tkafka/Detect electron apps causing macOS Tahoe lag.md

Electron Apps Causing System-Wide Lag on Tahoe

See:

Fixed versions:

36.9.2
37.6.0
38.2.0
39.0.0
and all above 39

This script detects apps with not yet updated versions of Electron.

Temporary workaround:

Run

launchctl setenv CHROME_HEADLESS 1

on every system start. The CHROME_HEADLESS flag has a side effect of disabling Electron app window shadows, which makes them ugly, but also stops triggering the issue.

devnoname120 · 2025-10-01T14:03:46Z

To persist the CHROME_HEADLESS workaround you can create a launch agent:

Create file ~/Library/LaunchAgents/environment.fix-electron-resource-hog-bug.plist

<!-- https://gist.github.com/tkafka/e3eb63a5ec448e9be6701bfd1f1b1e58#temporary-workaround -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
  <dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>environment.fix-electron-resource-hog-bug</string>

    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
      <string>launchctl</string>
      <string>setenv</string>
      <string>CHROME_HEADLESS</string>
      <string>1</string>
    </array>

    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
  </dict>
</plist>

then run:

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/environment.fix-electron-resource-hog-bug.plist

Alternatively you can do it at /Library/LaunchAgents/environment.fix-electron-resource-hog-bug.plist if you want it to work for all users.

bartjakobs · 2025-10-01T14:19:40Z

The "kind:" mdfind keyword in the script didn't work on my Dutch system install. I found that it only works when the system language is English. As an alternative, you can use mdfind "kMDItemFSName == '*.app'".

thomas-alrek · 2025-10-01T14:30:21Z

@bartjakobs seems to work fine using kind: on my Norwegian system (nb_NO)

kubaczer · 2025-10-01T14:35:47Z

original doesn't work on my Polish system either, @bartjakobs's version does

nilicule · 2025-10-01T14:36:03Z

@devnoname120 your comment on the launch agent uses a different file than the command you specify

devnoname120 · 2025-10-01T14:37:14Z

@nilicule Thanks I just fixed it

tkafka · 2025-10-01T14:42:31Z

@bartjakobs Thank! Fixed it!

avarayr · 2025-10-01T15:15:32Z

@tkafka great work!

To be pedantic, the electron version doesn't inherently mean the app has the issue.

Some companies use custom, forked versions of electron (I believe Slack does) and they can cherry pick the fix

here's a more reliable script that scans for _cornerMask in the binary content, which is the definitive culprit.

for f in /Applications/*/Contents/Frameworks/Electron\ Framework.framework/Versions/A/Electron\ Framework; do
  app=${f#/Applications/}; app=${app%%/Contents/*}

  # Get Electron version
  ev=$(rg -a -m1 -o -r '$1' 'Chrome/.*Electron/([0-9]+(\.[0-9]+){1,3})' -- "$f")
  [ -z "$ev" ] && ev=$(rg -a -m1 -o -r '$1' 'Electron/([0-9]+(\.[0-9]+){1,3})' -- "$f")

  # Ripgrep the binary for _cornerMask
  if rg -a -q -F "_cornerMask" -- "$f"; then
    echo -e "\033[31m❌ $app \033[2m(Electron ${ev:-})\033[0m"
  else
    echo -e "\033[32m✅ $app \033[2m(Electron ${ev:-})\033[0m"
  fi
done

requires ripgrep

NetOpWibby · 2025-10-01T15:46:21Z

@tkafka great work!

To be pedantic, the electron version doesn't inherently mean the app has the issue.

Some companies use custom, forked versions of electron (I believe Slack does) and they can cherry pick the fix

here's a more reliable script that scans for _cornerMask in the binary content, which is the definitive culprit.
for f in /Applications/*/Contents/Frameworks/Electron\ Framework.framework/Versions/A/Electron\ Framework; do
  app=${f#/Applications/}; app=${app%%/Contents/*}

  # Get Electron version
  ev=$(rg -a -m1 -o -r '$1' 'Chrome/.*Electron/([0-9]+(\.[0-9]+){1,3})' -- "$f")
  [ -z "$ev" ] && ev=$(rg -a -m1 -o -r '$1' 'Electron/([0-9]+(\.[0-9]+){1,3})' -- "$f")

  # Ripgrep the binary for _cornerMask
  if rg -a -q -F "_cornerMask" -- "$f"; then
    echo -e "\033[31m❌ $app \033[2m(Electron ${ev:-})\033[0m"
  else
    echo -e "\033[32m✅ $app \033[2m(Electron ${ev:-})\033[0m"
  fi
done
requires ripgrep

Running this has shown me that of all the Electron apps I have installed, only Tape lacks the slowness issue.

