ControlCenter using CPU or memory on a Mac: the menu bar's process
ControlCenter draws the menu bar's status icons and Control Center. It used 28 to 51 MB and an energy impact of 1.3 on our Mac. What drives it up.
What is ControlCenter?
It is the app behind Control Center and the system icons in the menu bar: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, sound, battery, focus, screen recording and Now Playing. It lives at /System/Library/CoreServices/ControlCenter.app and runs as you.
| Sample on our Mac | Energy impact | Memory |
|---|---|---|
| First | 0.1% CPU | 28 MB |
| Later | 1.3 | 51 MB |
Why is ControlCenter using CPU?
- Now Playing updating while music or video plays.
- Icons changing state often: battery percentage, Wi-Fi strength, a recording indicator.
- Many menu bar modules turned on in System Settings, Control Center.
How do I reset it?
killall ControlCenterThe menu bar icons vanish for a moment and come back. Turning off modules you never use in System Settings, Control Center, is the lasting fix.
See it live
Free Mac's System tab ranks every process by processor use and energy impact, once a second, and marks the ones macOS will not let you quit as protected. See also NotificationCenter and WindowServer.
Related: Dock using high CPU and com.apple.WebKit.WebContent high CPU.
Common questions
What is ControlCenter on a Mac?
The macOS app behind Control Center and the menu bar's system icons.
How do I restart Control Center on a Mac?
Run killall ControlCenter in Terminal. It comes back within a second.
Why is ControlCenter using memory?
It keeps every menu bar module ready. It used 28 to 51 MB on our Mac.