Out of control WindowServer process

[JesseBruffett]

So this seems to be an issue with all the recent macOS versions, the windowserver process just seems to eat more and more ram. Now when im running a single safari windows with 5 tabs, mail, messages, notes, and onenote, the window server process i guess needs 5gb of ram to do its job. I rebooted, it started at 250mb, as soon as i start opening things it skyrockets. It seems to eat about 1gb per app window open. Closing the apps does not lower the processes ram usage. It will continue to grow with every app i open. I did a fresh reinstall of the OS, reinstalled all 3rd party apps by hand, of which i only use a few, and the issue persists. These numbers hold true on my m3 MBA with 16gb ram and my partners m1 base MBA. This is ridiculous Apple.

 

[DarkPremiumCho]

Typical memory mismanagement. This has been a common issue in recent years. Apple tends to addresses the issue after one or two updates.

 

[JesseBruffett]

Yesterday, again, I did a complete reinstall of the OS, had to restore it to Sonoma, upgrade to Sequoia, and the issue persists. Right now to test, I am not using ANY 3rd party apps, not even ones from the App Store. After 1.5 hours my windowserver process was 2gb.

The apple support forums are trying to tell me it's not the OS.

So if this isn't a software issue it has to be a hardware issue. BUT I don't see how that's that case when in Sonoma with my current laptop I never say the windowserver process peak over 1gb and that was with 1 external 1440p displays and the integral display all running with tons of windows and apps open. Plus no other apps are running away, all are using only as much ram as they did in Sonoma. Maybe is a compatibility issue with my exact config? 13 MBA, M3, 16gb, 512gb.

 

[jcscol]

After 1.5 hours my windowserver process was 2gb.

This is normal for the windowserver process, especially after several hours.

In Activity Monitor, go to View -> Columns and add 'Real Memory' and 'Compressed Memory'. You will probably see that most of the memory associated with windowserver is compressed i.e. inactive. This suggests that it is doing some sort of caching as part of its normal function.

Memory use by windowserver and other system processes only becomes an issue when the system starts swapping memory out. The memory pressure graph is a useful indication of these types of problems.

 

[gilby101]

In Activity Monitor, go to View -> Columns and add 'Real Memory' and 'Compressed Memory'. You will probably see that most of the memory associated with windowserver is compressed i.e. inactive. This suggests that it is doing some sort of caching as part of its normal function.

This is exactly what I see. And, yes, it is normal activity.