Vitals

A terminal resource monitor for Linux built with notcurses.

⚡ Installation

Quick Install

Install the latest version with a single command:

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rebootless/vitals/main/install.sh)

The installer automatically:

• Installs the required build dependencies
• Clones the notcurses source
• Builds the project
• Installs vitals to /usr/local/bin
• Installs the required libraries to /usr/local/lib

Safe to run multiple times.

Quick Uninstall

Remove vitals and the notcurses files installed alongside it with a single command:

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rebootless/vitals/main/uninstall.sh)

The uninstaller:

• Reads the manifest left by install.sh and removes every file it installed (binary, notcurses libraries/headers/pkgconfig files)
• Prunes any directories left empty
• Removes the /etc/ld.so.conf.d entry added for /usr/local/lib and refreshes the linker cache
• Asks before deleting your saved config at ~/.config/vitals

If vitals was installed a different way (no manifest present), it falls back to a best-effort removal of the vitals binary and matching notcurses libraries.

Build from Source(click to expand)

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/rebootless/vitals.git
cd vitals

Prepare the build environment:

chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh

Build:

cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DUSE_PANDOC=OFF
cmake --build build -j$(nproc)

Install:

sudo cmake --install build
echo"/usr/local/lib"| sudo tee /etc/ld.so.conf.d/usr_local_lib.conf
sudo ldconfig

Run Without Installing(click to expand)

git clone https://github.com/rebootless/vitals.git
cd vitals
chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DUSE_PANDOC=OFF
cmake --build build -j$(nproc)
LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$(pwd)/build/notcurses" ./build/vitals

📊 Panels

Panel	Data source	What it shows
CPU	/proc/stat, cpufreq	CPU usage, per-core activity, frequencies, history
GPU	DRM sysfs, hwmon, nvidia-smi	Utilization, VRAM, temperature, power
Memory	/proc/meminfo	RAM and swap usage
Network	/proc/net/dev	Per-interface RX/TX throughput
Storage	/proc/diskstats, statvfs	Filesystem usage and disk I/O
Thermal	/sys/class/thermal, /sys/class/hwmon	CPU, GPU, and motherboard sensors

Note

The GPU panel is displayed only when a supported device is detected. Otherwise, the CPU panel expands to use the available space.

⌨️ Controls

Key	Action
q	Quit
Esc	Open the settings menu
Tab	Select the next option
↑ / ↓	Change the selected value
Enter	Save changes and close
Esc(in settings)	Discard changes and close

📋 Requirements

• Linux (kernel ≥ 4.x)
• GCC or Clang with C++20 support
• CMake ≥ 3.14
• Internet access (required to download notcurses during setup)
• Debian 12 / 13 or Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04

📄 License

Licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. See the LICENSE file for details.