# Glances — Cross-Platform System Monitoring Tool

> A curses-based system monitoring tool written in Python that displays real-time CPU, memory, disk, network, and process information in a single terminal view.

## Install

Save as a script file and run:

# Glances — Cross-Platform System Monitoring Tool

## Quick Use
```bash
pip install glances
glances
# Web mode
glances -w
# Client-server
glances -s  # on server
glances -c @server_ip  # on client
```

## Introduction
Glances is a cross-platform system monitoring tool written in Python. It uses the psutil library to gather system metrics and presents them in a compact, real-time terminal dashboard. It can also export data to external services or run as a web server for remote monitoring.

## What Glances Does
- Displays CPU, memory, swap, disk I/O, network, and process stats in one view
- Supports client-server mode for remote system monitoring
- Runs a built-in web UI accessible from any browser
- Exports metrics to InfluxDB, Prometheus, Elasticsearch, and other backends
- Monitors Docker containers and their resource usage natively

## Architecture Overview
Glances is built on top of psutil for cross-platform system metric collection. It uses a plugin-based architecture where each metric type (CPU, memory, disk, etc.) is an independent module. The curses library handles terminal rendering, while Bottle provides the optional web server. An XML-RPC or RESTful API enables client-server communication and third-party integrations.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Install via pip, Homebrew, or your distribution's package manager
- Run `glances -w` to start the web interface on port 61208
- Configure thresholds and alerts in `~/.config/glances/glances.conf`
- Deploy as a Docker container with `docker run --rm -e TZ=UTC -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro --pid host --network host -it nicolargo/glances`
- Enable export plugins by adding backend credentials to the config file

## Key Features
- Single-binary-like experience with pip install and zero config needed
- Real-time curses UI with color-coded alerts based on configurable thresholds
- Built-in REST API for JSON metric access at /api/3
- Plugin system supporting custom metric collectors
- Wide export support including InfluxDB, Prometheus, MQTT, and CSV

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **htop** — Interactive process viewer but limited to CPU/memory; Glances shows disk, network, sensors, and containers in one screen
- **btop** — Polished TUI monitor with GPU support; Glances adds web mode, export backends, and client-server architecture
- **Netdata** — Full observability platform with dashboards; Glances is lighter and runs without a persistent agent or database
- **nmon** — AIX/Linux performance tool; Glances is cross-platform and has a modern Python API

## FAQ
**Q: Does Glances work on macOS and Windows?**
A: Yes. It runs on Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, and Windows via psutil's cross-platform support.

**Q: Can I monitor remote machines?**
A: Yes. Run `glances -s` on the remote host and connect with `glances -c @ip`. The web mode also allows browser-based remote access.

**Q: How does the Docker monitoring work?**
A: Mount the Docker socket into the Glances container or install the docker Python package. Glances auto-detects running containers and shows per-container CPU, memory, and network stats.

**Q: Can I send alerts to Slack or email?**
A: Glances supports export to many backends. For alerting, pipe metrics to InfluxDB or Prometheus and use Grafana or Alertmanager for notifications.

## Sources
- https://github.com/nicolargo/glances
- https://glances.readthedocs.io

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/asset-158e1e68
Author: Script Depot