Discord is rewriting its desktop client from Electron to Rust, cutting RAM use to 290 MB


Discord’s CTO shared an early build of a new client that uses about 290 MB of RAM, compared with previous builds that could exceed 4 GB.
Discord is rewriting its desktop client from Electron to Rust. The company’s CTO shared a screenshot of an early build of the new client that consumes only about 290 MB of RAM.
For comparison, last year Discord tested an automatic restart on Windows if the app started consuming more than 4 GB of RAM. That behavior was not treated as a bug, but as a way to control the client’s memory usage.
First user-facing tests are expected to begin soon.
The shift suggests that large applications built on Electron are increasingly being reconsidered in favor of lighter and more performance-focused architectures.
Why it matters
AnalysisA lighter Discord client could improve performance on lower-end PCs, reduce memory pressure, and strengthen the case for Rust-based desktop applications.
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