Memory Overflow Issue on Mac (CapCut Pro)

Hi,

This seems like a serious memory leak in the latest CapCut Pro Mac release. Many users have reported similar “runaway memory usage” during export. Here's a breakdown of what's happening and how you might fix or mitigate it until CapCut issues a proper update.

Quick Summary

• Issue: CapCut Pro on Mac consumes >40GB RAM during export.

• Symptoms: macOS throws a “Your system has run out of application memory” error; system slowdown or crash.

• Root Cause (Likely): Memory leak introduced in a recent CapCut update.

• Your Specs: 8GB RAM, 100+ GB free disk — confirms the issue is software-related, not hardware limitations.

Understanding the Problem (Memory Leak)

A memory leak occurs when an application continuously requests memory from the operating system but fails to release that memory when it's no longer needed. Over time, this leads to the application consuming an ever-increasing amount of RAM, eventually exhausting available system memory and causing performance issues or crashes.

Common Causes of CapCut Export Issues on Mac:

• Recent Software Updates: As you mentioned, this is a strong possibility. A buggy CapCut update can introduce memory leaks or inefficiencies.

• Hardware Encoding Issues: Sometimes, issues with hardware acceleration can lead to excessive memory use during export.

• Complex Projects/High Resolutions: While you've edited fine before, very complex projects with many layers, effects, or high-resolution footage (especially 4K) can push your system's limits, particularly with 8GB of RAM.

• Corrupted Cache or App Data: Over time, CapCut's cache or temporary files can become corrupted, leading to unexpected behavior.

• Insufficient Disk Space (less likely in your case, but still worth noting): While you have 100GB+ free, macOS uses disk space as "virtual memory" (swap space) when physical RAM runs out. If this also becomes constrained, it exacerbates memory issues.

• Background Applications: Other apps running in the background can compete for your limited 8GB of RAM.

Temporary Fixes & Workarounds

1. Reduce Preview Resolution & Background Tabs

• Before exporting, set playback resolution to 360p or the lowest setting.

• Close CapCut preview window and quit all other apps.

• Still not ideal, but it may reduce how quickly memory maxes out.

2. Split the Project

• Try splitting your project into smaller chunks and exporting separately.

• Later, you can combine the segments using CapCut or another editor.

3. Use Hardware Acceleration or Disable It

• Go to Settings > Performance in CapCut:

  • If Hardware Acceleration is on, turn it off.

  • If it's off, try enabling it.

• You can see an improvement either way depending on their chipset (Intel vs. Apple Silicon).

• This is a frequently suggested fix for CapCut export issues on Mac, as hardware encoding can sometimes cause problems. While it might make export slower, it could prevent the memory leak.

4. Switch to CapCut Web (Beta) for Export

• Try logging into your CapCut account on https://www.capcut.com/editor  and uploading the project if possible.

• The web version uses cloud-based resources for export.

5. Revert to an Older Version

• If the problem started after an update, rolling back might help:

  • Download a previous CapCut version that works.

  • Uninstall CapCut > restart Mac > install older version.

  • Be careful: Downgrading may not open projects created with newer versions. Back up your .capcut project files before downgrading.

6. Optimize Export Settings:

• Reduce Resolution: If you're exporting in 4K, try exporting in 1080p.

• Lower Frame Rate: If you're exporting at 60fps, try 30fps.

• Choose a Different Format/Codec: Experiment with different export formats (e.g., H.264 vs. HEVC) if available, as some codecs might be more memory-efficient.

• Less demanding export settings require less processing power and memory.

7. Simplify Your Project

• Reduce Layers/Effects: If your project is very complex, try simplifying it. Render complex sections as separate clips and then import them back into your main project.

• Break into Smaller Sections: If your video is very long, try exporting it in smaller segments (e.g., 5-minute chunks) and then combine them later using another tool or even CapCut again.

• This reduces the immediate memory burden during export.

8. Free Up System Resources:

• Quit All Other Applications: Before exporting, close every other application, including web browsers (especially with many tabs), other video editors, and anything that might be consuming RAM.

• Restart Your Mac: A fresh restart clears temporary files and optimizes memory usage. This is crucial before attempting an export again.

• Check Activity Monitor: Open Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app. Go to the "Memory" tab and observe which processes are consuming the most memory. This can confirm if CapCut is indeed the culprit or if another background process is contributing.

• With 8GB of RAM, you have a limited pool. Any other running app directly impacts CapCut's available memory.

9. Update macOS

• Ensure your macOS is fully up to date. Apple often releases updates that include performance improvements and bug fixes. Go to System Settings > General > Software Update.

• OS-level improvements can sometimes alleviate application-specific issues.

10. Consider RAM Upgrade for a long-Term Solution

• While you've been fine before, 8GB of RAM can be a bottleneck for demanding video editing tasks, especially with 4K or complex projects.

• If these issues persist despite all troubleshooting, upgrading to 16GB or more (if your MacBook allows it) would significantly improve performance and stability for video editing.

• Modern video editing software like CapCut is very memory-intensive.

Use Activity Monitor to Confirm Leak

1. Open Activity Monitor (Cmd + Space > search).

2. Start export in CapCut.

3. Watch CapCut’s Memory tab — if it climbs steadily without releasing, that’s a confirmed memory leak.

4. Send a screenshot or log of this to CapCut support by emailing them at [email protected]

Report to CapCut Developers

You should formally report this bug to the developers. Here’s how:

• Go to CapCut > Feedback > Report a Problem (within the app).

• Include:

  • Your macOS version

  • CapCut version

  • RAM/disk details

  • Reproduction steps

  • Screenshot or Activity Monitor log

Until the issue is fixed in CapCut:

If nothing else works, consider temporarily using:

• iPhone/iPad version of CapCut to export your project (use cloud sync).

• CapCut Web version as mentioned above.

• Or export using another editor if you can convert the timeline/media.

By systematically going through these steps, you should be able to identify and hopefully resolve the memory overflow issue with CapCut Pro on your Mac.