Glances

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Glances: Keep an Eye on Your System at a Glance

Monitoring your system is no longer optional. Whether you’re managing a Linux server, running containers, or maintaining a workstation, understanding how your resources are being used is critical. Glances is a powerful yet lightweight system monitoring tool that gives you a complete overview of your system’s health—all in one place.

With Glances, you don’t need multiple commands or dashboards. One glance is enough.

What Is Glances?

Glances is an open-source, cross-platform system monitoring tool written in Python. It collects and displays key performance metrics such as CPU usage, memory, disk I/O, network activity, and running processes in a single, easy-to-read interface.

It works locally, remotely, and even inside containers, making it a great fit for modern Linux and Docker-based environments.

Why Use Glances?

Performance issues rarely happen suddenly. They build up over time—high CPU usage, memory exhaustion, disk saturation, or network congestion. Glances helps you spot these issues early before they impact users or applications.

With Glances, you can:

  • Monitor system health in real time
  • Quickly identify bottlenecks
  • Troubleshoot performance problems
  • Keep servers and containers running smoothly

Key Features at a Glance

  • Unified dashboard for CPU, memory, disk, network, and processes
  • Color-coded alerts (green, orange, red) for instant awareness
  • Process monitoring to identify resource-heavy applications
  • Lightweight and fast, suitable for servers and containers
  • Client/server mode for remote monitoring
  • Web UI and API support for extended use cases

Installing Glances on Linux

Glances is available in most Linux distributions and is easy to install.

Option 1: Install Using Package Manager

Ubuntu / Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install glances

RHEL / CentOS / Rocky Linux

sudo dnf install epel-release
sudo dnf install glances

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S glances

Option 2: Install Using pip (Latest Version)

If you want the latest features, you can install Glances using Python’s package manager:

sudo apt install python3-pip
pip3 install glances

Once installed, start Glances by running:

glances

Within seconds, you’ll see a full overview of your system.

Installing and Running Glances with Docker

If you’re working in a containerized environment, Glances runs perfectly inside Docker.

Step 1: Pull the Official Glances Image

docker pull nicolargo/glances

Step 2: Run Glances in Docker

To monitor your host system, run:

docker run -d \
  --name glances \
  --restart="always" \
  -p 61208:61208 \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro \
  -v /sys:/sys:ro \
  -v /proc:/proc:ro \
  nicolargo/glances

Step 3: Access the Web Interface

Open your browser and go to:

http://localhost:61208

You’ll now have a real-time, web-based monitoring dashboard powered by Glances.

Monitoring Remote Systems

Glances also supports client/server mode, allowing you to monitor multiple machines from one location. This is especially useful for small clusters or home labs without heavy monitoring stacks.

When Should You Use Glances?

Glances is ideal when you want:

  • Quick system health checks
  • Lightweight monitoring without complex configuration
  • A terminal-based or web-based overview
  • Visibility into Docker and Linux systems

While it may not replace enterprise monitoring tools, Glances shines in day-to-day operations and rapid diagnostics.

Final Thoughts

Glances lives up to its name. It delivers powerful insights without complexity, making system monitoring accessible and efficient. Whether you install it directly on Linux or deploy it with Docker, Glances helps you stay proactive instead of reactive.

If you want a monitoring tool that’s simple, fast, and effective, Glances deserves a place in your toolkit.