Memory leak / OOM with --photos-handling=PhotosAndLibrary persists on 2.3.0.4 for fully local (non-iCloud) Photos library
Environment
- Duplicati version: 2.3.0.4_stable_2026-07-09
- OS: macOS Tahoe 26.6.2
- Hardware: Mac Studio, 48 GB RAM
- Backend: S3-compatible (Hetzner Object Storage)
- Photos library: fully local, iCloud Photos not enabled, "Optimize Mac Storage" not applicable
Description The 2.3.0.4 release notes state a memory leak when backing up the macOS Photos library was fixed. I'm still seeing the same symptom on a job backing up ~215 GB Photos Library.photoslibrary with default --photos-handling (PhotosAndLibrary):
- No error surfaced in the Duplicati log
- Backup never completes
- Swap usage climbs to ~47.6 GB during the run (system essentially fully swapped)
- Backup versions accumulated rapidly without completing (141 versions before I intervened, vs. 12-14 on two other jobs of similar cadence)
Since I don't use iCloud Photos at all, this points at the PHAsset enumeration path itself (PhotosKit interop) leaking, independent of any iCloud on-demand download behavior.
Workaround Setting --photos-handling=LibraryOnly on the job fully resolves it: memory stays flat, backup completes, destination size normalized to match actual source size (~215-218 GB) after a subsequent Repair/list-broken-files/Compact pass.
Steps to reproduce
- Configure a backup job for ~/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary with default --photos-handling (PhotosAndLibrary) on a large, fully local library
- Run the backup
- Observe memory/swap climbing continuously and the run never completing
Related: #6381 / #6638 (original feature design/implementation for macOS Photos support)
Source: duplicati/duplicati