Slow desktop performance

Symptoms#

Your desktop feels sluggish. Windows take a long time to open, the VNC viewer stutters, terminal commands lag, or the agent is slow to respond.

Check resource usage first#

Open the metrics panel for your desktop. Le Bureau shows real-time CPU, RAM, and disk usage for each running desktop. Start here to find out which resource is the bottleneck.

High CPU usage#

Agent task running#

The most common reason for high CPU is an active agent task. When your agent runs code, installs packages, or processes files, it can use most of the available CPU. This is normal. Performance goes back to normal once the task finishes.

Check the chat panel to see what the agent is doing. If it is running a long task, let it finish. If it looks stuck in a loop, tell it to stop.

Multiple processes#

The desktop runs several background services (display server, terminal, agent gateway). If the agent also launched a browser or IDE, CPU usage adds up fast.

Close applications you are not using. Run top or htop in the terminal to find what is eating CPU.

High RAM usage#

Tier limits#

Each tier allocates a fixed amount of RAM. If your workload exceeds that, the system starts swapping to disk, which slows everything down.

• Check your tier's RAM allocation on the tier comparison page
• Close unnecessary applications and browser tabs inside the VM
• If you consistently need more RAM, upgrade to a higher tier

Memory leaks#

Long-running agent sessions can accumulate memory over time, especially when working with large files or running many sequential tasks.

Restart the desktop to free all memory. Your files on the data disk are preserved across restarts.

Disk space running out#

Large files accumulated#

Agent tasks generate data: downloaded packages, build artifacts, logs, temporary files. Over time these can fill the disk.

• Run df -h in the terminal to see disk usage
• Use du -sh /home/agent/* to find large directories
• Clean up temporary files, build caches, and old downloads
• Run apt clean to clear the package manager cache

Data disk vs root disk#

Le Bureau desktops have two disks: a root disk (OS) and a data disk (your persistent files). If the root disk fills up, the system becomes unstable. Store your files on the data disk.

Check both disks with df -h. If the root disk is nearly full, clean /tmp and application caches. Move large files to the data disk.

VNC viewer stuttering#

Network latency#

VNC streams your desktop over the network. A slow or high-latency connection makes the viewer choppy.

• Test your internet speed
• Try a wired connection instead of WiFi
• Close other bandwidth-heavy applications

Browser resource usage#

The viewer runs in your browser. If your local machine is under heavy load or the browser is using too much memory, VNC performance suffers.

Close other browser tabs, especially those with video or heavy JavaScript. Try opening the VNC viewer in its own window.

General tips#

• Pick a tier that matches your workload. Resource-intensive tasks need more CPU and RAM.
• Restart periodically. A fresh boot clears temporary files and resets memory usage.
• Use the terminal for heavy operations. It is lighter than VNC for file management and command-line work.
• Let agent tasks finish. Interrupting and restarting them wastes resources and can leave orphaned processes behind.