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LibreHardwareMonitor is a free, open-source Windows application and .NET library that reads real-time hardware metrics—CPU/GPU temperature, fan speeds, voltages, clock speeds, and storage health. It supports Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, and other major manufacturers, and can be integrated into custom applications via NuGet.
Key facts
Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | LibreHardwareMonitor/LibreHardwareMonitor |
| Owner | LibreHardwareMonitor |
| Primary language | C# |
| License | MPL-2.0 — OSI-approved |
| Stars | 8.6k |
| Forks | 960 |
| Open issues | 499 |
| Latest release | v0.9.6 (2026-02-14) |
| Last updated | 2026-07-01 |
| Source | https://github.com/LibreHardwareMonitor/LibreHardwareMonitor |
What LibreHardwareMonitor is
A C# project targeting .NET Framework 4.7.2 through .NET 10.0 that exposes hardware sensor data through a visitor-pattern API. The core library (LibreHardwareMonitorLib) requires administrator privileges for privileged sensor access and provides granular hardware component enumeration and real-time polling.
Get the LibreHardwareMonitor source
Clone the repository and explore it locally.
git clone https://github.com/LibreHardwareMonitor/LibreHardwareMonitor.gitcd LibreHardwareMonitor# follow the project's README for install & configurationNeed it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.
Best use cases
Implementation considerations
- Administrator privileges required for most sensor access; design elevation workflow or install as service for production deployments.
- Active maintenance (v0.9.6 released Feb 2026, latest push Jul 2026); monitor release notes for hardware support additions or breaking API changes across .NET versions.
- 499 open issues indicate ongoing backlog; test on target motherboard/GPU models before committing to production integration.
- Visitor pattern API requires custom traversal logic; plan for learning curve if integrating into existing monitoring frameworks.
- Multiple .NET target versions (.NET Framework 4.7.2 through .NET 10.0) supported; ensure project dependency alignment to avoid runtime conflicts.
When to avoid it — and what to weigh
- Non-Windows Platforms — Project targets Windows only. No official macOS, Linux, or cross-platform builds are documented. Not suitable for heterogeneous infrastructure.
- High-Volume Cloud Telemetry — Designed for local system observation, not cloud-native metrics pipelines. Lacks native integrations with Prometheus, Grafana, or major observability platforms.
- Proprietary or Exotic Hardware — Supports major vendors (Intel, AMD, NVIDIA) but may not work reliably on niche embedded boards, custom ASICs, or OEM-specific hardware variants. Verify motherboard compatibility.
- Real-Time or Ultra-Low Latency Requirements — Polling-based architecture. Not designed for sub-millisecond latency telemetry or hard real-time control loops.
License & commercial use
Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0). Permissive copyleft: source modifications must be disclosed, but closed-source applications can link and redistribute unmodified binaries. Some third-party components under different licenses (see THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt).
MPL-2.0 permits commercial use, distribution, and private modification of the library and application. However, any source code changes to LibreHardwareMonitor itself must be made available. Bundling unmodified binaries in commercial products is allowed. Recommend legal review of THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt for transitive license obligations.
DEV.co evaluation signals
Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.
| Signal | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | Active |
| Documentation | Adequate |
| License clarity | Clear |
| Deployment complexity | Low |
| DEV.co fit | Good |
| Assessment confidence | High |
Requires administrator privileges to read sensitive hardware state; typical for system monitoring tools. No explicit security audit, CVE history, or threat model documentation provided. Running under elevated context in production should follow least-privilege principles. Validate any custom modifications before production deployment. Third-party library dependencies (see THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt) should be audited for known vulnerabilities.
Alternatives to consider
HWiNFO
Commercial desktop application with wider hardware support and remote monitoring; lacks open-source extensibility and programmatic API integration.
Open Hardware Monitor (predecessor)
Earlier open-source project with similar scope; LibreHardwareMonitor is a community fork with newer .NET support and ongoing maintenance.
AIDA64
Enterprise system audit tool with cross-platform support and cloud integration; significantly more expensive and closed-source; overkill for simple monitoring.
Build on LibreHardwareMonitor with DEV.co software developers
Evaluate LibreHardwareMonitor for your monitoring dashboard or system validation tool. Verify motherboard compatibility, plan for admin privileges, and review the MPL-2.0 license for your use case. Our team can help assess fit and guide integration into your C#/.NET stack.
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LibreHardwareMonitor FAQ
Can I run LibreHardwareMonitor on Linux or macOS?
Do I need to restart my application if hardware changes?
Can I use LibreHardwareMonitor in a commercial product?
What .NET versions are supported?
Custom software development, end to end
Evaluating LibreHardwareMonitor is the easy part; running it is not. DEV.co offers software development services and AI software development services for open-source observability teams that need a partner past the proof of concept.
Ready to Integrate Hardware Monitoring?
Evaluate LibreHardwareMonitor for your monitoring dashboard or system validation tool. Verify motherboard compatibility, plan for admin privileges, and review the MPL-2.0 license for your use case. Our team can help assess fit and guide integration into your C#/.NET stack.