# A system monitor for Apple Silicon. In the terminal.

Canonical: https://plottypus.com/

Last updated: 2026-09-24

Clusters and their clocks, GPU, watts, heat, fans, memory and processes. No sudo.

install

```
curl -fsSL https://plottypus.com/install.sh | sh
```

[How the watts are read](https://plottypus.com/blog/macos-27-cpu-power-0w)

- 1.0.0
- 2.2 MB
- no sudo
- free

## What it shows

> Terminal frame: plottypus · cargo build --release.
>
> plottypus on an M5 Pro during cargo build --release: CPU, GPU, memory, heat, network and power panels on the left, the process list filtered to rustc on the right.
>
> plottypus 1.0.0 on an M5 Pro during cargo build --release (process list filtered to rustc)

1. **01** the whole Mac
   
   One terminal. CPU, GPU, power, heat, memory and processes, no sudo.
2. **02** cpu
   
   Super and Performance clusters, each with its own clock.
   
   Expand the panel for every core.
3. **03** power
   
   System, CPU and battery. CPU watts live on the M5 Pro.
   
   Live from the SMC rails on the M5 Pro. Other chips hold the last IOReport value, then show —.
4. **04** processes
   
   Memory footprint and per-core CPU %. A dash when the kernel says no.
   
   Type / and a name to filter.

- **CPU**: 20 W
- **System**: 67 W
- **Hottest**: 95 °C
- **Fans**: 1899·2047 rpm

- **—**: the kernel withheld it
- **≈**: last published value, and its age. Dropped after 10 s.

[How the watts are read](https://plottypus.com/blog/macos-27-cpu-power-0w)

M5 Pro, macOS 27 (Golden Gate). Recorded, 500 ms per frame.

What else

## And the rest of the Mac.

- > The process list, sorted by CPU: ollama-runner at 129.5% of one core, 9.3 GB.
  
  ### Processes
  
  Footprint, per-core %, a tree, and pid-safe signals.
- The heat panel: peak 78°, GPU 74°, two fans at 4716 and 5148 rpm.
  
  ### Heat
  
  Zone temperatures and fan rpm. Fanless Airs show no fans.
- The memory panel: 19.9 of 24.0 GB used, 1.4 GB in swap, as a composition bar over a history.
  
  ### Memory
  
  What fills it, and how much went to swap.
- > The network panel for en0: 47 KB/s down drawn above the axis, 19 KB/s up below it.
  
  ### Network and disk
  
  Mirrored graphs: in above the axis, out below.
- Key profiles: htop uses F6 sort and F9 kill; btop uses arrow keys to change the sort column.
  
  ### Keys you know
  
  htop and btop key profiles. The mouse works too.
- ```
  $ plottypus --diagnose
  Busy: rustc plottypus using 4.8 cores
  $ plottypus doctor | grep chip
  chip  Apple M5 Pro
  ```
  
  ### Scripting
  
  --json, --diagnose and doctor, for scripts and bug reports.

[Everything it reads](/docs/panels)

Themes

## Looks like your terminal.

Reads your palette over OSC 10, 11 and 4. Glass for translucent Ghostty, kitty and Alacritty.

Theme

catppuccin-mocha gruvbox-dark monotreme auto okabe paper glass

plottypus --theme catppuccin-mocha plottypus --theme gruvbox-dark plottypus --theme monotreme plottypus --theme auto plottypus --theme okabe plottypus --theme paper plottypus · glass on 160×45

![plottypus in the catppuccin-mocha theme.](/media/theme-catppuccin-mocha.png)![plottypus in the gruvbox-dark theme.](/media/theme-gruvbox-dark.png)![plottypus in the monotreme theme: grey everywhere except alarms.](/media/theme-monotreme.png)![plottypus in its auto theme, built from the Kanagawa Dragon terminal palette.](/media/theme-auto.png)![plottypus in the okabe theme with Okabe–Ito hues.](/media/theme-okabe.png)![plottypus in the paper theme on a light cream background.](/media/theme-paper.png)![plottypus in glass mode in a translucent Ghostty window, over a dim room and a window.](/media/theme-glass.png)

Matches the scheme of the same name. Matches the scheme of the same name. One grey ink. Only alarms carry colour. Built from the terminal's own palette. Here, Kanagawa Dragon. Okabe–Ito hues, readable with red–green colour blindness. For light terminals. Ghostty at 75% opacity. No cell backgrounds, so the wallpaper shows through. 10 built in. `T` cycles them.

cost of watching

## Cheap to leave open.

- cpu 1.5% of one core at the default 500 ms
- redraws 0/s while nothing changes on screen
- energy <0.01W its own draw, on an idle Mac
- binary 2.2MB one file, nothing else installed

Median of 3 runs at 160×45, M5 Pro (Mac17,8), macOS 27.0, on AC power, no sudo. [Method and raw data](/data/plottypus-self-cost)

## Free now. Pro later.

Free. Every live reading stays free. [What Pro will add](/pro)

## One line. No sudo.

install · 1.0.0

```
curl -fsSL https://plottypus.com/install.sh | sh
plottypus
```