Fenn is slow or stops working
Fenn shares your Mac’s memory and processing power with your other apps. Start by reducing the amount of work it is doing at once.
Speed up indexing
Section titled “Speed up indexing”- Begin with a smaller folder and the file types you actually need.
- Close other memory-heavy apps during a large run.
- Keep your Mac awake and connected to power.
- Keep source and data drives connected.
- Use Index new files for ordinary updates rather than repeatedly rebuilding everything.
Large videos, scans, and complex documents can take longer than short text files. There is no single indexing time or storage percentage that fits every library.
Make AI tasks lighter
Section titled “Make AI tasks lighter”Narrow an Agent search to a relevant folder or file type. Attach fewer files in Chat or start extraction with a small sample.
Under Settings → Search & AI, use a model that fits the available memory shown by Fenn. If you only need text search, Text-Optimized indexing can be a lighter choice.
Recover from an interruption
Section titled “Recover from an interruption”If indexing is paused, use Resume. After a restart, reopen Fenn and check its status before starting another full run.
If the app is unresponsive, reopen it. General → Restart Application is the normal restart action; Reset Application deletes Fenn data and settings.
When one file keeps failing
Section titled “When one file keeps failing”Note its type and the last status or error shown. Try indexing a smaller folder to see whether the issue follows that file. Keep the original and share the error with support rather than deleting your library.