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[Solved] How to fix WindowServer High Memory Leak caused by Private dirty memory growth in Metal compositor across multiple Spaces on MacBook Pro 14″ M3 Max

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Home › Forums › MacBook, iMac & macOS Lab › [Solved] How to fix WindowServer High Memory Leak caused by Private dirty memory growth in Metal compositor across multiple Spaces on MacBook Pro 14″ M3 Max

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  • November 14, 2026 at 10:31 pm #13547
    Michelle Griffin
    Community Contributor
    Diagnostic Hardware Specs: MacBook Pro 14″ M3 Max (36GB) | OS Version: macOS Sequoia 15.1 | Archive Source: Apple Support Community #256659735

    I am running into a persistent issue on my MacBook Pro 14″ M3 Max (36GB) running macOS Sequoia 15.1.
    Whenever the machine encounters Private dirty memory growth in Metal compositor across multiple Spaces, the following diagnostic log appears in Console:

    WindowServer virtual memory: 19.4 GB private dirty surfaces in Metal shader cache

    I verified that hardware connections are intact and tested across different power sources. What is the verified diagnostic procedure to permanently eliminate this symptom?

    iPad Pro 13″ M4 (Magic Keyboard + Cellular) | iPhone 15 Pro | Vancouver, BC
    Digital Nomad & Travel Filmmaker | "Verified Apple Discussions Archive"
    November 14, 2026 at 10:31 pm #13548
    Kyle Edwards
    Certified Tech (Lvl 5)
    Apple Recommended / Verified Community Solution
    This canonical solution was verified and marked as solved in the Apple Support Community archive.

    Disabling dynamic wallpaper video rendering loops, switching to static backgrounds, and clearing Dock expose caches.

    Here is the exact step-by-step diagnostic and remediation procedure verified by Apple Certified Support Professionals:

    1. Switch all desktop spaces to static wallpapers in System Settings > Wallpaper.
    2. Flush compositor memory: sudo purge && killall Dock.
    3. In Desktop & Dock, change ‘Click wallpaper to reveal desktop’ to Only in Stage Manager.

    Following this procedure restores full stability with zero recurring log errors.

    Mac Studio M2 Ultra (128GB) | ASUS ProArt PA32UCG-K | OWC ThunderBay 8 | Ottawa, ON
    Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) | Final Cut Pro / DaVinci Colorist & Editor
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