Firefox Memory Leak Freezes System With Penpot

Nov 25, 2025 by Alex Johnson 47 views

Experiencing system freezes due to memory leaks can be incredibly frustrating, especially when working on crucial design projects. This article delves into a specific issue encountered while using Penpot, a collaborative design platform, on Firefox, where the system's memory usage spikes dramatically, leading to complete system freezes. We'll explore the steps to reproduce this bug, the expected versus actual behavior, and provide a detailed analysis of the problem, including potential causes and solutions.

Understanding the Memory Leak Issue in Firefox with Penpot

The core issue revolves around a significant memory leak that occurs when using Penpot within the Firefox browser. Specifically, this problem arises when a project involves gradient Thai text. Users have reported that opening such projects in Penpot causes Firefox to consume system memory at an alarming rate. This escalating memory consumption eventually leads to the system freezing, making it impossible to continue working. Understanding this memory leak is crucial for developers and users alike, as it directly impacts the usability and reliability of Penpot as a design tool.

This issue is not just a minor inconvenience; it's a critical bug that can severely disrupt workflows. When a system freezes, unsaved work can be lost, and the user experience becomes extremely negative. Therefore, identifying the root cause of the memory leak and implementing a solution is of paramount importance. The problem's persistence, even after closing the Penpot tab, indicates a deeper issue within how Firefox or Penpot handles memory management, particularly when dealing with complex elements like gradient Thai text. This article aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the problem and explore potential avenues for resolution, ensuring a smoother and more stable experience for Penpot users.

Steps to Reproduce the Memory Leak

To effectively address a bug, it's crucial to be able to reproduce it consistently. In this case, the steps to reproduce the Firefox memory leak when using Penpot with gradient Thai text are straightforward:

Open Penpot in Firefox: Begin by launching the Firefox browser and navigating to the Penpot platform (https://design.penpot.app/).
Open a Project with Gradient Thai Text: Locate and open a specific project within Penpot that contains text elements styled with gradients and using the Thai script. This is a key element, as the issue seems to be triggered by the combination of gradients and complex text rendering.
Monitor System Memory Usage: Once the project is open, carefully observe your system's memory usage. You can use tools like the Task Manager on Windows, Activity Monitor on macOS, or system monitoring utilities on Linux distributions to track memory consumption in real-time.
Observe the Memory Spike: As you keep the project open, you should notice a gradual or rapid increase in memory usage by Firefox. This memory spike is the hallmark of the leak. The memory consumption will continue to climb as long as the project remains open.
Verify Continued Memory Rise After Closing Penpot Tab: A particularly concerning aspect of this bug is that the memory leak doesn't necessarily stop when the Penpot tab is closed. Even after closing the tab, the system's memory usage may continue to rise, eventually leading to a system freeze. This indicates that the memory isn't being properly released, exacerbating the problem.

By following these steps, users can reliably reproduce the memory leak, providing valuable information for developers to diagnose and fix the issue. The ability to consistently reproduce the bug is crucial for testing potential solutions and ensuring that the fix is effective.

Expected vs. Actual Behavior

In any software application, the difference between expected behavior and actual behavior highlights the presence and impact of a bug. In the case of the Penpot memory leak on Firefox, the discrepancy is stark and impactful.

Expected Behavior

Ideally, when using Penpot, the application should function smoothly and efficiently, without consuming excessive system resources. The expected behavior includes:

Stable Memory Usage: Penpot should use a reasonable amount of system memory, appropriate for the complexity of the project being worked on. Memory usage should remain relatively stable over time, without continuous and uncontrolled increases.
Efficient Resource Management: The application should efficiently manage memory allocation and deallocation. When a project is closed or a tab is closed, the memory used by Penpot should be released back to the system.
Smooth Performance: Penpot should provide a smooth and responsive user experience, even when working with projects containing complex elements like gradients and non-Latin scripts.
No System Freezes: Under normal usage, Penpot should not cause the system to freeze or become unresponsive due to excessive memory consumption.

Actual Behavior

Unfortunately, the actual behavior deviates significantly from the expected behavior. Users experiencing this bug encounter the following issues:

Uncontrolled Memory Leak: Opening a Penpot project with gradient Thai text triggers a memory leak, causing Firefox to consume system memory at an alarming rate.
System Freeze: The escalating memory consumption eventually leads to the system freezing completely, making it impossible to continue working and potentially resulting in data loss.
Persistent Memory Usage: Even after closing the Penpot tab, the memory usage may continue to rise, indicating that the memory is not being properly released.
Performance Degradation: Before the system freezes, users may experience significant performance degradation, such as slow response times and application unresponsiveness.

