TL;DR: Copy this command, paste it in Terminal, hit Enter. Thank me later.
open -a "Antigravity" --args --disable-gpu-driver-bug-workarounds --ignore-gpu-blacklist --enable-gpu-rasterization --enable-zero-copy
If you’ve been using Google Antigravity on your Mac and wondering why it feels sluggish, laggy, or like you’re typing through molasses — you’re not alone.
The AI community on X has been buzzing with complaints. Antigravity is eating memory, maxing out CPUs, and making MacBooks run hot enough to fry eggs. And it turns out, there’s a reason: the IDE might be defaulting to CPU rendering instead of using your GPU.
Let’s fix that.
What’s Actually Happening? (The Technical Breakdown)
Developer Rijn Hartman (@RijnHartman) dropped this bombshell on X that went viral in the developer community:
“If you’re using Google Antigravity on macOS, you are likely running it in slow motion without realizing it. It seems to default to CPU rendering on some Macs.”
Why Antigravity Runs Slow on Mac
Here’s the cascade of failures happening under the hood:
| What Goes Wrong | What You Experience |
|---|---|
| GPU blacklist detection fails | Antigravity assumes your GPU can’t handle it |
| Falls back to CPU rendering | Every pixel push taxes your processor |
| CPU maxes out | Fans spin up, battery drains, system lags |
| Memory balloons | Especially if you don’t accept AI changes |
| Thermal throttling kicks in | Your Mac slows down to prevent overheating |
This is particularly frustrating because Antigravity is built on VS Code’s architecture and uses Electron under the hood — which means GPU acceleration should be working. But Google’s default configuration is being overly conservative on macOS.
The irony? Your $3,000+ MacBook Pro with its fancy Apple Silicon is being treated like a potato.
The Fix: Force GPU Rasterization (30 Seconds)
The solution is simple: tell Antigravity to trust your GPU.
Step 1: The Basic Command
Open Terminal (Cmd + Space → type “Terminal”) and paste this:
open -a "Antigravity" --args --disable-gpu-driver-bug-workarounds --ignore-gpu-blacklist --enable-gpu-rasterization
What Each Flag Does
| Flag | What It Does | Why It Helps |
|---|---|---|
--disable-gpu-driver-bug-workarounds | Removes conservative GPU workarounds | Stops Antigravity from handicapping your GPU |
--ignore-gpu-blacklist | Forces GPU use even on “blacklisted” hardware | Your Mac isn’t actually incompatible |
--enable-gpu-rasterization | Enables GPU-accelerated UI rendering | Offloads work from CPU to GPU |
Result: Antigravity runs the way it was meant to.
The “Final Form” Command for Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4)
But wait — there’s an even more aggressive optimization. Rijn later shared:
open -a "Antigravity" --args --disable-gpu-driver-bug-workarounds --ignore-gpu-blacklist --enable-gpu-rasterization --enable-zero-copy
What’s Zero-Copy?
The --enable-zero-copy flag enables a more efficient memory transfer between GPU and system memory. On Apple Silicon’s unified memory architecture, this is huge.
Squeezed even more performance out of it🩸
— ❝Rijn Hartman❞ (@RijnHartman) December 14, 2025
This config basically removes the last bottleneck between the app and the metal. If you're on Apple Silicon, this is the final form:
open -a "Antigravity" –args –disable-gpu-driver-bug-workarounds –ignore-gpu-blacklist… https://t.co/qUBVWlOv8K
“This config basically removes the last bottleneck between the app and the metal. If you’re on Apple Silicon, this is the final form.” — Rijn Hartman
Real User Results
One commenter stayed up all night testing it:
“I expected a battery hit, but it actually seems better since the CPU usage dropped off a cliff. 10/10 would nerd snipe again.”
Better performance AND better battery life. The CPU isn’t doing work the GPU should handle.
Make It Permanent (So You Don’t Run This Every Time)
Running that command every launch gets old. Here are two ways to make it permanent:
Option 1: Terminal Alias (Recommended)
Add this to your ~/.zshrc:
# Open filenano ~/.zshrc# Add this line at the bottom:alias antigravity='open -a "Antigravity" --args --disable-gpu-driver-bug-workarounds --ignore-gpu-blacklist --enable-gpu-rasterization --enable-zero-copy'# Save (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X)# Reload:source ~/.zshrc
Now just type antigravity in Terminal.
