Figma slow on M3 MacBook Air after macOS Tahoe update

SUPER HELPFUL!! Thank you all so much.Any other details you pick up on, they are welcome so I can keep passing them on 🙏🏻

Dropping a quick update:

Our engineering team has opened an investigation and looking into this -- I don’t have specifics just yet, but it’s being worked on!

The issue is not Figma, it is Electron.

Due to Electron’s usage of Apple’s private AppKit API on macOS Tahoe (https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/48311), Figma (as any other Electron app) consumes all available GPU.  

Please update Figma’s Electron to the fixed version (v39.0.0-alpha.7, v38.2.0, v37.6.0, v36.9.2).

That’s exactly the issue and it happens with all Electron apps on macOS Tahoe.

I’ve switched back to using Figma through Firefox, which works fine for now until there’s a fix for the app. Currently, the app is so slow it’s difficult to even drag frames into the right position.

It’s not a hardware problem. It’s a software issue.

Update for everyone: 

First, thanks again for continuing the conversation alive with this. I just spoke with our engineering team, and there’s been a resolution pushed out to address this.

Can you all try to download the app from this link directly, and then confirm that performance has improved? https://desktop.figma.com/mac/build/FigmaInstaller-125.8.9.dmg

it seemed like noticeable improvement for me at first, but then the lag started appearing again after a while. i’m on a 15” macbook air (M4, 24 GB unified memory).

worth noting i am also on a zoom call and figma has been running fine as long as i’m not also on zoom at the same time (even when i’m not screen sharing).

Got it - thanks ​@Darrin_Lin2 

I just forwarded your response over to the team that worked on the original fix. Discussions are ongoing, and I’ll update again when I hear more.

​@ksn I have a MacBook Air M2 running macOS 15.7.1. A few days ago, I updated Figma to version 125.8.9, but I’m still experiencing exactly the same issues that other users have already reported.

Hey ​@Guilherme Magnus (and all) - I know this is still being worked on, but I don’t have any update at this time.

There were small adjustments that were made, and it seems to help some, but not all unfortunately. We’re all still trying to find a fully solution, and thank you for your patience in the meantime.

It’s been a real nightmare working with Figma files since I updated macOS to Tahoe.

In my file structure, I have a library containing elements used across other files. A few days after updating to Tahoe, the library file appeared fine, with all components intact. However, after publishing a single modification, the other file started resizing numerous elements—mostly icons and images—across multiple screens. Strangely, this included elements I hadn’t even modified.
 

I’ve run several experiments, but the issue persists:

• I switched from the desktop app to the browser version.
• I reverted the file history to a point before the Tahoe update, but as soon as I reopened the working file, it prompted a library update and the elements were misaligned again.
• The only workaround so far is detaching the elements and editing them manually, but this defeats one of Figma’s core advantages: updating repeated elements across screens in one go.
• In the library, the elements appear correctly, but when I copy and paste them into the dependent file, they show up incorrectly.

I’ve already lost four days trying to find a solution.