PS 26.1: memory leaks and terrible performance

[Hawkeye69]

Recently updated to PS 26.1.  

The app grabs 6GB system RAM upon my opening of a single 8K image and continues to allocation big chunks (15GB, 33GB, etc.) while the app gets slower and slower as a result. 

1) did anyone at Adobe test performance impacts before forcing the upgrade on us?

2) Is this poor performance considered a bug or a feature?

3) I'm not using any of the new fancy features of the update. I'm simply hand editing images.

4) Going into Preferences>Performance and capping the app's memory usage to a reasonable amount (~10GB) seems to help the peformance and stop the leak.

[D Fosse]

Those numbers sound perfectly normal and expected. That's not the problem. Something else is going on.

Can you post the full Help > System Info from Photoshop?

[Hawkeye69]

You're saying the 34GB of RAM being allocated by the app and the massive
latency (every action taken in PS takes several seconds to complete) is a
feature with 26.1?

The prior versions were far more nimble, and as a user, I prefer those.

[Nancy OShea]

How much RAM is being allocated to Photoshop? See Preferences > Performance.

[Hawkeye69 · Accepted solution]

I've now capped it at 10GB, which seems to have fixed the problem. The
default allowance in preferences was much higher (30GB+). PS had actually
allocated 34GB before I killed it. At that point, the app was unusably slow.

[D Fosse]

It sounds like you're running out of scratch disk space. The 16 GB chunks are scratch files.

Photoshop cannot rely on RAM. The total memory requirements are much bigger than that, so temporary working data are written to disk - aka the scratch disk. The scratch disk is Photoshop's main memory, with RAM as a fast access cache. The scratch disk is much more critical than the amount of RAM.

All this could be cleared up if you post Help > System Info.

[Hawkeye69]

SYS INFO DUMP:

Adobe Photoshop Version: 26.1.0 20241113.r.121 158e617 x64
Number of Launches: 1260
Operating System: Windows 11 64-bit
Version: 11 or greater 10.0.22631.4460
System architecture: Intel CPU Family:6, Model:7, Stepping:1 with MMX, SSE Integer, SSE FP, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, AVX-VNNI, HybridCPU(8:8), HyperThreading
Physical processor count: 16
Logical processor count: 24
Processor speed: 3418 MHz
Built-in memory: 65361 MB
Free memory: 11378 MB
Memory available to Photoshop: 51264 MB
Memory used by Photoshop: 19 %
Crash Handler: Adobe
DCX Version: 7.24.8
SAM SDK Version: 9.1.0.1-fio
ACP.local Status:
- SDK Version: 4.0.0.5
- Core Sync Status: Reachable and compatible
- Core Sync Running: 7.2.0.58
- Min Core Sync Required: 4.3.66.28
Live Edit Client SDK Version: 4.0.6
Adobe Firefly: Please use any generative AI feature to view the latest version.
OpenColorIO version: 2.3.2
C2PA library version: adobe_c2pa/0.12.2 c2pa-rs/0.32.5
NGL Version: 1.39.0.9
Chalkboard: Disabled.
Chalkboard Doc Create: Disabled.
D3D12Warp renderer: Disabled.
Precise Color Management for HDR Display: Disabled.
Alias Layers: Disabled.
Highbeam: Enabled.
Image tile size: 1024K
Image cache levels: 4
Font Preview: Medium
HarfBuzz Version: 7.3.0
TextEngine: Unified Text Engine
======= GPU
Native API stable: True
OpenGL API stable: True
OpenCL API stable: True
GPUDeny: 0
GPUForce: 0
useGPU: 1
useOpenCL: 1
isGPUCapable: 1
isGPUAllowed: 1
GPUName: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti
GPUVendor: NVIDIA
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti UNKNOWN, NVIDIA
IsNativeGPUCapable: 1
IsOpenGLGPUCapable: 1
IsOpenCLGPUCapable: 1
HasSufficientRAM: 1
GPU accessible RAM: 16,109 MB
Required GPU accessible RAM: 1,500 MB
UseGraphicsProcessorChecked: 1
UseOpenCLChecked: 1
Windows remote desktop: 0
Windows available feature level: 12.2
Windows required feature level: 12.0
Windows has required feature level: 1
Display: 1
Display Bounds: (0, 0) -> (1920, 1080)
Display scale: 1
Main Display
Display Type: SDR
Display Profile: sRGB IEC61966-2.1
------- Sniffer output
[0 ms]
Launch GPUSnifferThread

