How to Use Activity Monitor on macOS

Edited 1 week ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

macOSActivity MonitorSystemPerformanceAppleComputerStatisticsResourceCPUMemory

macOS, the operating system developed by Apple for Mac computers, has a powerful utility called Activity Monitor. This tool provides a comprehensive way to view the various processes and system operations running on your Mac. It's a lot like Task Manager in Windows. Whether you're troubleshooting a sluggish machine, suspecting an app is malfunctioning, or just curious about performance metrics, Activity Monitor gives you valuable information and control over your system's behavior. In this guide, we'll explore how to use Activity Monitor effectively. We'll guide you through its interface, explain each of its tabs, discuss how to interpret the information it presents, and take action based on that information. By the end of this guide, you should feel comfortable navigating Activity Monitor and using it to manage your Mac's performance.

Opening Activity Monitor

To start using Activity Monitor, you must first open it. There are several ways to do this:

• Use Spotlight search: Press Command + Spacebar to open Spotlight, type “Activity Monitor,” and press Enter.
• Go through Finder: Open Finder, select "Applications," then open the "Utilities" folder and double-click "Activity Monitor."
• Use Launchpad: Open Launchpad via the Dock or by pressing down with your thumb and three fingers on the trackpad, then click "Other" and find "Activity Monitor."

Once open, you'll see the Activity Monitor window with several tabs, each representing a different aspect of your system's performance.

Understanding the interface

Activity Monitor presents its data in a simple table format, with five primary tabs representing different resource categories:

1. CPU: This tab displays data related to your Mac's processor usage.
2. Memory: This shows how your system is using memory.
3. Energy: Here you will find information about energy consumption, which will be especially relevant on notebooks.
4. Disk: This provides information about which processes are reading from your disk and which are writing to the disk.
5. Network: The data under this tab reveals information about the data coming in and going out of your Mac.

Each tab contains columns with specific information, such as the name of the process, the user running it, and several metrics related to the tab you're viewing. You can sort processes by that column by clicking the column header. For example, you can sort processes by the amount of CPU they're using by clicking "CPU" in the CPU tab.

CPU tab

The CPU tab provides an overview of how your Mac's processor is being used. The main columns here include:

• % CPU: This shows what percentage of your processor each process is using.
• CPU Time: The total CPU time used by a process since it was started.
• Threads: Shows the number of threads being used by each process. A higher thread number may indicate a more complex process.

At the bottom of the CPU tab, you'll find overall CPU usage statistics, which tell you the percentage of CPU being used system-wide, both by user processes and system processes. If you see a consistently high CPU usage percentage, it may indicate that a process is consuming too many resources.

Using the CPU tab

Suppose your Mac is running slow. You can use the CPU tab to identify which processes are using the most CPU. Click the "% CPU" column to sort applications by their processor usage. Look at the applications at the top of the list that are using a high percentage of CPU. If an application appears to be using a lot of CPU unnecessarily, you can investigate it further or consider quitting the process. To quit a process, select it and click the "X" button in the upper left corner of Activity Monitor. You will have options to forcibly quit the process if necessary.

Be aware that kernel_task can use a considerable amount of CPU; this is normal since it manages core system processes.

Memory tab

Memory usage is another important aspect of system performance. In the Memory tab, the following columns are available:

• Memory: This displays how much RAM each process is using.
• Compressed: Shows the amount of compressed memory used by each process. Compressed memory helps your Mac run efficiently by reducing memory pressure.
• Real memory: This shows the actual amount of RAM being used by a process.
• Swap Used: Displays the amount of temporary disk storage used as additional RAM.

Below the table, you'll see a graph of "memory pressure." This provides a quick visual indicator of how efficiently your memory is being used. Ideally, you'll want to see the graph in green, which indicates that your memory usage is within comfortable limits. If it turns yellow or red, you may be running out of available RAM, and your Mac may start to slow down.

