1. Glances 4.4.0: System monitor gets Python API and Neofetch mode

• Modernized Prometheus export format
• Container monitoring and experimental features
• Numerous bug fixes for macOS and Windows

The developers of the cross-platform system monitoring tool Glances have released version 4.4.0. The central innovation of the open-source software is a Python API that allows Glances to be integrated as a library into custom projects. Previously, the tool was primarily designed as a standalone command-line program.

The new API now allows developers to integrate Glances functions directly into Python code. This enables the extensive monitoring functions of the tool to be used programmatically without having to go through the command line or REST API.

Another visible innovation is the --fetch option, which displays a snapshot of the current system status. The function is explicitly inspired by the popular tool Neofetch and presents a compact system overview with the most important metrics. The new option complements Glances’ continuous monitoring view with a quick status check.

Modernized Prometheus export format

Among the breaking changes, the revision of the Prometheus export format is particularly noteworthy: metrics are now output in a more user-friendly structure, which can lead to problems with existing dashboards and queries. Administrators who use Glances with Prometheus monitoring should therefore check their configurations during the update.

In the process list, Glances displays long command lines truncated by default. Users can expand the full commands using the arrow keys, and the Shift key in combination with the arrow keys switches between different column sortings. This change makes the process overview clearer but requires a short familiarization period.

Container monitoring and experimental features

For container environments, Glances also displays the ports used in the container section. This feature request, which has been open since 2017, significantly simplifies the overview in Docker and Podman deployments. Additionally, disk I/O latencies have been integrated as a new metric, making it easier to identify storage performance issues.

An export module for the analytical DuckDB database is available as an experimental feature. DuckDB is particularly suitable for complex queries on historical monitoring data. The Sensors plugin updates every 10 seconds by default instead of every refresh cycle, which reduces CPU load.

Numerous bug fixes for macOS and Windows

The bug fix list includes several critical corrections. On macOS, Glances might not have displayed processes, and on Windows, CPU statistics were displayed incorrectly. Both issues are now resolved. The developers have also fixed a serious performance bug that caused API delays of over three minutes when virtual machines were running.

The Cloud plugin contacted the metadata address 169.254.169.254 even when disabled, causing problems in certain network environments. This error has also been corrected. All bug fixes and new features are described in the release notes on the Glances GitHub page.

(fo)

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This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.