[0 ms]
Start RunAllAPIs

[0 ms]
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2025\sniffer.exe -baseTimeMS=7428805 -comment=Photoshop Version: Adobe Photoshop 26.1.0 20241113.r.121 158e617 x64

[1 ms]
Start GetSnifferResult

[287 ms]
Start sniffer 2024-12-11 10:21:01
# Photoshop Version: Adobe Photoshop 26.1.0 20241113.r.121 158e617 x64
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2025\sniffer.exe -baseTimeMS=7428805 -comment=Photoshop Version: Adobe Photoshop 26.1.0 20241113.r.121 158e617 x64

{24 ms}
Start platform native
# displays: 1
Display 0
Display: \\.\DISPLAY1
Main: TRUE
Built in: FALSE
Stereo: FALSE
Bounds: (0, 0) -> (1,920, 1,080)
Dimensions: (1,920 1,080)
Display scale: 1
Physical size: (0 0)
Pixel size: (0 0)
Dynamic range: (0 1)
Attached Device: (DeviceID name=NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti index=0)

# devices: 1
Device 0
Name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti
Preferred: TRUE
Power Envelope: UNKNOWN
Attachment: UNKNOWN
# attached displays: 1
\\.\DISPLAY1
GPU accessible RAM: 16,109 MB
VRAM: 16,109 MB
Dedicated System RAM: 0 MB
Shared System RAM: 34,267 MB
API version: 12.2 (12.2)
Device version: 12.0 (12.0)
Vendor name: NVIDIA
Driver date: 2024-08-14 000000.000000-000
Driver age: 4 months
Driver version: 32.0.15.6094
Supports UMA: UNSUPPORTED
D3D-ID: 10245
End platform native
{143 ms}

{143 ms}
Start platform OpenCL
# displays: 0

# devices: 1
Device 0
Name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti
Preferred: TRUE
Power Envelope: DISCRETE
Attachment: UNKNOWN
# attached displays: 0
GPU accessible RAM: 17,175 MB
VRAM: 17,175 MB
Dedicated System RAM: 0 MB
Shared System RAM: 0 MB
API version: 3.0 (OpenCL 3.0 CUDA)
Device version: 3.0 (OpenCL 3.0 CUDA)
Vendor name: NVIDIA
Driver date: UNKNOWN
Driver age: UNKNOWN
Driver version: UNKNOWN
Bandwidth: 762 GB / s
Compute score: 10,008
Device name string: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti
Device vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
Platform name string: NVIDIA CUDA
Platform vendor string: NVIDIA Corporation
End platform OpenCL
{222 ms}

Exit code kExitNormal
End sniffer 2024-12-11 10:21:01
[kStatusNormal, kExitNormal]

[287 ms]
Finish RunAllAPIs

[289 ms]
Finish GetSnifferResult

------- Sniffer output
======= GPU
License Type: Subscription
Serial number: 96040908139255126233
GUIDBucket:
Composite Core GPU (comp_core_gpu): on
Composite Core Threads (MultithreadedCompositing): on
Composite Core UI (CompositingDocumentTabUI): off
Composite Core Feature Prefs (CompCoreFeaturePrefs): off

Application folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2025\
Temporary file path: C:\Users\infin\AppData\Local\Temp\
Photoshop scratch has async I/O enabled
Scratch volume(s):
Startup, 1.82T, 1.62T free
Required Plugins folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2025\Required\Plug-ins\
Primary Plugins folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2025\Plug-ins\

