Close unnecessary windows and applications that you aren’t using.

Having too many active apps and windows may also cause WindowServer CPU usage to skyrocket. Better yet, move them to a single folder on the desktop.

If WindowServer is using excessive CPU power and there are over 50 items on your desktop, delete unnecessary files and icons. The more items (icons, files, folders, etc.) there are on your desktop, the more processing power required by WindowServer to keep them there. Remember that everything on your Mac’s display was put there by the WindowServer. However, the following factors can result in high CPU usage issues: 1. Naturally, WindowServer’s CPU and memory consumption will depend on the number of active applications using the process on your Mac. What Causes WindowServer High CPU Usage (And How to Fix) In the next section, we explain why that happens and how to nip WindowServer’s high CPU usage in the bud. That goes to show how important the process is to the proper functioning of your Mac.ĭespite being a safe system process, WindowServer sometimes causes your Mac to malfunction. When you sign back in, macOS will automatically launch WindowServer in the background again and the cycle continues. You can’t use your Mac without this process running in the background.įorce-quitting WindowServer will close all active applications, refresh the operating system, and log you out of your Mac.

You may be tempted to force-quit WindowServer if you find it using an insane amount of CPU resources in the Activity Monitor, but you shouldn’t. You should only worry about WindowServer when it overburdens the CPU, raises fan noise, or slows down your Mac’s performance. If anything, it helps applications and other system processes function correctly. WindowServer on Mac is a harmless system process. Asides from providing graphical support to applications, some background applications without a user-facing interface also rely heavily on the WindowServer. The process will stay active in the background, powering the graphical/visual interface of all applications until you log out or shut down your Mac. MacOS starts WindowServer automatically when you log in to your Mac. Every single thing that comes on your Mac’s screen was made possible by the WindowsServer. The WindowServer also manages other important system graphical user interfaces (GUI) like the Dock and Menu Bar. WindowsServer is a central component of the Mac operating system that’s responsible for projecting the visual interface of applications on your screen.

Mac os x windows server