Slow Export (20 images takes a few minutes)

I had the same issue with my M1 Max 1TB 16GB.

Not even with exporting, developer module was very slow as well and it took 3-5 seconds to load an image. Even with 1:1 previews.

In another thread I found 2 links that helped me drastically improve performance  and maybe will help you as well:

1. Grating LR full drive access: https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/quick-tips-how-to-give-full-disk-access-to-lightroom-classic-on-macos/td-p/12913413

2. Optimizing Settings inside LR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArbjC-kc034&t=56s 

Best, Carsten

Same issue here with LRC exports.  Not long back there was a release of LRC that significanlty sped up exports.  After updating to 12.5 things have gone backward for sure.  I gernally export batches of 500 images so I really feel the change in processing.    I have and have had accelleration on auto and recently set to manual with all boxes checked.  MBP16 M1 Max with 64GB - this process usually smokes for quite a while.   Also noticing lags with swtiching modules and moving through images again even with a newly created catalog.  This was all performance enchanced and running so swift - perhaps it was a combination of 12.5 and Sonoma.  Argh, feels like a huge step backward. 

I have the same problem, it's becoming pretty much impossible to use, changing file take more than 2 minutes to show the thumbnail and each action require a waiting time of sometimes more than 10 min

I've just begun using an M1 MacPro (Max, 32 GB ram, 2 TB hard drive) and Lightroom is unusably slow. I mean, it took overnight to populate the folders section, which then dissapear if I restart the app. Several minutes to import a photo. It's completely unusable. I've tried the steps above, reset of catalogue, and fresh install.

Here is my system info (I note the software is not utilising the resources):

Lightroom Classic version: 12.5 [ 202308091523-68a7abd6 ]
License: Creative Cloud
Language setting: en-GB
Operating system: Mac OS 13
Version: 13.5.1 [22G90]
Application architecture: arm64
Logical processor count: 10
Processor speed: NA
SqLite Version: 3.36.0
Built-in memory: 32,768.0 MB
Real memory available to Lightroom: 32,768.0 MB
Real memory used by Lightroom: 1,668.9 MB (5.0%)
Virtual memory used by Lightroom: 407,247.6 MB
Memory cache size: 0.0MB
Internal Camera Raw version: 15.5 [ 1595 ]
Maximum thread count used by Camera Raw: 5
Camera Raw SIMD optimization: SSE2
Camera Raw virtual memory: 58MB / 16383MB (0%)
Camera Raw real memory: 59MB / 32768MB (0%)
Standard Preview Size: 3456 pixels
Displays: 1) 3456x2234

Graphics Processor Info:
Metal: Apple M1 Max
Init State: GPU for Export supported by default
User Preference: Auto

Application folder: /Applications/Adobe Lightroom Classic
Library Path: /Users/joe/Pictures/Lightroom/Lightroom Catalog.lrcat
Settings Folder: /Users/joe/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom

Installed Plugins:
1) AdobeStock
2) Aperture/iPhoto Importer Plug-in
3) Flickr
4) Nikon Tether Plugin

Config.lua flags: None

Same here, almost half of the speed in my Macbook Pro 14 M2

You haven't mentioned which version of Lightroom Classic you're using. The latest version being 12.4, which was released last week.

You mention that export is slow. This can be due to the GPU being disabled or not set for accelerated export.

If you post a copy of your 'System Info', then we can usually see whether above are the culprits or not. You can obtain the System Info from the LrC Help > System Info menu item as shown in attached screenshot.

I've been having the problem of lightroom running slow and jerky on my mac for a few weeks. For example, if I want to export 20 images, it currently takes a few minutes, which was much faster a few weeks ago.