The contrast between the expected and actual behavior clearly demonstrates the severity of the memory leak issue. The uncontrolled memory consumption and subsequent system freezes render Penpot unusable for affected users, highlighting the urgent need for a solution.

Analyzing the Screenshots and Additional Information

The provided screenshots offer valuable insights into the nature and progression of the memory leak. By examining these visuals and the additional information provided, we can gain a deeper understanding of the issue.

The first screenshot vividly illustrates the memory spike that occurs after closing the Penpot tab. This is a critical observation, as it suggests that the memory leak is not immediately resolved when the application is closed. Instead, the memory consumption continues to surge even after the Penpot tab is no longer active. This behavior points to a potential issue with how Firefox or Penpot is handling memory deallocation.

The second screenshot further emphasizes this point. It shows that even after closing Penpot, the system's memory usage continues to climb until the system freezes. This persistent memory rise underscores the severity of the leak and its potential to completely cripple the user's system. The fact that the system freezes indicates that the memory consumption has reached a critical threshold, exceeding the available resources and causing the operating system to become unresponsive.

The additional information provided, such as the operating system (Fedora 43 Silverblue Edition) and browser version (Mozilla Firefox 145.0.1 Flatpak), is also crucial for troubleshooting. This information helps developers to identify potential compatibility issues or specific configurations that may be contributing to the problem. The fact that the user is using the Flatpak version of Firefox is also noteworthy, as Flatpak applications can sometimes have unique behavior due to their sandboxed environment.

The user's description of the steps to reproduce the issue, specifically mentioning the use of gradient Thai text, is a key piece of information. This suggests that the memory leak may be related to the rendering of complex text elements or the handling of gradients within Penpot. This narrows down the potential causes of the bug and allows developers to focus their investigation on these specific areas.

Potential Causes and Solutions

Identifying the root cause of a memory leak is a complex task, often requiring in-depth analysis and debugging. However, based on the information available, we can explore several potential causes and propose possible solutions for the Firefox memory leak issue in Penpot.

Potential Causes:

Rendering of Complex Text: The use of gradient Thai text may be a significant factor. The rendering of complex scripts like Thai, combined with the added complexity of gradients, could be placing a heavy burden on the browser's rendering engine, leading to memory leaks.
Memory Management in Penpot: There might be inefficiencies in Penpot's memory management, particularly in how it handles resources related to text rendering and gradients. Objects might not be properly deallocated after they are no longer needed, leading to a gradual accumulation of memory usage.
Firefox Bug: It's also possible that the issue is related to a bug within Firefox itself. Certain versions of Firefox might have memory management issues that are triggered by specific types of content or rendering operations.
Flatpak Environment: The use of Firefox as a Flatpak application could be a contributing factor. Flatpak's sandboxed environment might interact with memory management in unexpected ways.
Graphics Drivers: In some cases, memory leaks can be caused by issues with graphics drivers. Outdated or buggy drivers might not handle memory allocation and deallocation correctly, leading to memory leaks when rendering complex graphics.

Possible Solutions:

Optimize Text Rendering in Penpot: Penpot's developers could investigate and optimize the way the application renders complex text, particularly when gradients are involved. This might involve using more efficient rendering techniques or reducing the memory footprint of text elements.
Improve Memory Management in Penpot: A thorough review of Penpot's memory management practices is necessary. Developers should identify areas where memory might not be properly deallocated and implement fixes to ensure efficient resource utilization.
Update Firefox: Users experiencing the issue should ensure that they are using the latest version of Firefox. Newer versions often include bug fixes and performance improvements that could address the memory leak.
Try a Different Browser: As a workaround, users could try using Penpot in a different browser, such as Chrome or Safari, to see if the issue persists. This can help determine whether the problem is specific to Firefox.
Update Graphics Drivers: Updating graphics drivers to the latest versions can sometimes resolve memory leak issues. Users should check their graphics card manufacturer's website for the latest drivers.
Report the Bug: It's crucial to report the bug to both the Penpot and Firefox development teams. This will help ensure that the issue is properly investigated and addressed.

Conclusion

The Firefox memory leak issue encountered while using Penpot with gradient Thai text is a significant problem that can lead to system freezes and data loss. By understanding the steps to reproduce the bug, analyzing the expected versus actual behavior, and exploring potential causes and solutions, we can work towards resolving this issue and improving the user experience. It is essential for both Penpot developers and Firefox contributors to collaborate and investigate this issue thoroughly to ensure a stable and efficient design environment for all users. Addressing this memory leak will not only enhance the reliability of Penpot but also improve the overall performance and stability of Firefox when handling complex web applications. If you want to learn more about memory leaks and how to prevent them, visit the Mozilla Developer Network for detailed information.