SwiftBar System Monitor

Pitch

Description

Comments

About this project

SwiftBar System Monitor stands out by providing not just raw metrics, but actionable insights into system health and recent changes. This plugin simplifies incident triage by keeping essential information about CPU, memory, disk, and more just a click away, enhancing productivity for macOS users.

The SwiftBar System Monitor is an open-source plugin designed for real-time incident triage and system health monitoring on macOS. This plugin effectively consolidates critical performance metrics, enabling users to assess CPU, memory pressure, disk utilization, battery status, Docker activity, and device health—all from the convenience of the menu bar.

Key Features

Real-time System Monitoring: Provides immediate insights into system performance, helping to identify issues before they escalate.
Triage Information: Delivers actionable details such as potential causes of slow performance and suggested next steps, including a direct link to the Activity Monitor.
Compact Display: The menu bar indicator offers an at-a-glance view of system health with intuitive alert levels.
Incident Context: Includes a rolling Flight Recorder that captures recent activity for quick reference during troubleshooting.
User-Friendly Actions: Users can quickly copy incident reports or update the plugin directly from the menu.
Comprehensive Support: The plugin can display optional details for Docker containers, device connections, energy consumption, and system alerts.

Sample Output

The plugin provides a structured output like the following:

System Monitor
---
Triage
--Status: Critical - Busy app using too much CPU
--Likely cause: Cursor Helper is now top CPU at 126.8%
--Next step: Open Activity Monitor
--How alerts work: CPU > 90%, load warning >= 6
--Recent activity
----1m critical load 10.21 CPU tsserver 110.5%
----5m critical load 5.46 CPU mds_stores 91.4%
Actions
--Copy Incident Report
--Update from GitHub

Installation Requirements

macOS Compatibility: Requires a macOS system with SwiftBar installed along with the built-in command-line tools.
Optional Dependencies: Docker and related tools can enhance functionality and monitoring capabilities.

Configuration Options

The SwiftBar System Monitor supports various configuration methods to tailor the monitoring experience to individual needs. Here’s an example of how to set custom thresholds and options:

SM_LOAD_WARN=6
SM_LOAD_CRIT=8
SM_HIGH_CPU_THRESHOLD=90
SM_LOW_DISK_WARN_GB=20
SM_SHOW_DOCKER=true
SM_SHOW_ENERGY=false
SM_ANIMATE_TITLE=true

Development and Contribution

Developers are encouraged to contribute to the project. Key scripts are available for verification and development tooling. The repository adheres to established SwiftBar plugin standards, ensuring quality and maintainability.

For further details, configuration options, and contribution guidelines, visit the project site at oleg-koval.github.io/swiftbar-plugins.