btop
The best-looking process and resource monitor that runs over SSH.
Homebrew formula Direct download
What it does
btop shows CPU (total and per-core, with a scrolling graph), memory, disks, network throughput and a process tree, all mouse- and keyboard-navigable in a terminal. Processes can be filtered, sorted, signalled and inspected without leaving it.
Because it is a terminal application, the same tool works on a headless server over SSH — which is why it ends up preferred to any GUI monitor in a lab.
btop
btop --preset 1 # a saved layout
# f filter · t tree view · + / - expand · k signalNotes
Configuration is ~/.config/btop/btop.conf, and themes go in themes/ beside it. Needs a terminal with true-colour support, which iTerm2 has.
Alternative to
| Alternative | Type | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| htop | Open source | Plainer, faster to start, present on practically every Unix machine |
bottom (btm) | Open source | A Rust alternative with a very similar layout |
| glances | Open source | Adds a web UI and remote monitoring over the same data |
| Activity Monitor | Built in | The graphical answer, if you are not over SSH |
Install
brew install btop