Installed components:
ACE.dll ACE 2024/09/03-10:20:40 79.b57869a 79.b57869a
act_tracing.dll Copyright (c) 2021 Adobe. All Rights Reserved 1.0.58
AdobeLinguistic.dll Adobe Linguistic Library 1d87f11
AdobeOwl.dll Adobe Owl 5.5.0
AdobePDFL.dll PDFL 2024/07/16-07:59:40 79.ffbeabe 79.ffbeabe
AdobePIP.dll Adobe Product Improvement Program 8.2.0.16
AdobeSVGAGM.dll AdobeSVGAGM 79.6336193 79.6336193
AdobeXMP.dll Adobe XMP Core 2024/07/16-07:59:40 79.b7c64cc 79.b7c64cc
AdobeXMPFiles.dll Adobe XMP Files 2024/07/16-07:59:40 79.b7c64cc 79.b7c64cc
AdobeXMPScript.dll Adobe XMP Script 2024/07/16-07:59:40 79.b7c64cc 79.b7c64cc
AGM.dll AGM 2024/09/03-10:20:40 79.b57869a 79.b57869a
AID.dll AID DLL 1.0.0.58
AIDE.dll AIDE 2024/08/15-06:27:58 79.4e19081 79.4e19081
aifm.dll AIFM 1.0 23.68434
AILib.dll Adobe Illustrator 2024 29.0.0
aiport.dll AIPort 1.0 23.68434
ARE.dll ARE 2024/09/03-10:20:40 79.b57869a 79.b57869a
AXE8SharedExpat.dll AXE8SharedExpat 2024/05/17-16:39:40 79.c6ae425 79.c6ae425
AXEDOMCore.dll AXEDOMCore 2024/05/17-16:39:40 79.c6ae425 79.c6ae425
BIB.dll BIB 2024/09/03-10:20:40 79.b57869a 79.b57869a
BIBUtils.dll BIBUtils 2024/09/03-10:20:40 79.b57869a 79.b57869a
CoolType.dll CoolType 2024/09/03-10:20:40 79.b57869a 79.b57869a
CRClient.dll Adobe Crash Reporter Client DLL 16.7.0.202408221003_c7c60a5
DirectML.dll DirectML Redistributable Library 1.13.1+240111-2204.1.dml-1.13.9b0890f
dnssd.dll Bonjour 3,0,0,2
dvaaccelerate.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvaadameve.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvaappsupport.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvaaudiodevice.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvaaudiodsp.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvacore.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvacrashhandler.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvaeve.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvaevefactory.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvamarshal.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvamediatypes.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvametadata.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvametadataapi.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvametadataUI.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvanet.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvaplayer.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvascripting.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvatemporalxmp.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvatexteditor.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvatransport.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvaui.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvavulcansupport.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dvaworkspace.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
dynamic-torqnative.dll Unified Extensibility Platform uxp-8.1.0-1-bcbb734
dynamiclink.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
ExtendScript.dll ExtendScript 2022/08/18-12:50:45 82.4 82.4
filterport.dll FilterPort 1.1 O
icucnv74.dll International Components for Unicode Build 14.0.1.04ee3a5
icuin74.dll International Components for Unicode Build 14.0.1.04ee3a5
icuuc74.dll International Components for Unicode Build 14.0.1.04ee3a5
ippcc.dll ippCC. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Color Conversion. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippcck0.dll ippCC. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Color Conversion. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippccl9.dll ippCC. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Color Conversion. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippccy8.dll ippCC. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Color Conversion. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippcore.dll core. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Core Library. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippcv.dll ippCV. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Computer Vision. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippcvk0.dll ippCV. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Computer Vision. