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[Solved] WindowServer High Memory Leak on macOS Sequoia 15.1: Diagnostic steps and permanent fix

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Home › Forums › MacBook, iMac & macOS Lab › [Solved] WindowServer High Memory Leak on macOS Sequoia 15.1: Diagnostic steps and permanent fix

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  • November 15, 2026 at 12:22 am #15450
    Eric Krueger
    Community Contributor
    Diagnostic Hardware Specs: Mac Studio M2 Max (64GB) | OS Version: macOS Sequoia 15.1 | Archive Source: Apple Support Community #256516244

    I am running into a persistent issue on my Mac Studio M2 Max (64GB) 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: 22.0 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?

    MacBook Air 15″ M3 (16GB) | LG 27UK850 | Sony WH-1000XM5 | Brisbane, AU
    Computer Science & Machine Learning Student | "Verified Apple Discussions Archive"
    November 15, 2026 at 12:22 am #15451
    Nathan Perry
    Community Contributor
    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.

    MacBook Pro 14″ M4 (24GB) | DJI Mic 2 | Anker Prime 27,650mAh Bank | Austin, TX
    Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) | Digital Nomad & Travel Filmmaker
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