VS Code has become really slow on initial load and when opening folders

[igoralveslima]

Type: Bug

VS Code has become slower than usual to load my project folders. The explorer tab takes a while to redender the folder structure, the language server takes longer to come online, the terminal takes longer to become useable. This slowness has only been a problem for the last 2 weeks or so.

VS Code version: Code 1.114.0 (Universal) (e7fb5e9, 2026-04-01T09:27:11Z)
OS version: Darwin arm64 25.4.0
Modes:

System Info

Item	Value
CPUs	Apple M4 Pro (14 x 2400)
GPU Status	2d_canvas: enabled GPU0: VENDOR= 0x106b [Google Inc. (Apple)], DEVICE=0x0000 [ANGLE (Apple, ANGLE Metal Renderer: Apple M4 Pro, Version 26.4 (Build 25E246))], DRIVER_VENDOR=Apple, DRIVER_VERSION=26.4 ACTIVE Machine model name: Mac Machine model version: 16.7 direct_rendering_display_compositor: disabled_off_ok gpu_compositing: enabled multiple_raster_threads: enabled_on opengl: enabled_on rasterization: enabled raw_draw: disabled_off_ok skia_graphite: enabled_on trees_in_viz: disabled_off video_decode: enabled video_encode: enabled webgl: enabled webgl2: enabled webgpu: enabled webnn: disabled_off
Load (avg)	3, 3, 3
Memory (System)	48.00GB (9.98GB free)
Process Argv
Screen Reader	no
VM	0%

Extensions (30)

Extension	Author (truncated)	Version
rails	bun	0.22.0
vscode-gemfile	bun	0.4.2
systemd-unit-file	coo	1.0.8
gitlens	eam	17.11.1
prettier-vscode	esb	12.4.0
hadolint	exi	1.1.2
shell-format	fox	7.2.8
copilot-chat	Git	0.42.2
vscode-pull-request-github	Git	0.134.0
go	gol	0.52.2
vscode-graphql-syntax	Gra	1.3.8
terraform	has	2.39.2
vscode-drawio	hed	1.9.0
vscode-env	Iro	0.1.0
ruby-rubocop	mis	0.8.6
vscode-containers	ms-	2.4.1
black-formatter	ms-	2025.2.0
debugpy	ms-	2025.18.0
isort	ms-	2025.0.0
python	ms-	2026.4.0
vscode-pylance	ms-	2026.2.1
vscode-python-envs	ms-	1.26.0
remote-containers	ms-	0.447.0
remote-ssh	ms-	0.122.0
remote-ssh-edit	ms-	0.87.0
remote-explorer	ms-	0.5.0
vscode-xml	red	0.29.0
vscode-yaml	red	1.21.0
redis-for-vscode	Red	1.4.0
slim	sia	0.1.2

(1 theme extensions excluded)

[lramos15]

Could you do CMD + SHIFT + P -> Start Extension Bisect to see if it's an extension causing the issue

[Mr-Nilarnab]

Thanks for the report — startup and folder-open regressions are taken seriously.

When performance issues appear suddenly over a short time window, the most common causes tend to be:

An extension regression or change in activation behavior
Workspace-specific file system characteristics (large folders, symlinks, network mounts)
Recent changes in the OS or security tooling affecting file I/O

To help narrow this down, a few targeted checks would be useful:

Confirm whether extensions are involved
Please try starting VS Code with extensions disabled:

code --disable-extensions

If startup and folder loading are fast in this mode, the issue is very likely extension-related.

Use the built-in startup profiler
Run:

code --prof-startup

This will open VS Code with profiling enabled and generate a report that shows where time is being spent during startup.

Check for slow file system operations
If the affected folders contain a very large number of files, symlinks, or are on networked or synced locations (e.g. cloud drives), that can noticeably affect Explorer rendering and language server startup.

Share additional diagnostics if possible
If the issue persists, attaching:

the output of Help → Startup Performance
confirmation whether the slowdown reproduces with extensions disabled

would help determine whether this is a regression in core VS Code or an environmental factor.

Since you mentioned this started within the last ~2 weeks, that timeframe may help correlate with a recent update once more data is available.

[igoralveslima]

Things seem to have improved recently, so am closing until issue returns. Will provide additional info on new issue.

