I’m having serious performance issues with the LanguageTool browser add-on in Firefox and wanted to check if others are experiencing the same problem.
As soon as I enable the LanguageTool extension, my RAM usage increases massively. After a short time, Firefox becomes extremely slow and unresponsive, and in many cases the browser completely crashes. Disabling the add-on immediately fixes the issue, so the problem seems to be clearly related to LanguageTool.
This happens consistently and makes the browser almost unusable while the add-on is active. I really like LanguageTool, but in its current state it’s not workable for me due to the heavy memory consumption and instability.
Is this a known issue? Are there any recommended settings, fixes, or upcoming updates that address this behavior?
I noticed the same. It started about 1-2 weeks ago. Using it on Linux (Debian 13, KDE) with LibreWolf 147.0.3-2.
Whenever I go to certain pages (I think pages with entry-fields which trigger Languagetool), RAM usage skyrockets (easily over 64GB jump just in a few seconds) until my RAM is completely exhausted and my system becomes sluggish/unusable.
Languagetool appears to function though but feels very sluggish, as long I still have RAM left.
If I disable Languagetool, or close the tab which triggered it, the issue goes away, and RAM consumption drops immediately (but never back to levels before the issue started).
I thought I resolved the issue, after I reinstalled Languagetool Extension, bec. I could use the browser without the issue for 2 days, but then it started to happen again.
Currently I have to keep Languagetool disabled as workaround
Using Languagetool with Plus subscription, if that matters. Extension version is 10.0.9.
Click Download file under Version 9.0.1. Your browser will ask if you want to install the extension. Accept.
Right‑click the LanguageTool icon and select Manage extension.
Toggle automatic updates OFF.
Done. Now keep your eyes peeled for a new version; in the meantime, this should do.
Once a new version drops (and if it comes with a fix), don’t forget to turn automatic updates back ON.
The problem with Chrome is that downgrading an extension isn’t as straightforward as it is with Firefox. First, as you’ve already guessed, you need to get your hands on an older version of LanguageTool.
Then, and I’m going off the top of my head here, you’d open the extension with a file archiver, extract its manifest, find the update_URL entry, and change it so it resolves to something phony like https://localhost, causing updates to fail every time after that.
If I remember correctly, you’d then enable Chrome’s developer mode and drag and drop the extension into the list of installed extensions.
But good luck finding an older build of LanguageTool to begin with.
