in use. Each tab may consume significant CPU and memory resources.

View memory usage in Activity Monitor on Mac - Apple Support