AI ERP with agents inside the systems you run
AI phone and voice agents for real calls
LLM.coPrivate, self-hosted LLM deployments
Legal AI infrastructure for firms
AI RFP discovery and response drafting
Automatic.coBusiness process automation
CyberAttack.aiThreat detection and defense
Secure AI virtual data roomsmactop
mactop is a terminal-based system monitoring tool for Apple Silicon Macs that displays real-time CPU, GPU, and memory usage in a top-like interface. Written in Go, it provides quick hardware insights without leaving the terminal and is actively maintained with recent releases.
Key facts
Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | context-labs/mactop |
| Owner | context-labs |
| Primary language | Go |
| License | MIT — OSI-approved |
| Stars | 2.3k |
| Forks | 53 |
| Open issues | 0 |
| Latest release | v0.2.7 (2025-12-09) |
| Last updated | 2025-12-21 |
| Source | https://github.com/context-labs/mactop |
What mactop is
A Go-based terminal UI application that monitors Apple Silicon (ARM64) CPU and GPU metrics on macOS, presenting data in an interactive terminal interface similar to Unix 'top'. The project uses termui for rendering and integrates with macOS system calls to gather hardware telemetry.
Get the mactop source
Clone the repository and explore it locally.
git clone https://github.com/context-labs/mactop.gitcd mactop# follow the project's README for install & configurationNeed it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.
Best use cases
Implementation considerations
- Ensure Go 1.16+ is available for building from source; prebuilt binaries may be available via GitHub releases.
- Requires macOS 11+ (or similar recent version) with proper permissions to read hardware metrics; some metrics may require elevated privileges.
- Terminal emulator must support termui rendering (most modern terminals work; verify color and Unicode support if using older emulators).
- Note: README indicates v2 has migrated to https://github.com/metaspartan/mactop; verify which fork is actively maintained before deploying.
- CPU and GPU data accuracy depends on macOS system APIs; behavior may vary across M1, M2, M3, and newer chip generations.
When to avoid it — and what to weigh
- Remote or headless macOS monitoring — mactop is a terminal UI tool; it requires local console access and is not designed for remote or centralized monitoring infrastructure.
- Enterprise-grade monitoring requirements — This is a lightweight developer tool, not a replacement for Prometheus, Datadog, New Relic, or other production monitoring systems.
- Intel Mac users — mactop is optimized for Apple Silicon (ARM64) and may not provide the same level of GPU monitoring on Intel Macs.
- Historical data and alerting — mactop shows real-time metrics only; it does not persist time-series data or support alerts.
License & commercial use
MIT License (permissive open-source). Allows use, modification, and distribution in commercial and private projects with attribution.
MIT license permits commercial use. However, verify the active repository (context-labs or metaspartan fork) before shipping in a commercial product, and ensure any bundled or modified version maintains attribution and license visibility.
DEV.co evaluation signals
Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.
| Signal | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | Active |
| Documentation | Limited |
| License clarity | Clear |
| Deployment complexity | Low |
| DEV.co fit | Possible |
| Assessment confidence | High |
mactop reads system metrics via macOS APIs and runs with user privileges. No network access or external calls evident. Security posture depends on macOS system call security and Go standard library integrity. Recommend: verify the source repository before install, use official releases, and audit if bundling in commercial products.
Alternatives to consider
asitop
Similar Apple Silicon monitoring tool; compare feature set and maintenance status before choosing.
Activity Monitor (native macOS)
Official GUI tool with full feature set; simpler for non-technical users but requires graphical environment.
top / htop (standard Unix tools)
Cross-platform, battle-tested; lacks Apple Silicon GPU optimization but works on all Macs and Unix-like systems.
Build on mactop with DEV.co software developers
Install mactop from GitHub and get instant system insights in your terminal. Ideal for developers optimizing performance on M-series chips.
Talk to DEV.coRelated on DEV.co
Explore the category and the services that help you build with it.
mactop FAQ
Is mactop free for commercial use?
Will mactop work on Intel Macs?
Can I integrate mactop into my CI/CD pipeline?
Why does the README mention a move to metaspartan/mactop?
Work with a software development agency
Standing up mactop properly takes more than a deploy. As a software development agency, DEV.co handles the open-source observability architecture, the web development on top, and the operational work underneath.
Ready to monitor your Apple Silicon Mac?
Install mactop from GitHub and get instant system insights in your terminal. Ideal for developers optimizing performance on M-series chips.