Android studio using > 100% CPU at all times - no background processes appear to be running

android cpu-usage

51,259

Solution 1

I've left this question open for awhile as coworkers and posters here have found value in various solutions over time. For myself, simply updating Android Studio solved the issue (after a number of months where none of the solutions herein worked for me).

Solution 2

Thanks to Buzzrick (answered on this page, probably above my answer), he mentioned about VCS. Turning off all of the background operations of VCS seemed to have a HUGE impact toward the high cpu usage - it was 150% and now it's 20%, more or less.

I'm on OS X

Go to: Preferences > Version Control > Background. Now listed under 'Background Operations' are 6 options. I disabled the first three options which are:

Perform update on VCS in background, Perform commit to VCS in background, Perform checkout to VCS in background.

Solution 3

You can try the following options in the File Menu:

File Menu -> Invalidate Caches / Restart... -> Invalidate and Restart
Enable Power Save Mode by clicking on File -> Power Save Mode

Power Save mode only disable code insights and background tasks.

Solution 4

You might consider going to File > Invalidate Caches / Restart Your cache might be kicking off something funky in the background

Solution 5

I encountered a constant high cpu usage with no apparent reason. Invalidating cache did not work nor did the power save mode.

In my case there was a something wrong in the '.git' directory which was causing android studio to fail in an endless loop. Checking out the repo again fixed the problem.

My advice is to check the android studio logs for any hints to what is causing it to falter. You could also start it from terminal and check the Stdout/Stderr output.

View more solutions

51,259

Author by

Shaun

Updated on January 28, 2020

Comments

Shaun over 4 years

I've noticed Android Studio (when running) uses greater than 100% CPU at all times, even when it appears there are no background processes that the IDE is running (indexing, etc). I might suspect this were something specific to my box, but some fellow developers are encountering this as well.

Often times the CPU usage is in the high 100s or mid 200s (see screenshots below). Has anyone encountered this as well? If so, are there any strategies or options within the IDE to correct this intensive use of system resources?
bergvandenp over 10 years

I'm expiriencing the same issue with Android Studio, but not with IntelliJ IDEA 12.1.4. So it seems to be an Android Studio specific problem, not IntelliJ itself. The problem starts when I start the build process (using maven).
Matt over 10 years

So far this has helped on Windows - though I just tested it briefly, so I can't say I'm positive it will work in the long-run, and it also seems strange that without "Power Save" the IDE would take over the entire CPU...
Matt over 10 years

Update: This helps, but it also seems to cripple some of the functionality of the IDE (like auto-complete, and some icons have disappeared, probably no realtime git support?)
muneikh about 10 years

With the recent version of Android Studio v5+, auto complete works in Power Save mode.
idanakav almost 9 years

This does make things better , but not really practical as it disables too many features I use.
McP over 8 years

This was the case for me. I added an alias to the git config which made Android Studio unusable.
Simas almost 7 years

Similar case for me. Committing changed files and pushing to the repo fixed it.
Fran Marzoa about 6 years

This worked great for me in Linux (Ubuntu) too. I just disabled all VCS background options and from hogging the CPU, now it's using less than 2% of it according to top. So many thanks!
muneikh almost 6 years

Power save mode is still available in Android Studio 3.1 and has been improved since earlier versions.
hansonchris over 5 years

I'm on the latest stable release of Android Studio, 3.2.1, and I see this issue still.
Stephan Henningsen over 5 years

It's interesting how some regard this as being useful.
Stephan Henningsen over 5 years

Thanks for the hints on the existence of jstack. Being a first time user of this I obvisouly don't know how to use it properly, but I can see there's some VCS thread in BLOCKING state. I'm not sure if this is the root cause, but it seems to fit some of the other descriptions found here.
pdub almost 5 years

This was a MASSIVE improvement for me. Invalidate caches only did so much, but I would still regularly see well over 100% for AS and java (over 300% when building!), and now it's in the single digits at rest. I'm on AS 3.4.1, fyi.
John Ernest Guadalupe almost 5 years

I can't seem to find this "Background" menu. I perform a search in the Settings but it won't show, but when I do a Search All through the Shift keys I can see them, but clicking on them leads me nowhere. Might it be disabled?
Miguel P. almost 5 years

There should be a 'Background' tab listed under 'Version Control' in settings.
Jason over 4 years

Miguel, if I wasn't married (and a guy) I would offer to have your love child. Thanks!
DragonFire about 4 years

The emulator seems to use a lot of energy.
Mahmut K. almost 4 years

Before: %270, After: %2. A peaceful silence in my room ...
zackygaurav over 3 years

Google should mention about this setting in Official Devloper Documentation. Thanks man!
sud007 over 3 years

disabling all VCS actions in BG works like a charm! Voila! CPU usage is dropped to <1% in idle state. almos 20-40% drop for me. testted for 24 hours and more!
Kochchy about 3 years

yep, this helped for microsoft defender too
Raymond over 2 years

This works on Linux Mint too. Great stuff, thanks!
Shoom Kloom almost 2 years

This worked on Windows 10 Android Studio Chipmunk as well