[maruyama-mx]

For the past two weeks, I've been experiencing occasional slow startups. This might be related to this issue.

Here are some observations that might be relevant:

• Not all startups are slow. Sometimes it starts quickly even after killing the process, while other times it is slow even when just opening a new window.
• This started about two to three weeks ago and had never happened before.
• I haven’t installed any new extensions during this period.
• When a slow startup occurs, File: Open Recent does not respond for 10–20 seconds.
• During a slow startup, my GitHub account (for Copilot) and Microsoft account (for sync) are not shown in the account menu at the bottom-left of the window.
• A clean reinstall of VS Code did not resolve the issue.

Since I haven’t found a reliable way to reproduce the issue, it may be difficult to bisect extensions.

I’d be happy to run any experiments if that would help.

Please let me know if I should open a separate issue.

Startup Performance at a slow startup

## System Info

* Code: 1.114.0 (e7fb5e96c0730b9deb70b33781f98e2f35975036)
* OS: darwin(25.4.0)
* CPUs: Apple M3(8 x 2400)
* Memory(System): 24.00 GB(0.06GB free)
* Memory(Process): NaN MB working set(244.77MB private, 4.77MB shared)
* VM(likelihood): 0%
* Initial Startup: false
* Has 0 other windows
* Screen Reader Active: false
* Empty Workspace: true

## Performance Marks

| What                                                           | Duration | Process                   | Info                     |
| -------------------------------------------------------------- | -------- | ------------------------- | ------------------------ |
| import(main.js)                                                | -        | [main]                    | initial startup: false   |
| start => app.isReady                                           | -        | [main]                    | initial startup: false   |
| nls:start => nls:end                                           | -        | [main]                    | initial startup: false   |
| run main.js                                                    | -        | [main]                    | initial startup: false   |
| start crash reporter                                           | -        | [main]                    | initial startup: false   |
| serve main IPC handle                                          | -        | [main]                    | initial startup: false   |
| create window                                                  | -        | [main]                    | initial startup: false,  |
| app.isReady => window.loadUrl()                                | -        | [main]                    | initial startup: false   |
| window.loadUrl() => begin to import(workbench.desktop.main.js) | 234      | [main->renderer]          | NewWindow                |
| import(workbench.desktop.main.js)                              | 270      | [renderer]                | cached data: YES         |
| wait for window config                                         | 2        | [renderer]                | -                        |
| init storage (global & workspace)                              | 5        | [renderer]                | -                        |
| init workspace service                                         | 22       | [renderer]                | -                        |
| register extensions & spawn extension host                     | 23582    | [renderer]                | -                        |
| restore primary viewlet                                        | 0        | [renderer]                | -                        |
| restore secondary viewlet                                      | 0        | [renderer]                | -                        |
| restore panel                                                  | 0        | [renderer]                | -                        |
| restore & resolve visible editors                              | 12       | [renderer]                | 0:                       |
| create workbench contributions                                 | 15       | [renderer]                | 101 blocking startup     |
| overall workbench load                                         | 82       | [renderer]                | -                        |
| workbench ready                                                | 612      | [main->renderer]          | -                        |
| renderer ready                                                 | 380      | [renderer]                | -                        |
| shared process connection ready                                | 28       | [renderer->sharedprocess] | -                        |
| extensions registered                                          | 24233    | [renderer]                | -                        |