Option 2: Automator App (For Non-Terminal Users)
- Open Automator (Cmd + Space → “Automator”)
- Create new Application
- Search “Run Shell Script” and drag it in
- Paste the launch command
- File → Save as “Antigravity GPU.app” in Applications
- Use this instead of the default launcher
Pro tip: Drag it to your Dock for easy access.
The Second Problem: Memory Bloat from AI Changes
There’s another performance killer Rijn highlighted:
“Also make sure to ‘accept changes’ in the editor view before they stack up too much. For some reason this clogged up the RAM/Memory too.”
Why This Happens
When Antigravity’s AI agents suggest code changes, they create diff overlays in memory. Stack up 10-20 of these and you’re running multiple versions of your codebase in RAM.
The Fix
Accept or reject AI suggestions regularly. Don’t let them pile up.
| Signs of Memory Bloat | What To Do |
|---|---|
| IDE getting progressively slower | Accept/reject pending changes |
| Fans ramping up during editing | Clear artifact cache |
| “Memory pressure” in Activity Monitor | Restart Antigravity |
Windows Users: Your Fix Is Easier
If you’re on Windows:
- Right-click Antigravity shortcut → Properties
- In “Target” box, add at the very end:–disable-gpu-driver-bug-workarounds –ignore-gpu-blacklist
- Click Apply → OK
Done. Every launch uses GPU now.
10 More Performance Tips for Antigravity Power Users
Based on what works for Cursor, VS Code, and other Electron-based IDEs:
Quick Wins (Do These First)
- Limit concurrent agents — Each AI agent consumes memory. Close unused ones.
- Clear artifact cache regularly — Settings → Storage → Clear Cache
- Delete old conversations — Antigravity remembers everything. Trim the history.
- Restart after long sessions — Electron apps accumulate cruft.
Deep Optimization
- Reduce context window size — Settings → Models → Context Limit — Lower = less RAM
- Disable browser integration if unused — Saves significant memory
- Close unused workspaces — Each open workspace is indexed
- Update to latest version — Google is (hopefully) fixing bugs
- Switch to lighter AI models — Use Gemini 3.0 for fast tasks
- Monitor with Activity Monitor — Watch for runaway
language_server_macos_armprocesses
Why This Matters: The AI IDE War Just Got Messier
Antigravity launched in public preview on November 18, 2025. It’s Google’s answer to Cursor, Windsurf, and other AI code editors — powered by Gemini 3 Pro.
But first impressions matter. When developers see their expensive MacBooks struggling to run an IDE, they complain. Loudly. On X.
The bigger issue: Users discovered these fixes themselves — rather than Antigravity automatically detecting Apple Silicon and optimizing accordingly. That’s a miss from Google.
For now, community fixes like Rijn’s are filling the gap.
Quick Reference: Copy-Paste Commands
macOS (Apple Silicon) — The Full Optimization
open -a "Antigravity" --args --disable-gpu-driver-bug-workarounds --ignore-gpu-blacklist --enable-gpu-rasterization --enable-zero-copy
macOS (Intel) — Conservative Option
open -a "Antigravity" --args --disable-gpu-driver-bug-workarounds --ignore-gpu-blacklist --enable-gpu-rasterization
Add to .zshrc
echo 'alias antigravity="open -a \"Antigravity\" --args --disable-gpu-driver-bug-workarounds --ignore-gpu-blacklist --enable-gpu-rasterization --enable-zero-copy"' >> ~/.zshrc && source ~/.zshrc
The Bottom Line
Google Antigravity has the potential to be a game-changing IDE. The Gemini 3 Pro integration is legitimately impressive, and when it works, it works beautifully.
But “works when you know the secret terminal commands” isn’t a great user experience.
Until Google fixes this properly:
- Run the GPU optimization command
- Make it permanent with an alias
- Accept AI changes regularly
- Restart after long sessions
Unlock the IDE you were promised. 🚀
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this void my warranty or cause problems?
No. These are standard Chromium flags that simply enable GPU features Google disabled by default.
Does this work on Intel Macs?
Yes, but skip the --enable-zero-copy flag — that’s specifically for Apple Silicon’s unified memory.
Why didn’t Google enable GPU by default?
Likely overly conservative compatibility settings. Some older GPUs had issues, so they blacklisted everything.
Will battery life suffer?
Actually, it usually improves since your CPU isn’t doing GPU work anymore.
Is Antigravity still worth using despite these issues?
If you primarily code and want deep Gemini 3 Pro integration, yes. The AI features are genuinely excellent once performance is fixed.
