Initiating a scroll becomes laggy after the app has been running for a long time

[1000hz]

I've noticed that after the app has been running for a significant length of time (maybe a week or more?) there will start to be a significant lag when beginning a trackpad scroll gesture. It doesn't seem to be gradual; I'll just suddenly start noticing scrolling is severely lagging.

Scrolling won't start until about 700ms after the gesture, though once the scroll has started it remains smooth and responsive. Starting a new scroll gesture after the previous one has ended again suffers from a delayed start. Restarting MiddleClick restores performant scroll behavior.

I'm running MiddleClick 2.6.1 on macOS Ventura 13.4.1.

[artginzburg]

Thanks for taking the time to bring this up!

I'm experiencing the same issue. No clue why this happens yet.
Maybe there's a memory leak, or maybe the old listeners are not always being removed, and they end up competing. Or it may have something to do with this: gm-vm@0d509b7.

[khesed]

significant length of time (maybe a week or more?)

Consistent on Sonoma often within the day

Restarting MiddleClick restores performant scroll behavior

Would you consider adding an auto-restart to the app on user login?

[Arecsu]

Experiencing the same here as well. Happens after having the app open for a couple of days. Restarting the app fixes the issue. As described above, maybe a workaround is to auto-restart at user login. Don't know if that's possible though. A workaround nonetheless, but still better than nothing 😅

[Cox5]

I have the same issue. Took me weeks to figure out it was related to this app. I hope the workaround isn't difficult to implement in a new version.

[paulora2405]

I'm also experiencing the same issue, currently on Sonoma 14.2.1. Restarting the app fixes the issue.

[Cox5]

I'm also experiencing the same issue, currently on Sonoma 14.2.1. Restarting the app fixes the issue.

I updated to the latest version of Middleclick and so far, after 2 days and lots of closing/opening the lid, scroll is still smooth. Maybe the issue has been fixed in the new version, we'll see

[paulora2405]

I've managed to come up with a temporary solution to restart the app every few hours, here is how to do it:

In some directory in you home dir (mine was in ~/.local/scripts/middleclick_restart.sh) create a bash script, and put the following in it:

#!/bin/bash
killall MiddleClick
sleep 1
open -a MiddleClick

Make it executable with chmod +x middleclick_restart.sh.

Now create a LaunchAgent plist file in ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.paulo.middleclick_restart.plist (replace paulo with your user), with the following inside:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
    <dict>
        <key>Label</key>
        <!-- REPLACE WITH YOUR USER -->
        <string>com.paulo.middleclick_restart</string>
        <key>ProgramArguments</key>
        <array>
            <!-- REPLACE WITH YOUR SCRIPT PATH -->
            <string>/Users/paulo/.local/scripts/middleclick_restart.sh</string>
        </array>
        <key>StartInterval</key>
        <integer>14400</integer>
    </dict>
</plist>

Note the absolute path to the script, do not use ~.

And now load it with launchctl by doing:

launchctl load -w ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.paulo.middleclick_restart.plist

Now every 4 hours, the app will restart.

[ejerskov]

+1

[arhipy97]

Are there any updates?

[Chakubikulus]

+1 Still does this at random intervals it seems, it lags the whole computer after a while

[bhajneet]

This issue currently has the most thumbs ups and is still open. @artginzburg I see above in the comments that the cause was unknown in 2023, and just wondering now if you've gotten any more insight in 2024?

I rely on this program and personally was able to "solve" the problem by using the method in @paulora2405 's comment, but this issue stops me from recommending the program to others who are not as technically savvy

[alexchexes]

Bump. Please fix this so we don't buy overpriced proprietary solutions.

[alexchexes]

And does anyone know if @paulora2405's solution works when working with multiple users? For example, I have two users and both are logged in. Should I create and run the scripts in both of them? Will it automatically restart the app inside a user that is currently switched-out (but still logged-in)?

[alonmln]

This happens to me as well. I also noticed it happens more often if I have MiddleClick and Scroll Reverser 2 working at the same time

[Zamaroht]

Hello! I just experienced this issue, scrolling gesture had a very noticable start delay all around the system. Restarting middleclick solved the issue. I'm using a M1 Max and MacOS Sequoia 15.0.1

[BIGb00la]

Hello, just chiming in that this issue persists. Usually within a few days. Sonoma 14.6.1 and latest version of middleclick. A restart kicks it back into gear, but wouldn't it be nice to identify what causes the issue?

[karlhorky]

If anyone is motivated to investigate but is inexperienced with Objective-C, I can recommend using LLMs (eg. AI chat tools such as ChatGPT or GitHub Copilot Chat) to assist with:

1. Understanding the codebase
2. Tracking down the bug (maybe memory leak)
3. Fixing the issue
4. Building the code to verify the fix

[BIGb00la]

Another thread I was just reading indicates that this may be associated with particular MacBook hardware. In this case it tracks with my experience. My issue occurs on a MacBook Pro M1 16-inch model operating with the ProMotion display on variable refresh rate. Are other people with this issue on a MacBook with ProMotion enabled?: #105

This is a great app and I use it every day, I could say literally every few minutes, so it would be excellent to have fixed. Thank you to the developer.