Zotero Beta GUI with big library lagging during and after sync

edited April 14, 2024
I have a big library with around ~4000 position synced via Webdav.

Quite often when I sync files the gui become really slow - lagging by few seconds/not responding to user actions - for example - when I try to add/move pdf file to (another) parent item I am ending with moving the wrong file (one below or above from the view in collection);

Also I cannot open new pdfs/browse existing ones, or my there is several seconds of waiting between clicking on pdf and opening it in the zotero tab;

Usually restart helps; I suspect this is related to huge usage of swap memory with relatively low free space on my system (I am on MacOS 14.4 with M1, when I use many apps the free space can come down from 30gb free space to ~2gb due to extensive swap by apps, including zotero)

I am on 7.0.0-beta.74+2e8073ab9, but this happens since several beta releases (altough it seems to be rarer in latest beta now)


  • I'm mainly using Zotero 7 on Linux and I also noticed a general slowness, particularly during the sync phase and while loading pdf in already opened tabs.
  • @danielborek, @poettli: This is new in the latest betas (i.e., starting a week ago), not since the redesign?
  • To me, it started with the latest betas, particularly with the Linux version. But I might be wrong and I am just misremembering (and wasting your time).
  • @danielborek: Are you using plugins? Have you reproduced this in Troubleshooting Mode?
  • Hi, the lagging happened for me since about 3 weeks ago. I tried to install an older version but it keep auto-update to beta 80. I deleted all plugins and used the troubleshoot mode, and the lagging for open documents persists. I'd hope there's a way to stop Zotero 7 from auto updating itself because I tried to switch back to Zetero 6, but the word add-on for 6 is not working as it doesn't ask for permission on Mac setting. I'm using an Intel Mac by the way.
  • edited May 30, 2024
    @weicaorui: You should make sure you're running beta 81, which fixes potential performance problems during syncing.

    There shouldn't be any performance problems with that version, and if there are they need to be fixed ASAP before Zotero 7 is released. Old beta versions are unsupported and will be shut off from syncing, so downgrading to an earlier beta is not a solution.

    If you can reproduce a performance problem in current Zotero 7 betas in Troubleshooting Mode (Help → "Restart in Troubleshooting Mode…”), please let us know exactly how you're reproducing it.
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