Using the Memory tab

If your computer is slowing down, the Memory tab can help clarify the cause. Start by sorting the processes in the Memory column to find out which applications are consuming the most RAM. This is useful when your system seems to be low on memory. You can also close applications directly from Activity Monitor to free up resources.

In addition to closing processes, consider reducing the number of applications open simultaneously. Otherwise, if this is a persistent problem, consider upgrading your Mac's physical RAM.

Energy tab

The Energy tab shows how much energy each process is using. This is especially useful for MacBook users who are concerned about battery life. The main columns include:

• Energy Impact: This value represents how much energy the process is using relative to other processes.
• 12-Hour Power: Displays the energy consumption of the process over the last 12 hours.
• App Nap: Indicates whether processes are reducing energy usage when inactive.

The bottom of the Energy tab presents overall data on your Mac's energy usage, such as the current battery level and remaining charge time.

Using the Energy tab

When trying to extend battery life, look for apps or processes that have a high energy impact. These usually have a huge impact on battery consumption. You can close or minimize such apps to save battery.

The App Nap feature is another useful tool that allows inactive apps to save energy. This happens automatically when apps running in the background are not actively used.

Disk tab

The Disk tab provides information about disk activity, including how much data applications are reading from the disk and how much they are writing to the disk. Important columns here include:

• Bytes Written: The amount of data written to disk by the process.
• Bytes Read: The amount of data read from disk by the process.
• Reads: The number of read operations performed by the process.
• Writes: The number of write operations performed by the process.

Below, you'll see a summary of disk operations and how much data is being read and written in total.

Using the Disk tab

Use the Disk tab to identify applications and processes that perform significant disk activity. High disk activity can slow down your computer or decrease battery life on portable Macs. To find high disk usage processes, sort the data in the "Bytes Written" or "Bytes Read" column to quickly locate these processes. Unnecessary high disk activity applications can be further investigated or stopped to improve performance.

Network tab

The Network tab focuses on data going to and from your Mac over the network. The main statistics shown here are:

• Received Packets: The number of data packets received by the process.
• Packets Sent: The number of data packets sent by the process.
• Bytes Sent: The amount of data sent.
• Bytes Received: The amount of data received.

Below, overall network data is shown, which can help monitor total data usage.

Using the Network tab

If you're experiencing slow network speeds or monitoring data usage, the Network tab can be invaluable. Sort the processes by "Bytes Sent" or "Bytes Received" to find processes that are consuming significant network resources. Closing or checking these processes can help optimize network performance or reduce data usage, especially important if you're using a metered connection.

Other features and tips

Activity Monitor has several other useful features available through the menu:

• View process hierarchy: You can view processes in their parent-child relationship, providing information about which process starts what.
• Filter processes: Use the search bar to filter processes, this is useful for locating a specific process.
• Sample a process: Select a process and analyze what it is doing using the "Sample Process" option under the "View" menu. This is especially useful for developers or advanced troubleshooting.
• Inspect Process: Selecting “Inspect” provides detailed information about a specific process, including open files and port usage.

Activity Monitor can be customized to suit your needs. You can rearrange the columns, and disable or enable specific columns by right-clicking the column header and checking or unchecking the options as needed. Select the fields that matter most to you, or expand your view by displaying more columns.

Conclusion

In short, Activity Monitor is a powerful utility that provides a centralized view of your Mac's performance, providing information about CPU, memory, energy, disk, and network usage. Every Mac user, especially those keen on optimizing their system's performance, can benefit from becoming familiar with Activity Monitor. Whether solving performance issues, conserving battery power, or tracking resource usage, Activity Monitor provides precise control and the ability to respond immediately.

Feel free to explore the various tabs and discover the data that Activity Monitor has to offer. With practice, interpreting this data becomes second nature, making you a skilled user at maintaining your Mac's health and efficiency.

  Share This Article

If you find anything wrong with the article content, you can request an update