Performance

Performance helps you choose the rendering path and diagnose cache issues.

Performance mode

LaunchNext supports two engines:

Compatibility Engine

• Prioritizes legacy compatibility and predictable behavior
• Keeps legacy caching behavior
• Useful if you need the older rendering path

Next Engine

• Uses less memory in normal use
• Smoother in many large-library cases
• Recommended for day-to-day use
• Required for Next Engine With Core Animation

Changing mode requires restarting LaunchNext.

Core Animation renderer

Next Engine With Core Animation moves the main grid and folder grids to a Core Animation rendering path.

• Available only under Next Engine
• Recommended when you want the smoothest large-layout experience
• Supports app grid rendering, folder grid rendering, folder paging, vertical folder scrolling, and drag interactions
• If artifacts or interaction glitches appear on your setup, turn it off first and fall back to the standard Next Engine path

Some appearance controls are disabled while the Core Animation renderer is active because the renderer owns those behaviors directly.

Cache panel

The panel shows:

• Cache status (ready or rebuilding)
• Last update time
• Icon cache count
• App info cache count
• Grid cache count
• Total cache count

In Next Engine, icon cache is intentionally disabled.

When to click Clear caches

Use cache clear when you see:

• wrong icons or stale icons
• outdated layout reflections
• post-update visual mismatch

After clearing cache:

1. Return to the main UI
2. Run Refresh
3. Wait briefly for rebuild

Recommended strategy

• Start with Next Engine
• Keep Next Engine With Core Animation on for the best experience if your setup is stable
• Turn Core Animation off first if a visual or drag interaction issue appears
• Clear cache before switching mode repeatedly