Why is SpringSource Tool Suite (STS) so slow? And

Question

I've been running STS 2.3.2 on a MacBook Pro for a few days now. I'm finding the performance to be significantly slower than any other build of Eclipse I've used. For example, switching from one tab to another can take up to 4 seconds.

I tried turning off much of the validation, and increasing the memory, but it's not making a difference.

Are others having similar experiences?

Answer 1

I would also suggest turning off automatic build feature. Uncheck Project -> Build Automatically. Combined with Michael's suggestions it made difference for me.

Edit: automatic content assist feature was also slowing me down, so I turned it off. I just use it only when I need it by pressing CTRL + Space. See here for details.

Answer 2

I had a problem with a Maven update process running for a while every time I launch STS.

Maven tried to connect to http://dist.springsource.com/release/TOOLS/update/e<your_eclipse_version>

I changed it to http://download.springsource.com/release/TOOLS/update/e<your_eclipse_version> in Window -> Preferences -> Install/Update -> Available software

And now the proc is immediate.

Tip found on the Jira of STS.

Answer 3

Try this:

C:\sts-3.6.0.RELEASE\sts.exe -clean

Answer 4

Disable the startup window (called Dashboard) which downloads RSS feeds from the Spring team upon program launch: http://tux2323.blogspot.se/2010/08/eclipse-tipp-reloaded-disable-sts.html. Should you want see it you can use Help->Dashboard.

Answer 5

I had the same problem on a MacBook Pro i7. Switching editors or views was painfully slow. Solved it by turning off Spring validators that I didn't need. Go to:

SpringSource Tool Suite -> Preferences -> Spring -> Project Validators

Specifically, I deselected all validators except for Spring Validator, Beans Validator and STS Bean Validator.

Answer 6

Couple of more ways to reduce the memory foot print on Eclipse/STS

1. you can right click on project and choose to close unrelated projects

2. you can try creating working sets with related projects and select only the one you are working on, you can do this from Top Right corner(View Menu) on the Project explorer tab

3. Youcan monitor Heapsize, from Preferences General you can check the "Show Heap Status" to show the currently used heapspace , this will show a "recycle bin" icon beside the heap value, you can click this to force Garbage collection