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippcvl9.dll ippCV. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Computer Vision. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippcvy8.dll ippCV. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Computer Vision. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippi.dll ippIP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Image Processing. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippik0.dll ippIP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Image Processing. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippil9.dll ippIP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Image Processing. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippiy8.dll ippIP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Image Processing. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ipps.dll ippSP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Signal Processing. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippsk0.dll ippSP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Signal Processing. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippsl9.dll ippSP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Signal Processing. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippsy8.dll ippSP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Signal Processing. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippvm.dll ippVM. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Vector Math. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippvmk0.dll ippVM. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Vector Math. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippvml9.dll ippVM. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Vector Math. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
ippvmy8.dll ippVM. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Vector Math. 2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)
JP2KLib.dll JP2KLib 2024/07/15-15:19:39 79.f218fde 79.f218fde
libeay32.dll The OpenSSL Toolkit 1.0.2zg
libifcoremd.dll Intel(r) Visual Fortran Compiler 10.0 (Update A)
libiomp5md.dll Intel(R) OpenMP* Runtime Library 5.0
libmmd.dll Intel(R) C/C++/Fortran Compiler Mainline
LogSession.dll LogSession 8.2.0.16
mediacoreif.dll Adobe DVA 2024 24.6.0
Microsoft.AI.MachineLearning.dll Microsoft® Windows® Operating System 1.17.20240223.4.8f5c79c
mkl_avx2.2.dll Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library 2022.1
mkl_avx512.2.dll Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library 2022.1
mkl_core.2.dll Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library 2022.1
mkl_def.2.dll Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library 2022.1
mkl_mc3.2.dll Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library 2022.1
mkl_sequential.2.dll Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library 2022.1
mkl_vml_avx2.2.dll Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library 2022.1
mkl_vml_avx512.2.dll Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library 2022.1
mkl_vml_def.2.dll Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library 2022.1
mkl_vml_mc3.2.dll Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library 2022.1
MPS.dll MPS 2024/07/16-07:59:40 79.e1bf93f 79.e1bf93f
onnxruntime.dll Microsoft® Windows® Operating System 1.17.20240223.4.8f5c79c
opencv_world452.dll OpenCV library 4.5.2
pdfport.dll PDFPort 2020/11/19-11:34:27 79.625377 79.625377
Plugin.dll Adobe Photoshop 2025 26.1
PlugPlugExternalObject.dll Adobe(R) CEP PlugPlugExternalObject Standard Dll (64 bit) 12.0.0
PlugPlugOwl.dll Adobe(R) CSXS PlugPlugOwl Standard Dll (64 bit) 12.0.0.14
PSCloud.dll 1.0.0.1
PSRes.dll Adobe Photoshop 2025 26.1
PSViews.dll Adobe Photoshop 2025 26.1
ScCore.dll ScCore 2022/08/18-12:50:45 82.4 82.4
ssleay32.dll The OpenSSL Toolkit 1.0.2zg
SVGRE.dll SVGRE 79.6ae16be 79.6ae16be
svml_dispmd.dll Intel(R) C/C++/Fortran Compiler Mainline
VulcanControl.dll Vulcan Application Control Library 7.2.0.34
VulcanMessage5.dll Vulcan Message Library 7.2.0.34
WinRTSupport.dll Adobe Photoshop Windows RT Support 1.0.1.0
Unified Extensibility Platform uxp-8.1.0-1-bcbb734
UPIC 2.6.0

