Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Massive memory leak in Safari since installation El Capitan

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013)

Processor: 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory: 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

OS X El Capitan 10.11 (15A284)

Safari 9.0 (11601.1.56)


Problem 1: Soon after starting Safari my MacBook Pro runs out of memory, even if I do not touch a key after starting Safari. In the memory tab of Activity display I can see Safari is to blame for this. Not a specific website, just Safari. No other programs cause this. Before installation of El Capitan I never had this Safari problem.

Problem 2: When I try to close Safari [cmd+Q], even before it runs out of memory, it freezes. I have to use a forced stop anytime. No other programs do this. Before installation of El Capitan I never had this Safari problem.


What I tried already: I deleted all internet plug-ins and all Safari plug-ins, not that I had a lot of those, but just to be sure they were not causing the memory leak. Nothing changed.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11), 2.7GHz Intel i7 - 16GB MHz DDR3

Posted on Oct 11, 2015 2:52 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best answer

Back up all data before proceeding.

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

~/Library/Safari

Right-click or control-click the line and select

Services Open

from the contextual menu.* A folder named "Safari" should open. Quit Safari if it's running. One or more files in the open folder should have a name beginning in "History". Move those files, and only those, to the Desktop, leaving the window open. Relaunch the application and test. If there's no change, quit again and put the files you moved back where they were, overwriting the ones that may have been created in their place. Otherwise, delete the files you moved. The browser history will be empty. If possible, restore the deleted files from a backup that predates the problem.

*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select

Go Go to Folder...

from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You may not see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

Posted on Oct 12, 2015 10:46 AM

22 replies

Dec 7, 2016 7:36 PM in response to M.vanderTorn

I've been experiencing massive memory leaks in many successive releases of Safari, both on my MacBook Pro and on my Mac Mini, not only in El Capitan but in Yosemite. As a programmer, I conclude that this is a Safari coding problem which Apple either is unable to solve or just hasn't gotten around to solving. [Speculation] Perhaps the Safari team is so busy chasing security issues that they don't have time for memory management issues.[/Speculation]

Dec 21, 2016 4:24 PM in response to Linc Davis

Hi Linc,


This fixed the problem immediately - thanks very much indeed. I use a few Safari-only functions for my work, so in my case it's not a good option to just switch to another browser indefinitely.


I second the motion for an explanation as to why this works, if you have one


If you ever find yourself in Washington, DC, drinks are on me.


Cheers,

Eric

Massive memory leak in Safari since installation El Capitan

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.