Updated: 28 September 2026 · Applies to: Ubuntu 24.04 desktop
Sysmon is a small graphical activity monitor for Linux desktops, similar to the Windows Task Manager: it shows CPU and GPU load, memory, network and disk activity in one window. It is written in Python and needs a desktop (it is not for servers).
Install
On current Ubuntu versions pip may not install into the system Python, so use pipx:
sudo apt install pipx pipx install sysmon sysmon
Sysmon has not been updated since 2023. If it does not start on your system, use one of the maintained alternatives below.
Maintained alternatives
- Mission Center: a modern task manager with CPU, memory, disk, network and GPU graphs. Install it from Flathub:
flatpak install flathub io.missioncenter.MissionCenter. - GNOME System Monitor: included in Ubuntu desktop (
gnome-system-monitor). - btop: the same kind of overview in a terminal, also on servers (
apt install btop).
Tip: On a server without a desktop, see "How to install Scout_Realtime Monitoring Tool and Process Metrics in Linux?" for terminal and browser-based monitoring tools.
