macOS is a deceptively open platform. On the surface, in typical Apple fashion, it can look like an incredibly locked-down system, but there are a lot of tweaks and mods you can do to make it look and feel like you want it to. One such application is Stats, a free and open-source application that can show you all of the important metrics about your Mac in the Menu Bar.
If this sounds familiar, it's quite similar to a paid application called iStat Menus. While I had initially used the trial version of that application, I went searching and found Stats, which is more or less a one-to-one replacement that's completely free. You can install it with Homebrew (brew install stats) or download the application from the official GitHub.
Stats helps me keep a closer eye on my Mac
It tracks basically everything
Stats can show you the following pieces of information:
- CPU utilization
- GPU utilization
- Memory usage
- Disk utilization
- Network usage
- Battery level
- Fan control
- Sensors information (Temperature/Voltage/Power)
- Bluetooth devices
- Multiple time zone clock
For example, you can use it to keep an eye on your CPU to see if something is using it, and you can then see what processes are using the most resources. The same goes for battery, where you can see what processes are using the most battery and even shut them down.
On top of that, when it comes to battery information, there's a lot of information here that you wouldn't normally be able to get with ease. You can see your battery health, how many charge cycles you've completed, the temperature, current power drain, and a calculation of how long your battery will last under the current conditions.
As well, the ability to add additional timezones can be incredibly useful for someone who may work in a company that's primarily based in another time zone or for someone who has loved ones living in another country. You can add a second clock to be shown in your Menu Bar, so you can always be aware of the time in another location if you need it.
Stats is easy to customize and configure
And there aren't too many options, either
Configuring Stats is pretty easy, though I haven't changed any of the default settings. The included dashboard gives you full control over the various built-in monitoring tools, including polling intervals, widgets, keyboard shortcuts, and more. You can even change the icon if you'd prefer a different one, so it's worth diving into the settings to see if anything catches your eye.
One setting I have configured is a notification pop-up for my battery consumption. You can add a high or a low-level battery notification, and you can set a percentage that it will trigger at. While macOS will automatically enable power saving at 20% by default, you might like a heads-up before that happens that you're getting close to that level. It's a pretty powerful tool, and I've even disabled the built-in Menu Bar item for my Mac's battery percentage. I only use Stats for that particular metric.
As far as free and open-source software goes, Stats is one of the best and cleanest I've ever used. It does everything it says it does; it works perfectly, and it's neat and out of the way. It still gets updates from time to time as well, and it works on the latest version of macOS on my M4 Pro MacBook.
If you're looking for an alternative to iStat Menus or you just want to track your Mac's resources, you can't go wrong with Stats. There have been quite a few times where high RAM usage has reminded me that I left a model loaded in LM Studio, and high battery usage has made me aware that I left a VM open in the background. I can't live without it, and when I got my new Mac, it was one of the first applications I installed.