P: Lightroom desktop on macOS uses up huge amounts of RAM. Unusable/crashes within minutes

[anthonyhibbert]

**New post below on 7th May 2025**

I have this same problem on 2 installs. On Macbook Pro and Mac Studio. iPhone and iPad versions work fine.

I'm on latest MACOS and Latest Lightroom desktop. Screenshots show RAM in Activity Monitor..

I've tried uninstalling on both machines. I've even reinstalled the OS. Have waited on possible updates fixing things but it still happens.

Very frustrating as I'm paying for the app but can't use it on full screen monitor with keyboard and mouse.

Any ideas? I can't seem to find references or answers to my problem so I have no idea if this is unique to me somehow.

Help/advice appreciated.

[anthonyhibbert]

Has anyone at Adobe or the Lightroomn team ackowledged this as a problem? Would appreciate a link if anyone is aware.

[anthonyhibbert]

Just wanted to add here it's now 6th May 2025 and the same problem is there. Exactl the same thing but now happening on a replacement laptop too.

[anthonyhibbert]

Still rumbling along with this...

Spent a huge chunk of my working day talking to 3 different support engineers (who were very helpful) but still no solution apart from a hint that it's an Apple hardware problem which I don't accept - I had the same propblem on my Intel laptop so long ago the computer died and I had to replace it. And also if it's an Apple problem where are the other people dealing with the problem and why hasn't Adobe fixed it?

It seems likely to me that Adobe being Adobe means they will one day discontinue Lightroom Classic and try to force use of Lightroom CC however impractical and costly that might be to people with huge catalogues.

Should I basically just jump to Capture One and/or pray Apple take the opportunity they have having bought Pixalmator?

Any insight or possible solutions would be much appreciated.

[anthonyhibbert]

Earlier this year I spent many hours talking to various different support people*

They took remote control. tried everything as far as i could see. Eventually I had no time to be at computer and deal with it due to work.

Basically Lightroom still doesn't work at all on my Desktop and new laptop.

Within 1 minute of opening the app Activity Moniotr shows this (attached).

Anyone have an idea? Apart from patiently waiting for LrC when I go crazy becuase I have to move 50,000+ images to a different app.

*I was cut off several times - I don't bleame them personally but overal it was infuriating.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @anthonyhibbert, thank you for the detailed updates and for sticking with this through multiple troubleshooting sessions. I can see how disruptive this has been, especially since you’ve already worked with several support agents and tried a wide range of steps.

From the case notes, I understand you’ve already attempted:
 • Full reinstall (including using the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool)
 • Sign out/in, Rosetta mode, and safe mode testing
 • GPU preference changes
 • Fresh macOS reinstall, new user profile, and root account testing
 • Granting full disk access and folder permissions
 • Testing both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs

Since the problem persists across machines and versions, this points to something deeper than local configuration. The support team’s next step was to collect diagnostics for escalation, including:
 • Screenshot of Activity Monitor at the time of the memory spike
 • Spin dump
 • Log collector logs
 • Lightroom System Info (Help > System Info > Copy to Text File)

Please share those files via DM with me or with the support agent you were in contact with so we can escalate directly to engineering.

I know you’ve been very patient. When you’re ready with the details, I recommend reconnecting with Support and referencing your earlier case so the logs can be gathered and escalated properly. Here’s the link again: https://adobe.ly/47OL5Cg

Best,

Anshul Saini

[anthonyhibbert]

Thanks for the detailed response. I'll follow up with you as soon as I can in next few days.

[anthonyhibbert]

Hi. I've followed up with details in a DM. Not certain I've sent 100% what you need. Please let me know if I've sent enough.

Thanks

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi Anthony, thank you for sending across the detailed follow-up along with your system information, screenshots, and notes from Console. I can see you’ve put in a lot of time gathering everything, and that’s very helpful for the escalation process.

Here’s how to make sure we have the complete set of diagnostics engineering requires:

• Since the Spin Dump file is too large to paste, please make a .zip file. You can then share it via a cloud link (Dropbox, Google Drive, or similar) and send the link by DM.

• On macOS, please run the Adobe Log Collector Tool. This gathers application-level logs beyond what Console provides.

  - Download here: Adobe Log Collector Tool

  - Run the tool, and it will generate a .zxp or .tgz package.

  - Save the output and share the generated file with us through a DM link as above.

What you’ve already shared looks great. Thank you for including both current usage and the Lightroom System Info text. That will help engineering validate the environment.

Regarding macOS 26 (Tahoe): it’s always worth testing once you update, as OS-level changes can sometimes affect performance and stability.

Anthony, once you provide the spin dump .zip and log collector output, I’ll bundle them with your case and escalate them directly to the engineering team.

Best,

Anshul Saini

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi Anthony,

Thank you so much for sharing both the Spin Dump and the Adobe Log Collector files via DM. I’ve received your Dropbox links, and everything appears to have uploaded correctly. I really appreciate the time and effort you’ve put into gathering all of this.

I’ve now escalated the issue to our Lightroom engineering team for further analysis. They’ll review the logs to pinpoint what’s driving the extreme memory usage pattern you’ve been seeing on macOS.

We’ll reach back out as soon as we have an update or request for any additional details. In the meantime, if you happen to notice any pattern, for example, specific actions or views that trigger a memory spike faster, please note them down. Even small observations can help engineering narrow the scope more quickly.

Thank you again for your continued patience and collaboration on this.

Best regards,

Anshul Saini

[Anshul_Saini]

updating status