If you're experiencing lag or performance issues in Heptabase, this guide can help identify common causes and provide solutions.
Whiteboards
Lag often occurs if your whiteboard has many elements:
A whiteboard with many visible objects can be slower to navigate or edit. There is no single card-count threshold that predicts performance on every device; card contents, layout, app version, and device resources also matter.
A smaller whiteboard can also be demanding if it contains many images, videos, long text blocks, extensive code or math, or large mind maps.
Try this
Try viewing a smaller whiteboard or folding cards first. Splitting a large board into sub-whiteboards can reduce the content in the current view, but background work and device resources can still affect multiple boards. You do not need to delete content to test this.
Fold cards and expand them only when necessary.
Individual cards
Editing individual cards may lag if:
The card has tens of thousands of words or large tables (hundreds of rows and columns).
The card has many links, backlinks, or embedded cards. Compare it with a short, simple card to check whether the slowdown is specific to that content.
The card includes many embedded images, videos, or large code blocks.
Try this
Temporarily split large content into multiple smaller cards.
Tag databases
A large tag list or database view can take more work to display. The number of cards alone does not determine whether a view will lag; its properties, displayed content, and device resources also matter.
Try this
Create a separate view and apply a Filter to show fewer matching cards, then compare responsiveness. This lets you test a smaller view without deleting cards or removing their tags. See Tag Database views and filters.
After a large import
Importing large amounts of data (e.g., from Notion, Obsidian, Readwise, or Kobo) can affect overall performance and synchronization.
Try this
Check whether import or sync is still running, and compare responsiveness after it finishes. If progress stops or lag persists, contact support with the import source, approximate data size, and when the issue started. Avoid repeatedly importing the same dataset while investigating.
Report a performance issue
If lag persists, even with a small board or simple card, please report the performance issue using this form. Include:
Your operating system, device, and Heptabase version.
The action that feels slow: opening, typing, scrolling, dragging, or syncing.
Whether it affects one item or the whole app.
Whether it began after an import or update.
A short screen recording can help if you are comfortable sharing the visible content.
The examples above are troubleshooting clues, not hard product limits or guaranteed causes. Support can help investigate your specific case.