macOS system monitoring · Free · Homebrew Cask and signed direct releases
Know what your Mac is doing.
When your Mac slows down, the network gets busy, or a port is in use, see processes, resources, and connections together. Investigate with the details in view.
Free to get · No paid upgradeCompare pricing & benefits ↓
Feature tour
These screenshots come from Better Monitor 1.0.3's demo-data mode: the interface and features are real, while device names, paths, and IP addresses are fictional and belong to no real Mac.
Better Monitor AI Monitor on an Apple M4 Pro: the AI workload reads LLM (GPU/Metal) and Ollama runs llama3.1:8b with 100% GPU offload and tokens per second, above the local AI runtime API switch, CPU efficiency and performance clusters, GPU and Neural Engine, memory and bandwidth, and network and disk
Better Monitor Process Monitor with cards for total, high-CPU, high-memory, and abnormal processes above a process list sorted by CPU with resource impact ratings
Better Monitor Process Details for SourceKitService showing version, developer, signature, CPU and memory charts, and an AI Process Summary with its conclusion, evidence, and suggestions
Better Monitor Network Info showing the Wi-Fi interface status, SSID, local and public IP, DNS, gateway, and cards for addresses, hardware address, routing, and the interface list
Better Monitor Network Activity with current download, upload, peak bandwidth, and active connections, a one-minute throughput chart, and TCP connections listed by process
Better Monitor Ports & Services with cards for listening ports, non-local bindings, port conflicts, and risk alerts, a port list with binding addresses and risk levels, and binding risk suggestions
Better Monitor Login Items on the LaunchAgents segment, showing each item's state, current resource impact, signature status, and path
Better Monitor AI History listing three on-device AI conversations grouped by process, with conversation, message, and last-updated counts
Better Monitor General settings for launch, menu bar, notifications, and background monitoring
Better Monitor Appearance settings for theme, density, and interface display options
Better Monitor Alerts settings for resource thresholds, notifications, and suggestion behavior
Better Monitor Data & Privacy settings: local storage, auto-clean, diagnostic report, clear local data, and restore default settings
Better Monitor Monitoring Overview in the light appearance
Local-firstMonitoring history stays on your Mac; monitoring data is not uploaded automatically.
See the systemCPU, memory, disk, network, ports, battery, and sensor information in one place.
Optional AIOnly the selected process snapshot is sent to your configured AI provider when you request a summary.
Free distributionFree through Homebrew Cask and signed direct releases, with no subscription or paid entitlement.
Capabilities
Inspect processes by resource use, open details, and confirm supported actions before they run.
Inspect network information, activity, connections, and listening ports while separating observations from reachability claims.
Review startup items and system state; request an AI explanation for one process snapshot when you need more context.
AI Monitor · new in 1.0.3
AI Monitor shows Apple silicon in detail — CPU clusters, GPU, Neural Engine, Media Engine, unified-memory bandwidth, power, and sensors — and detects local AI runtimes such as Ollama, LM Studio, MLX, and llama.cpp from their processes.
Privacy & local processing
Better Monitor reads system and process information locally and stores monitoring history without automatically uploading monitoring data. Public-IP lookup is user initiated; AI summaries send only the process snapshot you select.
Boundaries
Get Better Monitor
Better Monitor is not a Mac App Store product and has no MIT license or subscription entitlement.
brew install --cask bettermacnet/tap/better-monitorView the Cask formulaBetterMonitor-1.0.4.dmg
View signed releasesRead the product source, feature notes, and user guide.
Open the GitHub repositoryPRICING & BENEFITS
Free through Homebrew or signed direct releases, with no subscription or paid entitlement. Optional AI services are provided separately by your configured provider.
Free
Get it through the official channel
See this page for compatibility and capability details.
Frequently asked questions
It is free, with no subscription, paid entitlement, or refund flow.
Run `brew install --cask bettermacnet/tap/better-monitor`, or download the signed and Apple-notarized DMG from GitHub Releases.
Not automatically. Information is sent only when you request a public-IP lookup, AI summary, or support request.
Supported actions require your explicit confirmation and remain subject to macOS permissions and protections.
macOS 15 or later; both Apple silicon and Intel Macs are supported. AI Monitor requires Apple silicon; on Intel Macs the other pages keep working.
Read about permissions, processes, ports, startup items, and optional AI boundaries. If you still need help, contact Better Monitor Support.
