[BUG] Memory leak in 0.30 (with Pangolin) - RAM usage continuously growing over time

[nkkfs]

Describe the Bug

I've been experiencing a memory leak issue with Karakeep container for the past few weeks. The RAM usage continuously grows over time until it becomes problematic.

My Environment

• Deployment: Docker container
• Platform: Unraid server (i5-9600, 32GB RAM)

Current Behavior

• Memory usage steadily increases over time
• The issue persists across multiple weeks of operation
• Container restart temporarily resolves the issue, but the problem reoccurs
• After restart, memory usage starts growing again
• Logs show repeated 500 errors on bookmarks.searchBookmarks endpoint

Logs:

Recent logs show repeated 500 error when searching bookmarks:

2026-01-04T10:09:16.083Z info: --> GET /api/trpc/bookmarks.searchBookmarks?batch=1&input=%7B%220%22%3A%7B%22json%22%3A%7B%22text%22%3A%22url%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fclaude.ai%2Fchat%2Fd5x156e-ea93-xe7d-bxc5-dxxx8cee74d9%22%7D%7D%7D 500 4ms

2026-01-04T10:09:37.707Z info: --> GET /api/trpc/bookmarks.searchBookmarks?batch=1&input=%7B%220%22%3A%7B%22json%22%3A%7B%22text%22%3A%22url%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fclaude.ai%2Fchat%2Fd5x156e-ea93-xe7d-bxc5-dxxx8cee74d9%22%7D%7D%7D 500 3ms

2026-01-04T10:09:54.052Z info: --> GET /api/trpc/bookmarks.searchBookmarks?batch=1&input=%7B%220%22%3A%7B%22json%22%3A%7B%22text%22%3A%22url%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fclaude.ai%2Fchat%2Fd5x156e-ea93-xe7d-bxc5-dxx8cee74d9%22%7D%7D%7D 500 2ms

Health checks return 200 OK, but bookmark search operations consistently fail with 500 error.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Start Karakeep container
2. Monitor RAM usage over several days/weeks
3. Observe continuous memory growth

Expected Behaviour

Memory usage should remain stable over time without requiring periodic restarts.

Screenshots or Additional Context

Device Details

No response

Exact Karakeep Version

v0.30.0

Have you checked the troubleshooting guide?

• I have checked the troubleshooting guide and I haven't found a solution to my problem

[nkkfs]

Probably there was a problem with Meilisearch API Key, I don't know why it doesn't showed eariler.

[nkkfs]

However, that wasn't the case. The RAM filled up more slowly or not at all, but after the night it increased significantly again.

Logs are completly clear for now, only requests with code 200.

[kennyHH]

Same problem here. It keeps growing until the machine crashes due to low ram.

Nothing shows up in logs and I can't see any suspicious processes running.

[Infamousbugg]

Same issue here, on Unraid. Also running it through Pangolin and have OpenID configured.

[MohamedBassem]

ok, folks, I'll mark this as approved, but I need help debugging this further. Both the server powering try.karakeep.app and my own personal instance don't seem to be experiencing this:

Can all of you share top from inside their containers to see which process is using that memory? Can you also share which server version you're running? Also, are any of you running a publicly accessible instance (try to ensure that it's not related to #2346)?

[nkkfs]

For me top from karakeep container looks like

My karakeep instance is only accesable in Tailscale network via Reverse Proxy (Pangolin), so that's why I'm ignoring the fact that I could have been hacked or something.

[kennyHH]

This is output of 'top' command from my container.

I've put memory restrictions (1024mb) on the karakeep-web container , but it's not really helping.

[0rokska8]

I made a complete new 0.30.0 installation (docker) and have the same issue. After I saw 2x the complete RAM is used, I put a restriction of 4GB. The instance is behind a reverse-proxy (pangolin) with authentication.