Glances: An Eye on Your System, From Terminal to Web

TL;DR

• Glances is an open-source, cross-platform system monitoring tool written in Python that shows CPU, memory, disk, network, processes, sensors and containers in one adaptive dashboard.
• It runs as a standalone curses terminal app, a web server with a browser UI, or a client/server setup, and exposes a RESTful and XML-RPC API for remote monitoring.
• Stats can be exported to databases, message brokers and files, or printed to STDOUT in CSV and JSON for scripting and automation.
• It installs through pip, pipx, uvx, Docker, Homebrew and most Linux package managers, with optional extras for web, containers, GPU, sensors and more.
• Latest release at the time of writing is v4.5.5, distributed under the LGPL-3.0 license.

A note on this page: Glances is an independent open-source project created and maintained by Nicolas Hennion (github.com/nicolargo), NOT built by Navanem. This page is an editorial spotlight published by navanem to highlight a tool we find useful. We did not create Glances, we are not affiliated with the project, and all credit for the software belongs to its author and contributor community.

What is Glances?

Glances is an open-source cross-platform monitoring tool that watches your system in real time. It tracks CPU, memory, disk and network usage, plus running processes, logged-in users, temperatures, voltages and fan speeds. It also monitors containers across systems such as Docker and LXC. Everything is presented in an easy-to-read dashboard that adapts to the size of your terminal or browser window, so you only see what fits.

Who created Glances?

Glances was created by Nicolas Hennion, who publishes on GitHub as nicolargo, and is developed by a community of contributors. The project is mature and actively maintained: the README, release history and recent commits show ongoing work, with the v4.5.5 release published in June 2026 and development already underway on the next version. It is frequently described as a top or htop alternative for GNU/Linux, BSD, macOS and Windows.

What can it monitor?

Out of the box Glances surfaces CPU, load and memory, per-interface network throughput, disk I/O and filesystem usage, processes, logged-in users, and hardware readings like temperatures, voltages and fan speeds. It monitors containers through Docker and Podman, with optional support for LXC. Additional plugins cover GPU, RAID, SMART disk health, Wi-Fi, SNMP and more. Glances is built on an open architecture, so developers can add new plugins or export modules to extend what it collects.

How do you install and run it?

The standard route is pip inside a virtual environment. The base install ships without the web interface, so use an extra such as [web] or [all] if you need it:

python3 -m venv ~/.venv
source ~/.venv/bin/activate
pip install glances

pip install 'glances[all]'

You can also run it directly with uvx, install it through pipx, or pull it via Homebrew or your Linux package manager:

uvx glances

To start the standalone terminal dashboard, simply run:

glances

What about the web UI and API?

Run Glances in web server mode and it serves a browser dashboard while exposing an HTTP RESTful API:

glances -w

Then open http://<ip>:61208 in a browser. In this mode both a RESTful and an XML-RPC API are available for remote monitoring and integration. Glances 4.5.1 and higher can also expose a built-in MCP (Model Context Protocol) server so AI assistants like Claude and Cursor can query it directly, enabled with the --enable-mcp flag alongside web mode.

Can it export stats elsewhere?

Yes. Glances can push stats to a wide range of destinations. It exports to CSV and JSON files; to databases including InfluxDB, ElasticSearch, PostgreSQL/TimeScale, Cassandra, ClickHouse, CouchDB, OpenTSDB, Prometheus, StatsD, Riemann and Graphite; and to message brokers such as RabbitMQ/ActiveMQ, NATS, ZeroMQ and Kafka. For lightweight scripting it can print raw stats to STDOUT, including dedicated CSV and JSON output modes, making it easy to feed values into other tools and pipelines.

Who is it for?

Glances suits anyone who wants a fast, readable overview of one machine or a fleet. Sysadmins and DevOps engineers use it as a richer top or htop replacement, while its client/server and web modes make it handy for remotely monitoring servers, containers and even rooted Android devices through Termux. Because it runs on GNU/Linux, BSD, macOS and Windows and exports to time-series databases, it also fits into larger observability stacks without locking you into a single platform.

FAQ

Is Glances made by Navanem?

No. Glances is an independent open-source project created by Nicolas Hennion and maintained by its contributor community. Navanem only publishes this editorial spotlight to share a tool we think is worth knowing about. We are not the authors and are not affiliated with the project.

What operating systems does Glances support?

Glances is cross-platform and runs on GNU/Linux, BSD, macOS and Windows. It requires Python 3.10 or higher. Glances version 4 and above no longer support Python 2 or Python 3 versions below 3.10; the 3.4.x line remains available for older Python.

Does Glances have a web interface and API?

Yes. Running glances -w starts a web server with a browser dashboard and exposes an HTTP RESTful API, alongside an XML-RPC API. Web interface dependencies are optional, so install the [web] or [all] extra to enable them.

How do I install Glances?

The recommended method is pip in a virtual environment, optionally with extras like [all]. You can also use pipx, run it instantly with uvx, install via Homebrew or MacPorts on macOS, pull the official Docker images, or use your Linux distribution's package manager.

What license is Glances released under?

Glances is distributed under the GNU Lesser General Public License version 3 (LGPL-3.0), as stated in the project's COPYING file.