Why Dropbox uses CPU
- Indexing: checking every file it syncs, which takes a while after setup or a reinstall.
- Big changes: moving, renaming or adding large folders.
- Constantly changing files: code projects, app caches or databases inside the Dropbox folder.
- Many small files, which cost more to track than a few large ones.
Newer versions of Dropbox for Mac use Apple's File Provider system, so you may see fileproviderd busy too.
How to make it lighter
- Check its status from the Dropbox icon in the menu bar. It shows what's syncing and any problem files.
- Pause syncing from the menu bar icon when you need full speed, and resume later.
- Keep busy folders out of Dropbox: build folders, node_modules, virtual machines and caches.
- Make big folders online-only if you don't need them on this Mac, so Dropbox doesn't keep them in sync locally.
- Update Dropbox and macOS, and restart if it stays busy with nothing to sync.