mactop
mactop is a lightweight, open-source terminal monitoring tool for Apple Silicon Macs that displays real-time CPU, GPU, memory, power, and thermal metrics without requiring root access. Written in Go with native macOS APIs, it offers 20 customizable layouts, Prometheus export, and a menu bar mode for system visibility.
Key facts
Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | metaspartan/mactop |
| Owner | metaspartan |
| Primary language | Go |
| License | MIT — OSI-approved |
| Stars | 1.5k |
| Forks | 65 |
| Open issues | 2 |
| Latest release | v2.1.5 (2026-06-14) |
| Last updated | 2026-06-25 |
| Source | https://github.com/metaspartan/mactop |
What mactop is
mactop leverages Go + CGO to interface with Apple's SMC, IOReport, IOKit, and IOHIDEventSystemClient APIs for direct hardware telemetry on ARM64 Macs. It provides per-core CPU metrics (E/P/S-cores on M5+), GPU frequency/usage, DRAM bandwidth estimation, fan RPM, comprehensive temperature sensors, and optional Prometheus metrics export on a configurable port.
Get the mactop source
Clone the repository and explore it locally.
git clone https://github.com/metaspartan/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
- Installation via Homebrew simplifies deployment; binary builds from source are straightforward given only Go and optional CGO dependencies.
- No root required for monitoring (SMC read-only APIs), but fan control (--fan-control) and Prometheus server port binding (< 1024) may require elevated privileges.
- Configuration persists per user (layout, theme, interval); verify settings in config.json if reproducible behavior across restarts is critical.
- Headless mode (--headless --format json) is stable for scripting; choose appropriate --count and --interval to balance data freshness vs. CPU overhead in loops.
- Prometheus metrics endpoint exports >50 gauges; ensure downstream scraper and storage capacity match your sampling interval and retention SLA.
When to avoid it — and what to weigh
- Intel/PowerPC Mac Legacy Support Required — mactop is Apple Silicon (ARM64) only and requires macOS 12.3+; it will not run on Intel Macs or older OS versions.
- Graphical/Web Dashboard Requirement — mactop is terminal-based only; if your team requires a graphical web UI or remote dashboard, you must build custom integrations on top of Prometheus export.
- Per-Process GPU Attribution at Scale — Per-process GPU usage is marked experimental; production workloads requiring precise per-app GPU accountability should verify accuracy before relying on it.
- Fan Control Without Engineering Review — Fan control (--fan-control) writes directly to SMC and requires root; production deployment without thermal testing and failsafe limits is not recommended.
License & commercial use
mactop is licensed under the MIT License, a permissive OSI-approved license. MIT permits commercial use, modification, and redistribution provided the original license notice is retained.
MIT License permits commercial use without restriction. No licensing fees, vendor lock-in, or usage limits apply. Modification and redistribution (with license attribution) are allowed; review MIT terms for any bundling or SaaS use case to ensure compliance.
DEV.co evaluation signals
Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.
| Signal | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | Active |
| Documentation | Strong |
| License clarity | Clear |
| Deployment complexity | Low |
| DEV.co fit | Strong |
| Assessment confidence | High |
mactop reads hardware metrics via Apple's public kernel APIs (SMC, IOReport, IOKit); no arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation vulnerabilities are known from the provided data. Fan control (--fan-control) writes to SMC under root; validate thermal logic and failsafes before production use. No network services exposed by default; Prometheus server is optional and should be firewalled if enabled. Dependency updates and OS API drift should be monitored.
Alternatives to consider
asitop (Andrey Sitnik)
Also a real-time Apple Silicon monitor in terminal; mactop adds more layouts, fan control, Prometheus export, and M5 S-core support, while asitop is lightweight and minimal.
Activity Monitor (macOS native)
Built-in system monitor with GUI; lacks per-core metrics, DRAM bandwidth, Thunderbolt monitoring, and programmatic export that mactop provides.
Prometheus + node_exporter (custom exporter)
Generic systems monitoring; mactop integrates Prometheus natively with Apple Silicon–specific metrics (ANE, E/P/S-cores, SMC temperatures, fan RPM) without external setup.
Build on mactop with DEV.co software developers
Deploy mactop via Homebrew today. Export metrics to Prometheus, script in JSON, or run headless for automation. No root required for monitoring.
Talk to DEV.coRelated on DEV.co
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mactop FAQ
Does mactop require root/sudo to run?
Can I export metrics to Prometheus or cloud monitoring?
What Apple Silicon models are supported?
Is per-process GPU usage reliable for production?
Software developers & web developers for hire
Need help beyond evaluating mactop? DEV.co is a software development agency offering software development services and web development for teams of every size. Our software developers and web developers build custom software, web applications, APIs, and open-source observability integrations — and maintain them long-term.
Monitor Your Apple Silicon Mac in Real-Time
Deploy mactop via Homebrew today. Export metrics to Prometheus, script in JSON, or run headless for automation. No root required for monitoring.