Thanks for this!

poyhen · 2025-10-01T20:31:45Z

@tkafka great work!

To be pedantic, the electron version doesn't inherently mean the app has the issue.

Some companies use custom, forked versions of electron (I believe Slack does) and they can cherry pick the fix

here's a more reliable script that scans for _cornerMask in the binary content, which is the definitive culprit.
for f in /Applications/*/Contents/Frameworks/Electron\ Framework.framework/Versions/A/Electron\ Framework; do
  app=${f#/Applications/}; app=${app%%/Contents/*}

  # Get Electron version
  ev=$(rg -a -m1 -o -r '$1' 'Chrome/.*Electron/([0-9]+(\.[0-9]+){1,3})' -- "$f")
  [ -z "$ev" ] && ev=$(rg -a -m1 -o -r '$1' 'Electron/([0-9]+(\.[0-9]+){1,3})' -- "$f")

  # Ripgrep the binary for _cornerMask
  if rg -a -q -F "_cornerMask" -- "$f"; then
    echo -e "\033[31m❌ $app \033[2m(Electron ${ev:-})\033[0m"
  else
    echo -e "\033[32m✅ $app \033[2m(Electron ${ev:-})\033[0m"
  fi
done
requires ripgrep

this one didnt detect signal compared to OP

rrrix · 2025-10-01T21:06:30Z

Here's a 1-liner copy & paste-able version of devnoname120's comment.

Use with a ZSH Shell (e.g. Terminal or iTerm2) to create and load the LaunchAgent.

agent_plist=~/Library/LaunchAgents/environment.fix-electron-resource-hog-bug.plist;
/bin/cat <<EOT >$agent_plist && launchctl bootstrap gui/${UID} $agent_plist
<!--
 https://gist.github.com/tkafka/e3eb63a5ec448e9be6701bfd1f1b1e58#temporary-workaround
 To Remove:
 launchctl bootout gui/${UID}/${agent_plist:t:r} && rm ${agent_plist}
-->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
        <key>Label</key>
        <string>${agent_plist:t:r}</string>
        <key>ProgramArguments</key>
        <array>
                <string>/bin/launchctl</string>
                <string>setenv</string>
                <string>CHROME_HEADLESS</string>
                <string>1</string>
        </array>
        <key>RunAtLoad</key>
        <true/>
</dict>
</plist>
EOT

Uses zsh's wonderful variable substitution syntax so you can rename the plist/job if desired.

tkafka · 2025-10-01T22:22:13Z

@avarayr This is excellent, thanks!

I asked Claude to make it look for Electron like the original script (which fixes the Signal detection - it has Electron in Contents/Frameworks/Electron Framework.framework/Electron Framework instead of Contents/Frameworks/Electron Framework.framework/Versions/A/Electron Framework):

mdfind "kind:app" 2>/dev/null | while read app; do
  electronFiles=$(find "$app" -name "Electron Framework" -type f 2>/dev/null)
  
  if [[ -n "$electronFiles" ]]; then
    appName=$(basename "$app")
    
    while IFS= read -r filename; do
      if [[ -f "$filename" ]]; then
        ev=$(rg -a -m1 -o -r '$1' 'Chrome/.*Electron/([0-9]+(\.[0-9]+){1,3})' -- "$filename" 2>/dev/null)
        [ -z "$ev" ] && ev=$(rg -a -m1 -o -r '$1' 'Electron/([0-9]+(\.[0-9]+){1,3})' -- "$filename" 2>/dev/null)
        
        relativePath=$(echo "$filename" | sed "s|$app/||")
        
        if rg -a -q -F "_cornerMask" -- "$filename" 2>/dev/null; then
          echo -e "❌ $appName \033[2m(Electron ${ev:-unknown}) - $relativePath\033[0m"
        else
          echo -e "✅ $appName \033[2m(Electron ${ev:-unknown}) - $relativePath\033[0m"
        fi
        break
      fi
    done <<< "$electronFiles"
  fi
done

This merge is best of both worlds, I added it above - thanks!

tkafka · 2025-10-03T10:23:35Z

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!

