Why is SpringSource Tool Suite (STS) so slow? And how can I fix it?

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?

So far, only the Spring XML configuration validation and auto-complete. Those are nice-to-have features, but not critical, seeing as how I've lived without them for several years. — curthipster, Apr 28 '10 at 17:30

score 32 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 01 '10 at 21:24

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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.

answered Oct 01 '10 at 21:24

Michael Collins

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The given answer by @https://stackoverflow.com/users/464249/michael-collins is 10 years older, as its 2019 now!!!.The same feature is not available in Spring Tool Suite 4.4.1, can you provide any solutions for this versions please... – prasad_21 Nov 18 '19 at 10:40
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@prasad_21 The process is the same, the wording has just changed. Window -> Preferences -> Spring -> Validation will take you to where you need to go – pancakesmaplesyrup Apr 28 '21 at 23:27

score 20 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:34

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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.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:34

Community

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answered Mar 16 '12 at 20:10

Tomato

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score 13 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 14 '13 at 10:29

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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.

answered Jan 14 '13 at 10:29

Gruber

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In STS 3.2 this option has moved to Window->Preferences->SpringSource->Dashboard. – Gruber Mar 12 '13 at 14:39

score 7 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 15 '13 at 22:11

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

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

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited May 13 '19 at 11:36

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>

As per the Jira of STS, 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 process is immediate.

Why is SpringSource Tool Suite (STS) so slow? And how can I fix it?

5 Answers5

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