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

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  • November 15, 2026 at 5:39 am #20643
    Melissa Schulze
    Community Contributor
    Diagnostic Hardware Specs: MacBook Pro 14″ M3 Max (36GB) | OS Version: macOS Sequoia 15.1 | Archive Source: Apple Support Community #256816468

    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: 28.3 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 Pro 14″ M3 Pro (36GB) | OWC Envoy Pro FX | iPad Pro 13″ M4 | Brussels, BE
    Commercial Photographer & Digitech | "Verified Apple Discussions Archive"
    November 15, 2026 at 5:39 am #20644
    Ella Meyer
    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.

    HomePod mini (Stereo Pair) | Apple TV 4K | iPad mini 7 (Wall Mounted) | Atlanta, GA
    Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) | Smart Home & Matter/Thread Integrator
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