Why Nextcloud feels slow to use

6 months ago

Nextcloud offers a comprehensive feature set but feels slow to use despite optimizations.
The main issue is the large amount of JavaScript loaded (15-20 MB uncompressed, 4-5 MB compressed).
Key JavaScript files include core-common.js (4.71 MB), NotificationsApp.chunk.mjs (1.06 MB), and app-specific scripts like Calendar (5.94 MB) and Notes (4.36 MB).
The slow performance affects usability, such as delays in loading the Tasks app on mobile devices.
Nextcloud's architecture likely contributes to the bloated JavaScript, impacting the functionality-to-bundle-size ratio.
Alternatives like Vikunja (1.5 MB JavaScript) offer faster performance, but Nextcloud's convenience keeps users from fully switching.
Performance issues may stem from overworked development teams, but user experience suffers as a result.
The author recommends reading Alex Russell's work on web performance for insights and improvements.

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