Vector35 / Vector35/binaryninja-api

Slow startup time on (at least) macOS

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#6,016 7 comments 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Component: UI Effort: Medium Impact: Medium UI: Python Console
Dominant language
C++
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Forks
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Version and Platform (required):

  • Binary Ninja Version: 4.2.6238-dev (dc64ea3b)
  • OS Version: macOS 15.0 (24A335)
  • CPU Architecture: AArch64

Bug Description:

Binary Ninja seems to take about 3 seconds (at least) to appear after opening it on my system, which is considerably longer than other similarly-sized applications.

For reference:

Application Startup Time
Safari 0.7 s
Chrome 0.8 s
Xcode 1.5 s
Logic Pro 2.2 s
KiCad 2.5 s

I have verified that this occurs in consecutive launches, i.e. this is not due to macOS checking the application after an update, etc.

Steps To Reproduce:

Open Binary Ninja.

Expected Behavior:

Binary Ninja starts more quickly.

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

The issue names no files, tests, or entry points. Start by profiling consecutive Binary Ninja launches on macOS and identify which startup phase accounts for the delay. Done means reducing the reported startup time and verifying the improvement across repeated launches without update checks affecting the measurement.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp, macos
Domain
desktop, performance
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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