One of the greatest aspects of Linux is how efficient it is at using your system’s resources. However, there are instances when you might tax your Linux system, such as when running virtual machines, playing video games, or editing 4K video. In these situations, you may want to keep an eye on your system to make sure its components aren’t getting too hot. Here are some of the best system monitors you can use to check your system resources in Linux.
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- 1. Best for New Users: Mission Center
- 2. Best for Cross-Compatibility: Bottom
- 3. Best for Power Users: glances
- 4. Best for Remote Servers: Cockpit
- 5. Best for Older Machines: htop
1. Best for New Users: Mission Center
Mission Center is a beautiful system monitor that provides a deep overview of your Linux machine. It comes with features that you’d expect out of a monitor app such as the ability to check the CPU load, memory usage, and overall network traffic.
What sets Mission Center apart is the level of detail that it reports to the user. For instance, it can show you the load on the different CPU cores on your system and scale its graphs based on that data. This makes it incredibly attractive to users that want a monitor that strikes the balance between aesthetics and functionality.
Aside from that, the developers of Mission Center designed the program to be “Flatpak first.” This means that you can easily install the app on any Linux distro without worrying about dependencies and package conflicts.
2. Best for Cross-Compatibility: Bottom
Bottom is a powerful terminal-based system monitor that focuses on flexibility and compatibility. Similar to htop and gtop, Bottom provides a wealth of features such as the ability to read system stats as well as display and manage system processes.
One of the biggest features of Bottom is its highly modular and customizable interface. By default, the program treats every “monitor” as a widget that you can tweak and customize. This allows you to fine tune your setup depending on the machine and load that you’re monitoring.
Lastly, the developers of Bottom built the program to run on all major desktop platforms. This means that you don’t need to learn a new program whenever you switch OSes. As someone who often distro hops, Bottom is a handy app that I keep on my toolbox whenever I need to check if my system is working well.
3. Best for Power Users: glances
Glances is another terminal-based system monitoring tool for Linux that provides a comprehensive overview of your computer. It achieves this by fetching data on almost every aspect of the machine. This includes the usual CPU and RAM usage graphs along with more specific points such as component temperatures, fan speed, and active processes.
Unlike Mission Center, Glances doesn’t mask its sensor data with fancy UI and UX. While this makes the program trickier for beginners, advanced users might find Glances capable enough to handle complex monitoring workloads. For instance, you can even configure Glances to monitor Docker containers currently running on the system.
To add to that, the developers of Glances designed a server daemon that allows you to view the current state of your system remotely. This could either be through a Web interface or an SSH session. Further, Glances also supports exporting its data to CSV, making it easier to keep track of your computer’s performance over time.
On a side note: looking to test the limits of your computer? Learn why my colleague uses OCCT to stress test his CPU and GPU.
4. Best for Remote Servers: Cockpit
Cockpit is more than a system monitor for Linux. It’s a software platform that can control your machine straight from a web browser. It comes with a solid set of diagnostics tools, making it good for admins looking to level up their server management UI and UX.
Cockpit stands out as a tool that can correlate resource use to actual system events and processes. This gives you a more holistic overview, allowing you to make informed decisions on running your system. Having used Cockpit for two years, I can attest to how this software transformed how I manage my servers.
Cockpit also has a rich ecosystem of modules that extend the basic functions of the program. For instance, you can install both libvirtd and cockpit-machines to manage VMs directly through your browser.
5. Best for Older Machines: htop
Htop is a minimalist terminal-based system monitor for Linux focusing on process management. Inspired by top, htop distinguishes itself by giving users a more intuitive and easy-to-use interface for browsing and controlling processes.
While htop doesn’t have a “killer feature,” it makes up for it by providing a rock-solid core experience. It comes with a bar graph showing resource usage and a searchable process list, and it can send signal interrupts to your programs. In my experience, htop can cover all the basic tasks that you might need out of a system monitor.
Exploring the best system monitor apps for Linux is just a small part of the OS’ large software ecosystem. Learn more about the different programs that you can install on Linux.
Image credit: Lukas via Unsplash. All alterations and screenshots by Ramces Red.
Ramces Red –
Staff Writer
Ramces is a technology writer that lived with computers all his life. A prolific reader and a student of Anthropology, he is an eccentric character that writes articles about Linux and anything *nix.
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