# 🎛️ Performance Improvements and Auto Model

By Steven Van · 2026-09-30

Raycast 2.6 for Mac halves host memory use and adds Lightweight, Balanced and Flagship modes to the Auto AI model, with Flagship needing Pro+ or Max.

Raycast 2.6 for macOS cuts memory use across the app. The [Raycast](<https://creatorstoolbox.com/apps/raycast>) host process now uses about 50% less memory, and each extension process uses about 30% less memory at startup, with less CPU when launching. Raycast says this helps menu bar commands, background refreshes and AI tools. A memory leak that grew the longer Raycast stayed open is also fixed, and the vendor says further improvements are coming in the next updates.

The [release](<https://raycast.com//changelog/macos/2-6>) also reworks the Auto model, which now has three preferences for how it picks a model:

- **Balanced** is the default and uses about 70% fewer credits than Flagship.

- **Lightweight** responds in about 70% less time than Flagship and suits quick questions.

- **Flagship** uses the most capable models for harder tasks and requires a **Pro+** or **Max** subscription.

Other additions include Claude and ChatGPT subscription usage in */usage* in AI Chat and in Settings AI, along with new Show AI Credits/Claude/ChatGPT Usage commands. Clipboard History gets a Paste as PNG action for TIFF images. Root Search adds direct results for more settings, including Accessibility and Keyboard Shortcuts, and the UI now adjusts colour contrast automatically to stay legible.

The changelog also lists a long run of fixes, many of them for keyboard shortcuts, Quicklinks and File Search. Among them, the file indexer uses about 60% less memory when it updates its index, and a crash that could occur when changing keyboard input sources is fixed.

[![](<https://misc-assets.raycast.com/releases/8180fca8af2a3dd485321a4b2ffbcf08b4351060083a24309b72382035035638.png>)](<https://raycast.com//changelog/macos/2-6>)

![Raycast](<https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=raycast.com&sz=128>)

Raycast

An extendable launcher for Mac and Windows — a collection of powerful productivity tools that are fast, ergonomic, and reliable.

[View Raycast →](<https://creatorstoolbox.com/apps/raycast>)

[Read the original announcement →](<https://raycast.com//changelog/macos/2-6>)

[Read 🎛️ Performance Improvements and Auto Model on Creators Toolbox](<https://creatorstoolbox.com/blog/raycast-performance-improvements-and-auto-model>)

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