Hello! I have a Mackbook Pro 16' with 16G RAM. My Zotero frequently occupies a large proportion of my memory. And it responds slowly. Other apps do not appear like that. I guess there is something wrong with Zotero's memory usage. (though I think Zotero is the best academic tool I ever use.)
Hi, just wanted to confirm high memory usage on my M1 MacBook Pro 16' w/ 32GB RAM.
Working in one 4 page PDF without any other tabs open, RAM spikes up to 3GB. I can see sharp spikes when zooming in and out. It normalizes at around 2GB after some idle time.
Zotero uses 3.11G memory when opening 4 PDFs, and I 'm not sure if it happens with all PDF files, but my computer is constantly reporting my system is out of application memory everyday I use Zotero to write essay.
1) And if you close those two PDFs, how much does the memory usage drop after waiting for a bit? 2) Are those PDFs scanned papers? 3) What is the size of those PDFs, and how many pages do they have?
@ponyma Also you can try Troubleshooting Mode (Help → "Restart in Troubleshooting Mode…”) that disables all third-party plugins, to see if there is any difference.
Today, I ran a lot of tests. I am a macOS user and I’m using the latest version 7.0.11. I have installed multiple third-party plugins, including: • Style • Awesome GPT • Translate for Zotero
I found that when I disable plugins related to the PDF reader, the memory leak disappears: closing PDFs releases memory as expected. However, when I enable any of these plugins, the memory leak reoccurs. I’m not sure whether this issue lies with Zotero itself or the third-party plugins. If it’s the plugins’ problem, why do all the plugins cause memory leaks?
I hope this issue gets resolved soon. Otherwise, using Zotero feels like handling a bulky and inefficient tool. Its integration of the PDF reader and note-taking features is excellent, and I can’t find a suitable alternative for now.
I experience the same issue of high memory usage by Zotero running on an Apple M1 Pro with 16GB of RAM and MacOS Sequoia. At times, Zotero feels even close to being unresponsive. Memory use is around 1.7–2GB.
The point is not that disabling plugins is a solution (indeed it isn't), it's a way to look for a possible cause.
If the problem doesn't happen when the plugins are disabled, the cause is in one or more plugins, and by selectively activating one after the other you'll be able to see where the problem is. Then it should be reported to the relevant plugin developer so that they can work on a solution. if the problem still happens with plugins disabled, then the issue more probably in Zotero.
So... does the problem also happen with plugins disabled?
(for full disclosure, I'm using Zotero 7 on an M2 Mac and I haven't noticed such a huge memory usage)
Using 1 GB is totally normal. I was responding to the person saying it was taking 14.68 GB, which would not be normal and which would very likely be due to plugins.
Sorry @bostonblack, I hadn't read your previous message - thanks for pointing it out.
I have kind of the same numbers, so basically no problem in comparison to a few posts of this thread that report 4 to 21 GB. Also memory seems to be properly released when I close the PDFs, so no obvious leak either (that would be a real bug).
While I agree this could feel a bit large, as written by dstillman about 1 year ago "1.5–2 GB while PDFs are open is normal".
Also, memory usage is one thing, but as long as it doesn't affect responsiveness perhaps it really isn't an issue. And lack of responsiveness can be caused by entirely different causes, of course). Are you experiencing slowness or similar problems?
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I have a Mackbook Pro 16' with 16G RAM.
My Zotero frequently occupies a large proportion of my memory.
And it responds slowly. Other apps do not appear like that.
I guess there is something wrong with Zotero's memory usage.
(though I think Zotero is the best academic tool I ever use.)
just wanted to confirm high memory usage on my M1 MacBook Pro 16' w/ 32GB RAM.
Working in one 4 page PDF without any other tabs open, RAM spikes up to 3GB. I can see sharp spikes when zooming in and out. It normalizes at around 2GB after some idle time.
1. How much memory does Zotero use?
2. How many PDFs are open?
3. Does this happen with all PDF files?
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u6493051/hnj6h8oc1nep5tdy3ewk.png
1) And if you close those two PDFs, how much does the memory usage drop after waiting for a bit?
2) Are those PDFs scanned papers?
3) What is the size of those PDFs, and how many pages do they have?
Now, Zotero uses 2.38G once I open 1 PDF.
• Style
• Awesome GPT
• Translate for Zotero
I found that when I disable plugins related to the PDF reader, the memory leak disappears: closing PDFs releases memory as expected.
However, when I enable any of these plugins, the memory leak reoccurs. I’m not sure whether this issue lies with Zotero itself or the third-party plugins. If it’s the plugins’ problem, why do all the plugins cause memory leaks?
I hope this issue gets resolved soon. Otherwise, using Zotero feels like handling a bulky and inefficient tool. Its integration of the PDF reader and note-taking features is excellent, and I can’t find a suitable alternative for now.
just wanted to give another case:
- Macbook Air M2 with 8 GB of RAM
- MacOS 15.1.1 (24B91)
- Report: 222842437
Bug: Zotero starts with 670 MB, immedeatly goes up to 1,6 GB with two PDFs of 10 pages open.
Edit: I disabled all plugins and it still shot up to 1GB with just on 11 pager open. 1819640898
If the problem doesn't happen when the plugins are disabled, the cause is in one or more plugins, and by selectively activating one after the other you'll be able to see where the problem is. Then it should be reported to the relevant plugin developer so that they can work on a solution.
if the problem still happens with plugins disabled, then the issue more probably in Zotero.
So... does the problem also happen with plugins disabled?
(for full disclosure, I'm using Zotero 7 on an M2 Mac and I haven't noticed such a huge memory usage)
"Edit: I disabled all plugins and it still shot up to 1GB with just one 11 pager open. 1819640898"
This indeed is a Mac Silicon + Zotero Problem. Or maybe we just need so much RAM for PDF work nowadays? I don't know, but it seems a little too high.
I have kind of the same numbers, so basically no problem in comparison to a few posts of this thread that report 4 to 21 GB. Also memory seems to be properly released when I close the PDFs, so no obvious leak either (that would be a real bug).
While I agree this could feel a bit large, as written by dstillman about 1 year ago "1.5–2 GB while PDFs are open is normal".
Also, memory usage is one thing, but as long as it doesn't affect responsiveness perhaps it really isn't an issue. And lack of responsiveness can be caused by entirely different causes, of course). Are you experiencing slowness or similar problems?