## Extension Activation Stats

| Extension                             | Eager | Load Code | Call Activate | Finish Activate | Event                             | By                                    |
| ------------------------------------- | ----- | --------- | ------------- | --------------- | --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| vscode.git                            | true  | 115       | 3             | 45              | *                                 | vscode.git                            |
| vscode.git-base                       | true  | 26        | 1             | 0               | *                                 | vscode.git                            |
| vscode.github                         | true  | 1173      | 1             | 0               | *                                 | vscode.github                         |
| fabiospampinato.vscode-todo-plus      | true  | 534       | 4             | 0               | *                                 | fabiospampinato.vscode-todo-plus      |
| mosapride.zenkaku                     | true  | 8         | 0             | 0               | *                                 | mosapride.zenkaku                     |
| vscode.debug-auto-launch              | false | 24        | 0             | 0               | onStartupFinished                 | vscode.debug-auto-launch              |
| vscode.emmet                          | false | 53        | 4             | 0               | onLanguage                        | vscode.emmet                          |
| vscode.extension-editing              | false | 134       | 0             | 0               | onLanguage:markdown               | vscode.extension-editing              |
| vscode.github-authentication          | false | 464       | 1             | 1               | onAuthenticationRequest:github    | vscode.github-authentication          |
| vscode.markdown-language-features     | false | 602       | 2             | 294             | onLanguage:markdown               | vscode.markdown-language-features     |
| vscode.markdown-math                  | false | 265       | 0             | 0               | api                               | yzhang.markdown-all-in-one            |
| vscode.merge-conflict                 | false | 68        | 1             | 0               | onStartupFinished                 | vscode.merge-conflict                 |
| vscode.microsoft-authentication       | false | 336       | 0             | 1421            | onAuthenticationRequest:microsoft | vscode.microsoft-authentication       |
| vscode.terminal-suggest               | false | 73        | 0             | 1               | onTerminalShellIntegration:*      | vscode.terminal-suggest               |
| alefragnani.Bookmarks                 | false | 22        | 0             | 1               | onStartupFinished                 | alefragnani.Bookmarks                 |
| asvetliakov.vscode-neovim             | false | 340       | 147           | 293             | onStartupFinished                 | asvetliakov.vscode-neovim             |
| bierner.markdown-mermaid              | false | 32        | 0             | 0               | api                               | yzhang.markdown-all-in-one            |
| bradlc.vscode-tailwindcss             | false | 61        | 0             | 133             | onStartupFinished                 | bradlc.vscode-tailwindcss             |
| charliermarsh.ruff                    | false | 215       | 1             | 0               | onLanguage:markdown               | charliermarsh.ruff                    |
| DavidAnson.vscode-markdownlint        | false | 61        | 0             | 0               | onLanguage:markdown               | DavidAnson.vscode-markdownlint        |
| dbaeumer.vscode-eslint                | false | 206       | 0             | 0               | onStartupFinished                 | dbaeumer.vscode-eslint                |
| eamodio.gitlens                       | false | 215       | 34            | 19              | onStartupFinished                 | eamodio.gitlens                       |
| esbenp.prettier-vscode                | false | 1326      | 3             | 136             | onStartupFinished                 | esbenp.prettier-vscode                |
| fabiospampinato.vscode-highlight      | false | 13        | 2             | 0               | onStartupFinished                 | fabiospampinato.vscode-highlight      |
| GitHub.copilot-chat                   | false | 670       | 9             | 4127            | onChatSession:claude-code         | GitHub.copilot-chat                   |
| GitHub.vscode-pull-request-github     | false | 265       | 0             | 198             | onStartupFinished                 | GitHub.vscode-pull-request-github     |
| ionutvmi.path-autocomplete            | false | 88        | 0             | 0               | onStartupFinished                 | ionutvmi.path-autocomplete            |
| mechatroner.rainbow-csv               | false | 41        | 2             | 1273            | onLanguage:plaintext              | mechatroner.rainbow-csv               |
| ms-python.python                      | false | 995       | 3             | 928             | onLanguage:markdown               | charliermarsh.ruff                    |
| ms-python.vscode-python-envs          | false | 372       | 2             | 5               | api                               | ms-python.python                      |
| ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers    | false | 451       | 0             | 90              | onStartupFinished                 | ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers    |
| shardulm94.trailing-spaces            | false | 109       | 0             | 0               | onStartupFinished                 | shardulm94.trailing-spaces            |
| streetsidesoftware.code-spell-checker | false | 101       | 2             | 285             | onStartupFinished                 | streetsidesoftware.code-spell-checker |
| usernamehw.errorlens                  | false | 16        | 2             | 0               | onStartupFinished                 | usernamehw.errorlens                  |
| vadimcn.vscode-lldb                   | false | 74        | 1             | 0               | onStartupFinished                 | vadimcn.vscode-lldb                   |
| yzhang.markdown-all-in-one            | false | 101       | 3             | 0               | onLanguage:markdown               | yzhang.markdown-all-in-one            |
| zhuangtongfa.material-theme           | false | 87        | 0             | 52              | onStartupFinished                 | zhuangtongfa.material-theme           |