Appearance, scrollback, and memory

Textual renders chat with HTML, CSS and WebKit so that styles can control much more than a few colors. This flexibility also means that open views, scrollback and embedded content can contribute to memory use.

Adjust the amount of scrollback

Open Preferences → Style → Advanced and look for Scrollback Size. Reducing the number of messages retained in each view can help when you keep many busy channels open. Leave channels you no longer need, and check whether a custom style or embedded media is contributing to the problem.

Scrollback in the chat view is different from saved log files. Review the logging settings separately if you need an on-disk record.

Understand WebKit processes

The 7.2.4 release notes explain that chat rendering moved into separate WebKit processes. When investigating memory use, consider the app and its associated rendering processes rather than only one process's figure.

There is no useful blanket promise that every setup uses a tiny amount of memory. If usage keeps growing unexpectedly, note the Textual version, channel count, style, media settings and how long the session has been running, then send us the details.

Customize the appearance

Select a bundled style in Preferences, or explore creating and installing styles. Keep a working bundled style available while experimenting so you can switch back if a custom one behaves badly.