Process Monitor Dashboard

---

name: process-monitor-dashboard description: Monitor system processes, resource usage, and performance metrics with real-time terminal dashboard. version: 1.0.0 author: skill-factory metadata: openclaw: requires: bins: - python3 libs: - python3-psutil

---

Process Monitor Dashboard

What This Does

A real-time terminal dashboard for monitoring system processes and resource usage. Provides a live, updating view of CPU, memory, disk, network, and running processes—all within your terminal.

Key features:

Real-time CPU monitoring - Overall usage + per‑core breakdown

Memory dashboard - RAM usage, swap, detailed memory stats

Disk I/O & usage - Read/write rates, free space per filesystem

Network activity - Upload/download speeds, connections

Process list - Top processes by CPU/memory, with sorting options

Refresh control - Adjustable update interval (1–10 seconds)

Color‑coded alerts - Highlight high resource usage

Lightweight - Minimal overhead, runs in background

How To Use

Start the dashboard:

./scripts/main.py dashboard

Monitor with custom interval (3 seconds):

./scripts/main.py dashboard --interval 3

Get a single snapshot (no continuous updates):

./scripts/main.py snapshot

List top N processes by CPU:

./scripts/main.py top --by cpu --limit 10

List top N processes by memory:

./scripts/main.py top --by memory --limit 10

Monitor a specific process by PID:

./scripts/main.py monitor --pid 1234

Full command reference:

./scripts/main.py help

Commands

dashboard: Start interactive real‑time dashboard

- --interval: Refresh interval in seconds (default: 2) - --simple: Simplified view (no per‑core/disk details) - --log: Also write metrics to a log file

snapshot: Print a one‑time system snapshot

- --json: Output as JSON for scripting

top: Show top processes

- --by: Sort by cpu, memory, disk, name (default: cpu) - --limit: Number of processes to show (default: 10) - --user: Filter by username - --json: Output as JSON

monitor: Monitor a specific process

- --pid: Process ID to monitor (required) - --interval: Refresh interval (default: 2) - --watch: Watch for process creation/termination

stats: Show system‑wide statistics

- --cpu: CPU details only - --memory: Memory details only - --disk: Disk details only - --network: Network details only - --json: Output as JSON

alert: Check for resource alerts

- --threshold-cpu: CPU alert threshold % (default: 90) - --threshold-memory: Memory alert threshold % (default: 85) - --threshold-disk: Disk alert threshold % (default: 90)

Output Examples

Dashboard view (sample):

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 System Monitor | Refresh: 2s | 2026‑03‑16 10:30:00 UTC
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
CPU:  ███████░░░ 72%   Memory:  █████████░ 92% (8.2/12 GB)
Core 0: 65%  Core 1: 78%  Core 2: 70%  Core 3: 75%
Top Processes (by CPU):
   PID USER     CPU% MEM% COMMAND
  1234 alice    45.2 12.3 python3 /app/server.py
  5678 bob      22.1  5.8 /usr/bin/node index.js
  9101 root     10.5  0.3 systemd-journal
Disk: /  █████░░░░ 52% free   Network: ▲ 1.2 MB/s ▼ 4.5 MB/s
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────

JSON snapshot (via --json):

{
  "timestamp": "2026-03-16T10:30:00Z",
  "cpu": {
    "total_percent": 72.5,
    "per_core": [65.2, 78.1, 70.3, 75.0],
    "load_average": [1.2, 1.5, 1.8]
  },
  "memory": {
    "total_gb": 12.0,
    "used_gb": 8.2,
    "percent": 68.3,
    "swap_used_gb": 0.5
  },
  "processes": [
    {"pid": 1234, "name": "python3", "cpu_percent": 45.2, "memory_percent": 12.3}
  ]
}

Installation Notes

Requires Python 3.6+ and psutil library. Install with:

pip install psutil

On most systems, psutil is available via package managers:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install python3-psutil
RHEL/CentOS
sudo yum install python3-psutil
macOS
brew install psutil

Limitations

Terminal size - Dashboard optimized for terminals ≥ 80 columns

Refresh rate - Very fast intervals (<1s) may cause high CPU

Platform support - Best on Linux/macOS; Windows support limited

Process details - Some process information may require root

Historical data - No built‑in long‑term trending (single‑session only)

No remote monitoring - Only monitors the local system

No alert actions - Only displays warnings, doesn’t auto‑resolve issues

Security Considerations

Only reads system metrics (no writes or modifications)

Doesn’t require root/sudo for basic operation

No network listening or external connections

All data stays local; no telemetry

Process listing may reveal running applications (same as ps/top)

Examples

Basic dashboard (2‑second updates):

./scripts/main.py dashboard

Lightweight dashboard (simple view, 3‑second updates):

./scripts/main.py dashboard --simple --interval 3

Get a JSON snapshot for scripting:

./scripts/main.py snapshot --json > system.json

Find top 5 memory‑hungry processes:

./scripts/main.py top --by memory --limit 5

Monitor a specific web server:

./scripts/main.py monitor --pid $(pgrep -f "nginx") --interval 5

Check for resource alerts:

./scripts/main.py alert --threshold-cpu 95 --threshold-memory 90

Basic dashboard (2‑second updates):

./scripts/main.py dashboard

Lightweight dashboard (simple view, 3‑second updates):

./scripts/main.py dashboard --simple --interval 3

Get a JSON snapshot for scripting:

./scripts/main.py snapshot --json > system.json

Find top 5 memory‑hungry processes:

./scripts/main.py top --by memory --limit 5

Monitor a specific web server:

./scripts/main.py monitor --pid $(pgrep -f "nginx") --interval 5

Check for resource alerts:

./scripts/main.py alert --threshold-cpu 95 --threshold-memory 90