Fix rpcsvchost Process Using Excess RAM & CPU on MacOS

A somewhat rare reason that MacOS can feel excessively slow is due to a runaway process in the background, in this particular case; rpcsvchost. You might find this in Activity Monitor or another resource monitor, consuming an unusually large amount of RAM and/or CPU, in which case you’re probably wondering what this process is, and whether it’s safe to kill it.

If you were wondering, yes, rpcsvchost is a legitimate system process for MacOS, but it can still occasionally misbehave and contribute to unusually high CPU usage or excessive memory consumption (enough to swap and use virtual memory), both of which can make a Mac feel notably slower.

Let’s dive a bit into what rpcsvchost does, why it might be using excessive system resources, and how to troubleshoot the problem.

What Is rpcsvchost on Mac?

rpcsvchost is a macOS system process that runs in the background, and allows for RPC (Remote Procedure Calls) network services. Basically that means it’s allowing software, somewhere, to communicate with other services and infrastructure, and form relevant network connections.

Why is rpcsvchost Using So Much CPU or RAM?

Typically, rpcsvchost is quite resource conservative, and it’s small enough with low enough impact that you won’t even see it, though it is typically actively running in the MacOS background and therefore findable by Activity Monitor or a similar resource monitor. But sometimes things go wrong, and the rpcsvchost process consumes an unusually large amount of CPU (150%) or RAM (5GB in this article case), and that’s typically an indicator something is going wrong with the process.

There are various possible explanations for this, including an incompatibility, an app stuck in some loop that is relying on the service, a network service disruption (particularly relevant if the issue appeared after some network or service disconnection), if an app has gone awry and is triggering repeated requests, if a related system service has become unresponsive or stuck, or even a potential MacOS issue or bug that only pops up in unusual situations. Depending on how much effort you want to put into it, you likely won’t be able to nail down exactly what was causing the issue or excess RAM/CPU, unless it very obviously occurred after a particular event (for example, an app crashed, or an app checked for updates, or similar).

How to Fix rpcsvchost High CPU / RAM Usage on Mac

The good news is that you can usually kill rpcsvchost with minimal to no observable consequence, because it will simply relaunch itself. And, when it does relaunch, it usually behaves as it should; quietly in the background, with minimal resource usage.

1. Open “Activity Monitor” from Spotlight or /Applications/Utilities/
2. From the CPU or Memory tab, if you find that “rpcsvchost is awry, select “rpcsvchost”
3. Click the (X) button to terminate the process, and confirm that you wish to terminate the process

That typically resolves the problem completely; not only does the excess RAM or virtual memory get cleared, but the excess CPU will also relax. Typically there is no observable impact on the user by doing so, though some apps may lose a network service briefly.

If you find that ‘rpcsvchost’ repeatedly shows up using a lot of resources when a particular app is open, the problem causing the issue is likely related to that app. Keep your apps up to date.

You’ll also want to be sure to install macOS system software updates when those are available too.

I noticed an issue with rpcsvchost after installing MacOS 27.0.1, but it could easily be associated with a third party app and not the MacOS update itself. Killing the process resolved the problem, but, as you can see in the screenshot at the top of this article, it wasn’t only rpcsvchost that was consuming excess resources, so was mds_stores, Safari, and WindowServer (the latter of which is more common with a lot of open apps or browser windows), but those latter processes are beyond the scope of this particular article.