VS Code High Memory Usage

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Identify the biggest process

   Copy steps
   1. Open Help > Open Process Explorer
   2. Note whether it is the extension host, a language server or the renderer
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Bisect extensions

   Copy steps
   1. Use Extension Bisect from the Extensions view ... menu
   2. Remove or replace the heavy extension
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Exclude large folders

   Copy steps
   1. Add big folders to files.exclude and files.watcherExclude
   2. Open a sub-project instead of the whole monorepo
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. Restart periodically

   1. Run Developer: Reload Window or restart VS Code after long sessions
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

VS Code uses several GB of RAM or slows after hours of use.

Why it happens

• Many extensions
• Large workspace indexing
• Language servers holding large projects
• Long-lived windows with many tabs

This guide also covers

• vscode high memory usage
• why is vs code so slow
• vscode taking too much memory

The same problem in other apps

All slow, laggy or resource-hungry guides →

• Why Is Neovim So Slow? (Startup Lag and Large Files) (Neovim)
• Cursor Slow, High CPU or Memory Usage (Cursor)

Other VS Code errors

• VS Code Terminal Not Working
• VS Code Python Interpreter Not Found
• VS Code IntelliSense Not Working
• VS Code High CPU Usage
• VS Code Extension Host Terminated Unexpectedly
• VS Code Extensions Not Loading or Installing
• VS Code 'code' Command Not Found
• VS Code Unable to Watch for File Changes (ENOSPC)