COSMIC System Monitor brings sleek performance tracking to Linux

Linux users have long been fond of monitoring the processes running on their machines. They like to ensure the system is running as expected, track system resource usage, view network traffic, and get information about GPUs. Several GUI and command-line tools are available for locating and managing processes, including GNOME System Monitor, Plasma System Monitor, MATE System Monitor, Mission Center, Conky, Resources, Stacer, Htop, and Glances.

COSMIC System Monitor is a new addition, a lightweight system monitoring tool that integrates with the COSMIC Desktop. The app displays real-time system metrics for users who want to keep track of system performance without using slow, bulky, or cluttered apps. COSMIC System Monitor is fast, well-designed, and provides all the necessary information.

As the name implies, it was designed specifically for the COSMIC Desktop, so users will need to use COSMIC to take full advantage of it. While it can be installed on other distributions, the process requires installing Rust, cargo, just, and several development libraries, cloning the repository, and building and installing. This makes it less accessible to users on other platforms.

The app monitors various system aspects, including applications, processes, process utilization per core, CPU usage, memory usage, disk usage, network download/upload speeds, GPU, and temperature. Users can click on a feature to expand the view and access more detailed information. For example, the CPU usage widget can be expanded to show process utilization per core.

The Memory widget provides information on swap usage. Users can also kill processes by clicking on the Details section of the Processes widget and selecting Quit or Force Quit. COSMIC System Monitor is designed to make viewing system resource information and managing processes easy for anyone.

Although the Settings feature is limited to customizing the theme, the app's overall design and functionality make it a valuable tool for users. The author finds COSMIC System Monitor to be a helpful and elegant addition to the COSMIC Desktop, making it easy to keep an eye on system performance. If System76 continues creating apps like this, users may find themselves loyal to Pop!_OS and COSMIC Desktop.

Why this matters: The introduction of COSMIC System Monitor highlights the ongoing efforts to improve the user experience on Linux systems. By providing a lightweight and well-designed system monitoring tool, System76 is catering to the needs of Linux users who value performance and simplicity. This development has broader implications for the Linux community, as it sets a new standard for system monitoring tools and may influence the direction of future developments.