Required plugins:

Accented Edges 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Adaptive Wide Angle 26.1 - from the file “Adaptive Wide Angle.8bf”
Angled Strokes 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Average 26.1 - from the file “Average.8bf”
Bas Relief 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
BMP 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Camera Raw 17.0.1 - from the file “Camera Raw.8bi”
Camera Raw Filter 17.0.1 - from the file “Camera Raw.8bi”
Chalk && Charcoal 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Charcoal 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Chrome 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Cineon 26.1 - from the file “Cineon.8bi”
Clouds 26.1 - from the file “Clouds.8bf”
Color Halftone 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Colored Pencil 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Conté Crayon 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Craquelure 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Crop and Straighten Photos 26.1 - from the file “CropPhotosAuto.8li”
Crop and Straighten Photos Filter 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Crosshatch 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Crystallize 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Cutout 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Dark Strokes 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
De-Interlace 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Dicom 26.1 - from the file “Dicom.8bi”
Difference Clouds 26.1 - from the file “Clouds.8bf”
Diffuse Glow 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Displace 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Dry Brush 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Entropy 26.1 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
Export Color Lookup Tables 26.1 - from the file “Export3DLUT.8be”
Extrude 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
FastCore Routines 26.1 - from the file “FastCore.8bx”
Fibers 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Film Grain 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Filter Gallery 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Fresco 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Glass 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Glowing Edges 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Grain 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Graphic Pen 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Halftone Pattern 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Halide Bottlenecks 26.1 - from the file “HalideBottlenecks.8bx”
HDRMergeUI 26.1 - from the file “HDRMergeUI.8bf”
HSB/HSL 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
IFF Format 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Ink Outlines 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
JPEG 2000 26.1 - from the file “JPEG2000.8bi”
Kurtosis 26.1 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
Lens Blur 26.1 - from the file “Lens Blur.8bf”
Lens Correction 26.1 - from the file “Lens Correction.8bf”
Lens Flare 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Liquify 26.1 - from the file “Liquify.8bf”
Matlab Operation 26.1 - from the file “ChannelPort.8bf”
Maximum 26.1 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
Mean 26.1 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
Measurement Core 26.1 - from the file “MeasurementCore.8me”
Median 26.1 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
Mezzotint 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Minimum 26.1 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
MMXCore Routines 26.1 - from the file “MMXCore.8bx”
Mosaic Tiles 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Multiprocessor Support 26.1 - from the file “MultiProcessor Support.8bx”
Neon Glow 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Note Paper 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
NTSC Colors 26.1 - from the file “NTSC Colors.8bf”
Ocean Ripple 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
OpenEXR 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Paint Daubs 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Palette Knife 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Parametric Filter NO VERSION - from the file “MaterialFilter.8bf”
Patchwork 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Paths to Illustrator 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
PCX 26.1 - from the file “PCX.8bi”
Photocopy 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Picture Package Filter 26.1 - from the file “ChannelPort.8bf”
Pinch 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Pixar 26.1 - from the file “Pixar.8bi”
Plaster 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Plastic Wrap 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Pointillize 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Polar Coordinates 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Portable Bit Map 26.1 - from the file “PBM.8bi”
Poster Edges 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Radial Blur 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Radiance 26.1 - from the file “Radiance.8bi”
Range 26.1 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
Render Color Lookup Grid 26.1 - from the file “Export3DLUT.8be”
Reticulation 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Ripple 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Rough Pastels 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Save for Web 26.1 - from the file “Save for Web.8be”
ScriptingSupport 26.1 - from the file “ScriptingSupport.8li”
Shear 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Skewness 26.1 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
Smart Blur 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Smudge Stick 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Solarize 26.1 - from the file “Solarize.8bf”
SP Substance Suite NO VERSION - from the file “MaterialSuite.8li”
Spatter 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Spherize 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Sponge 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Sprayed Strokes 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Stained Glass 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Stamp 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Standard Deviation 26.1 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
Substance 3D Viewer NO VERSION - from the file “Substance3DViewerForPs.8bi”
Sumi-e 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Summation 26.1 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
Targa 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Texturizer 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Tiles 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Torn Edges 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Twirl 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Underpainting 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Vanishing Point 26.1 - from the file “VanishingPoint.8bf”
Variance 26.1 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
Water Paper 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Watercolor 26.1 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
Wave 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
WIA Support 26.1 - from the file “WIASupport.8li”
Wind 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
Wireless Bitmap 26.1 - from the file “WBMP.8bi”
ZigZag 26.1 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”

Optional and third party plugins: NONE

Duplicate and Disabled plugins: NONE

Plugins that failed to load: NONE

Unified Extensibility Platform - Extensions:

Home Screen (Loaded) 8.0.0.78 - from the file "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe/UXP/Extensions\com.adobe.ccx.start-8.0.0\"
CmdN: 1.22.26
UAB: 2.18.0-8
Loaded at: 84 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
ccx-timeline (Prepared) 3.1.12.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
CCX Commenting UXP Webview (Loaded) 30.7.0.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
Loaded at: 7158 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
CCX Sharesheet UXP (Prepared) 30.20.1.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
In app notifications (Loaded) 2.0.25.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
Loaded at: 85 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
Content Credentials (Loaded) 0.46.0.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
Loaded at: 6477 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
CC Libraries Panel (Prepared) 4.6.80.0 - from the file "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe/CEP/Extensions\CC_LIBRARIES_PANEL_EXTENSION_4_6_80\"
CAPTURE: 2.0.41 STOCK: 4.2.4
Parametric Filter (Prepared) 1.0.0.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
Photoshop Adjustments Panel (Loaded) 2.2.6.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
Loaded at: 570 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
Photoshop UXP Export-As (Prepared) 5.11.2.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
Photoshop In App Messaging (Loaded) 4.5.0.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
Loaded at: 7159 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
Information Alert (Prepared) 0.5.0.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
Photoshop Selection Feedback (Prepared) 0.5.0.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
Plugins Panel (Prepared) 1.6.9.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
Substance 3D Viewer Plugin for Photoshop (Prepared) 1.0.0.0 - from the file "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe/UXP/Extensions\com.adobe.substance-3d.viewer.ps\"
IC popup message (Loaded) 1.0.0.0
Loaded at: 1660 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
Multilayer Protection (Loaded) 1.0.0.0
Loaded at: 1660 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
Discover Panel (Loaded) 2409.109.1.2 - from the file "Required Folder"
Loaded at: 7160 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
Neural Filters (Registered) 1.15.0.102 - from the file "Required Folder"
Scan time: 0 ms - entries: 40