✅ Signal.app (Electron 38.2.0) - Contents/Frameworks/Electron Framework.framework/Electron Framework

Who's next?

avarayr · 2025-10-03T12:53:20Z

Latest beta of GitHub Desktop is also updated.
PR: desktop/desktop#21060

So is VSCode insiders - coming to stable VSCode soon
microsoft/vscode#269279

avarayr · 2025-10-03T13:56:55Z

@bpresles You're missing ripgrep, brew install ripgrep

bpresles · 2025-10-03T14:05:43Z

@bpresles You're missing ripgrep, brew install ripgrep

Yes I figured it out... And it didn't fail because the @tkafka version ("Claude powered") has "2>/dev/null" on the rg commands, making it ignoring any failure...

Here a version checking for the installation of ripgrep:

#! /bin/bash
# Directly detect Electron apps using the _cornerMask override - thanks avarayr!
# Needs ripgrep - brew install ripgrep

if [[ ! -f $(which rg) ]]; then
  echo -e "❌ this script requires ripgrep, you can install it with: brew install ripgrep"
  exit 1
fi

mdfind "kind:app" 2> /dev/null | while read app; do
  electronFiles=$(find "$app" -name "Electron Framework" -type f 2> /dev/null)

  if [[ -n "$electronFiles" ]]; then
    appName=$(basename "$app")

    while IFS= read -r filename; do
      if [[ -f "$filename" ]]; then
        ev=$(rg -a -m1 -o -r '$1' 'Chrome/.*Electron/([0-9]+(\.[0-9]+){1,3})' -- "$filename" 2> /dev/null)
        [ -z "$ev" ] && ev=$(rg -a -m1 -o -r '$1' 'Electron/([0-9]+(\.[0-9]+){1,3})' -- "$filename" 2> /dev/null)

        relativePath=$(echo "$filename" | sed "s|$app/||")

        if rg -a -q -F "_cornerMask" -- "$filename" 2> /dev/null; then
          echo -e "❌ $appName \033[2m(Electron ${ev:-unknown}) - $relativePath\033[0m"
        else
          echo -e "✅ $appName \033[2m(Electron ${ev:-unknown}) - $relativePath\033[0m"
        fi
        break
      fi
    done <<< "$electronFiles"
  fi
done

mrleblanc101 · 2025-10-03T15:42:05Z

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!
✅ Signal.app (Electron 38.2.0) - Contents/Frameworks/Electron Framework.framework/Electron Framework
Who's next?

✅ Visual Studio Code - Insiders.app: Electron 37.6.0 (Contents/Frameworks/Electron Framework.framework/Versions/A/Electron Framework)

mrleblanc101 · 2025-10-03T15:49:50Z

The "kind:" mdfind keyword in the script didn't work on my Dutch system install. I found that it only works when the system language is English. As an alternative, you can use mdfind "kMDItemFSName == '*.app'".

Same.
detect-electron-apps-with-macos-lag.sh works, but not detect-electron-apps-using-cornermask.sh
Would be nice to update the script.

mrleblanc101 · 2025-10-03T15:52:28Z

Also, not sure why, but one of the script has echo, the other echo -e which doesn't seem to work on my machine (I'm no bash expert), so the output is prefixed with -e

tkafka · 2025-10-03T20:14:13Z

@bpresles @mrleblanc101 Thank you both!

I added a check for ripgrep, and a same detection for both scripts, thanks!
echo -e is no longer necessary (it enabled escape sequences for coloring the text; I didn't realize some shells might not have it).

avarayr · 2025-10-03T21:40:52Z

https://avarayr.github.io/shamelectron/

made a website that tracks this bug and automatically updates every day.

feel free to make a PR with your favorite app to track — see example https://github.com/avarayr/shamelectron/tree/main/lib/apps

MadMacMad · 2025-10-04T01:38:43Z

i've had some trouble with all those scripts.... non worked ...
so changed the script to make it work...

