Repository navigation
RFE: make the 7za process less resource intensive #105
Description
See also: https://discourse.joplinapp.org/t/rfe-make-the-7za-process-less-resource-intensive/50019
Operating system
Linux
Joplin version
3.6.14
Desktop version info
Joplin 3.6.14 (prod, linux)
Device: linux, Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-8250U CPU @ 1.60GHz
Client ID: 4ffc70fc86014a359e6fcf9fd5b61cfe
Sync Version: 3
Profile Version: 49
Keychain Supported: No
Alternative instance ID: -
Sync target: Joplin Cloud
Editor: Markdown
Revision: 7e2765a
Backup: 1.5.1
Combine notes: 1.2.3
Conflict Resolution: 1.2.3
Diff view: 0.3.1
Extra Markdown editor settings: 1.11.0
Favorites: 1.3.2
Hotfolder: 1.2.3
Import local CSS: 1.1.0
Inline tags: 1.3.0
Inline TODO: 2.0.5
Kminder Mindmap: 0.8.7
Note list (Preview): 1.1.0
Note list and sidebar toggle buttons: 1.0.3
Note Rename: 1.0.0
Note Tabs: 1.4.0
Persistent Editor Layout: 2.2.0
Quick Links: 1.3.2
Resume Note: 0.5.0
Save Note as MD: 1.0.2
Space Indenter: 0.2.6
Table Formatter Plugin: 1.2.1
Tagging: 1.0.3
Templates: 3.0.0
YesYouKan: 1.1.3
Sync target
Joplin Cloud
Editor
Markdown Editor
What issue do you have?
The 7za process tends to clobber my laptop. It is used during the backup process, or so says pgrep -a 7za. For my desktop, I have a nice modern beefy machine. On the road, I tote around a 10 year old laptop (MS Surface Something with 8g ram and an intel i5-8250U processor), running Fedora Linux 44. I use the laptop almost exclusively for Joplin, but sometimes browser stuff.
If I only have Joplin running, the 7za process makes things sluggish, but usable. If I have Joplin open, plus a browser open … things can bog down quickly. Sometimes it will make it crawl to nearly a standstill.
And so, my plea: make the 7za process less of a bully? Maybe a more friendly niceness value? Or something else?
Screenshots
Activity
JackGruber commentedon Jun 23, 2026
If the computer can't handle the zipping process, I would recommend one of the following: don't use a ZIP file, or just copy the files without compressing them.
taw00 commentedon Jul 8, 2026
I take it you don't have control over how resource intense the zipping process is?
JackGruber commentedon Jul 8, 2026
This is the standard 7za executable.
As I said, use “Copy only” or no archive in the backup process.
Encryption also requires CPU power, this is especially true for older computers that don't have hardware acceleration.
Theoretically via -mnt the threads could be configured, however this is not implemented.
taw00 commentedon Jul 14, 2026
Thanks for your feedback. I simply turned off the backup plugin. My desktop syncs Joplin and can do the backing up, I suppose. There would only be an issue if they drifted too far out of sync and something catastrophic happened. But … the odds are relatively small.
Closing this.