Extensions:

Libraries 1.0.0 - from the file “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\CC_LIBRARIES_PANEL_EXTENSION_4_6_80\index.html”
com.adobe.stock.panel.licensing-embedded 4.0.35 - from the file “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\CC_LIBRARIES_PANEL_EXTENSION_4_6_80\extensions\stock-panel-licensing\index.html”
com.adobe.capture.extension 2.0.41 - from the file “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\CC_LIBRARIES_PANEL_EXTENSION_4_6_80\extensions\capture\capture.html”
Export As 4.8.16 - from the file “C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2025\Required\CEP\extensions\com.adobe.photoshop.crema\index.html”
Export As 4.8.16 - from the file “C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2025\Required\CEP\extensions\com.adobe.photoshop.crema\index.html”
com.adobe.cclibraries.manager 1.0.0 - from the file “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\CC_LIBRARIES_PANEL_EXTENSION_4_6_80\manager.html”

Installed TWAIN devices: NONE

[Hawkeye69]

As an FYI, having capped memory allocation at 10GB, I'm seeing it ignore that (allocating 17GB+ in my latest sighting.)  And when it does, my system goes into performance creep mode.  All of this is new with version 26.1.

Is this still a feature?  If so, how do I avoid it?

[richard_0411]

I get how frustrating memory leaks and performance issues can be. Clearing Photoshop’s cache or adjusting performance settings might help. You can also check out this article for tips: [link removed]

If the issue persists, reaching out to Adobe support could be a good idea. Hope this helps!

[Hawkeye69]

Did this PS issue ever get fixed?  I'm still running v25.12 to avoid the memory leak problem and missing out on all the cool new features of v26.xx.

[D Fosse]

We've seen quite a lot of these cases where the problem turned out to be either a corrupt install or corrupt preferences. A totally clean install with clean preferences fixed it.

Preferences are significant. It contains a lot more than your own user settings. It's the sum total of the application configuration, including lots of hidden parameters and dependencies. That's why corrupt preferences can cause unpredictable and inexplicable behavior. Preferences are prone to corruption because they are rewritten on every application exit.

One basic precaution I always advise is to not migrate preferences, despite the obvious temptation of seamless updates. Small errors accumulate and get bigger.

[Hawkeye69]

The Adobe Creative Cloud app just forced an install of the latest rev (26.4.1) and this version doesn't seem to have the memory leak issues. It only grabs 2GB to start and with a file open, doesn't seem to skyrocket like the earlier version of 26.  That said, I'm sure as soon as I post this, it will go ballistic, but fingers crossed. 😃

[Jacob Co.]

This does not sound like an unexpected leak, but the system is using the memory is needs based on your file and retaining it. The VM system will allocate necessary RAM and stay that way until a restart. The amount will vary dramatically based on the file. I've asked about whether this behavior should change, but this is historical design so there may be other performance consequences for adjusting it.

If you have a specific file you can share, our dev team can look at it to see if any unexpected behavior is occuring. I'm mostly interested in how it seems to get slower as a result of the memory usage.

Note that reducing the cap on memory will indeed make it use less, but that is not always ideal. This forces it to page out memory to disk, which is typically much slower than RAM. This may cause performance hitches on certain operations, when it has to reload the information from disk into RAM. If RAM is available, it is preferable to give it to Ps. If performance is truly better when reducing RAM, then that makes me wonder.