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

if ! command -v rg >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  echo "❌ requires ripgrep (brew install ripgrep)"
  exit 1
fi

scan_dirs=(/Applications "$HOME/Applications" /System/Applications)

find "${scan_dirs[@]}" \
  -path "*/Contents/Frameworks/Electron Framework.framework/Versions/A/Electron Framework" \
  -type f -print0 2>/dev/null |
while IFS= read -r -d '' filename; do
  app="${filename%%.app/*}.app"
  appName="$(basename "$app")"

  ev="$(rg -a -m1 -o -r '$1' 'Chrome/.*Electron/([0-9]+(\.[0-9]+){1,3})' -- "$filename" 2>/dev/null || true)"
  [[ -z "$ev" ]] && ev="$(rg -a -m1 -o -r '$1' 'Electron/([0-9]+(\.[0-9]+){1,3})' -- "$filename" 2>/dev/null || true)"

  relativePath="${filename#"$app/"}"

  if rg -a -q -F "_cornerMask" -- "$filename" 2>/dev/null; then
    echo -e "❌ $appName \033[2m(Electron ${ev:-unknown}) - $relativePath\033[0m"
  else
    echo -e "✅ $appName \033[2m(Electron ${ev:-unknown}) - $relativePath\033[0m"
  fi
done

chmod +x ~/Desktop/detect-electron-fallback.sh
bash ~/Desktop/detect-electron-fallback.sh

devnoname120 · 2025-10-05T23:22:32Z

avarayr.github.io/shamelectron

made a website that tracks this bug and automatically updates every day.

feel free to make a PR with your favorite app to track — see example github.com/avarayr/shamelectron/tree/main/lib/apps

@avarayr Very cool, thanks for sharing!

tkafka · 2025-10-21T07:20:19Z

Update: @chockenberry noticed that the script uses strings command which is a part of Xcode tools (and not normally available on mac), and provided a workaround.

I have merged Craig's contribution, and also replaced ripgrep for regular grep (which is several times slower, but always available).

Now both detection scripts can run on out-of-the-box macs.

Thanks!

devnoname120 · 2025-10-21T12:32:16Z

@tkafka Perfect! Any chance you could add this website?
https://avarayr.github.io/shamelectron/

And its repo:
https://github.com/avarayr/shamelectron

tkafka · 2025-10-21T13:11:36Z

@devnoname120 Added the tracker, thanks

rubnogueira · 2025-10-22T12:06:05Z

Alternative way for people that don't have Spotlight enabled:

Replace first line:
find /Applications /System/Applications ~/Applications -name "*.app" -type d 2>/dev/null | sort --ignore-case | while read -r app; do

tkafka · 2025-10-22T13:27:56Z

@rubnogueira Thanks, replaced :)

	mdfind "kind:app" 2>/dev/null \| while read app; do
	electronFiles=$(find "$app" -name "Electron Framework" -type f 2>/dev/null)

	if [[ -n "$electronFiles" ]]; then
	appName=$(basename "$app")

	while IFS= read -r filename; do
	electronVersion=$(strings "$filename" \| grep "Chrome/" \| grep -i Electron \| grep -v '%s' \| sort -u \| cut -f 3 -d '/')

	if [[ -n "$electronVersion" ]]; then
	IFS='.' read -r major minor patch <<< "$electronVersion"

	relativePath=$(echo "$filename" \| sed "s\|$app/\|\|")

	if [[ $major -gt 39 ]] \|\| \
	[[ $major -eq 39 && $minor -ge 0 ]] \|\| \
	[[ $major -eq 38 && $minor -gt 2 ]] \|\| \
	[[ $major -eq 38 && $minor -eq 2 && $patch -ge 0 ]] \|\| \
	[[ $major -eq 37 && $minor -gt 6 ]] \|\| \
	[[ $major -eq 37 && $minor -eq 6 && $patch -ge 0 ]] \|\| \
	[[ $major -eq 36 && $minor -gt 9 ]] \|\| \
	[[ $major -eq 36 && $minor -eq 9 && $patch -ge 2 ]]; then
	echo "✅ $appName: Electron $electronVersion ($relativePath)"
	else
	echo "❌ $appName: Electron $electronVersion ($relativePath)"
	fi
	break
	fi
	done <<< "$electronFiles"
	fi
	done

tkafka/Detect electron apps causing macOS Tahoe lag.md

Electron Apps Causing System-Wide Lag on Tahoe

Temporary workaround:

devnoname120 commented Oct 1, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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bartjakobs commented Oct 1, 2025

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