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[Solved] WindowServer High Memory Leak on MacBook Air 15″ M2: How to resolve Private dirty memory growth in Metal compositor across multiple Spaces

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Home › Forums › MacBook, iMac & macOS Lab › [Solved] WindowServer High Memory Leak on MacBook Air 15″ M2: How to resolve Private dirty memory growth in Metal compositor across multiple Spaces

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  • November 15, 2026 at 1:30 am #16612
    Charlotte Hall
    Certified Tech (Lvl 5)
    Diagnostic Hardware Specs: MacBook Air 15″ M2 (24GB) | OS Version: macOS Sequoia 15.0 | Archive Source: Apple Support Community #256128245

    I am running into a persistent issue on my MacBook Air 15″ M2 (24GB) running macOS Sequoia 15.0.
    Whenever the machine encounters Private dirty memory growth in Metal compositor across multiple Spaces, the following diagnostic log appears in Console:

    WindowServer virtual memory: 18.1 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?

    Mac Pro M2 Ultra | Dual Pro Display XDR | Blackmagic UltraStudio 4K Mini | Brooklyn, NY
    Final Cut Pro / DaVinci Colorist & Editor | "Verified Apple Discussions Archive"
    November 15, 2026 at 1:31 am #16613
    Stella Allen
    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.

    Mac mini M4 Pro (48GB) | Studio Display | HHKB Professional Hybrid | Atlanta, GA
    Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) | Computer Science & Machine Learning Student
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