Group processes by app
Vitals adds helper processes to the app that launched them, turning a long process list into an app-level view with one figure for CPU, memory, energy, disk, and network.
Vitals
Vitals is a menu bar system monitor for Mac that groups helper processes under the apps that launched them, making CPU, memory, disk, network, and other activity easier to interpret. It helps Mac users review up to 30 days of history, receive alerts about sustained resource use, and monitor development projects and connected devices.
App-level monitoring for Mac
Vitals is a menu bar system monitor for Mac that organizes activity around applications rather than individual processes. It groups helper processes under the app that launched them, so users can see which app is responsible for CPU, memory, energy, disk, and network use without manually adding process entries.
The product is designed for ongoing observation rather than replacing every diagnostic function in macOS Activity Monitor. It keeps up to 30 days of per-app history, can notify users about sustained resource problems, and provides configurable views for everyday monitoring, development projects, sound, Bluetooth devices, and system sensors.
Monitoring features
Keep 30 days of history
Review resource use across 12 hours, 24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days, including the apps that used the most. This provides context that a live-only monitor cannot.
Alert on misbehaving apps
Receive a notification when an app keeps the CPU busy, continues growing in memory, or heavily uses disk or network resources.
Cover major Mac subsystems
View CPU, memory, disk, network, GPU, battery, sound, Bluetooth, and project information through separate tabs. The app also reports temperatures and fan speed.
Arrange the menu bar
Create menu bar readouts for metrics such as CPU, memory, GPU, network, disk, temperature, or battery. Each can show a value, a graph, or both, and the items can be reordered.
Inspect projects and take action
Group development processes by project folder, show listening ports, identify idle development servers, and offer an option to stop them. Vitals also supports quitting an app or a single process after confirmation and exporting a snapshot as an image.
Practical use cases
Find the app behind resource usage
Use the app-level view to identify whether a browser, editor, terminal, container tool, or another application is responsible for high CPU or memory use, without tracing multiple helper processes.
Investigate past slowdowns or battery drain
Look back over the workday or previous week to determine which applications affected battery, memory, disk, or network activity while the Mac was unattended.
Manage local development servers
Monitor local development projects by folder, inspect listening ports, and spot servers that have been idle for days. Vitals can offer to stop idle development servers when they are no longer needed.
Build a lightweight daily dashboard
Configure only the metrics needed for quick checks in the menu bar, such as CPU, memory, temperature, or battery, while keeping detailed subsystem views in the app window.
Check audio and peripherals
Check per-app sound levels and connected Bluetooth device batteries from dedicated tabs when working with media, calls, headphones, keyboards, or trackpads.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Groups helper processes under their parent app for a more readable resource view.
- Stores 30 days of history for app-level metrics instead of focusing only on the current moment.
- Provides notifications for sustained CPU, memory, disk, or network problems.
- Offers configurable menu bar, window, and dropdown layouts across multiple Mac subsystems.
- Includes project-based views for development servers and listening ports.
Cons
- Requires macOS 15 or later, so it is not an option for older Macs.
- It does not provide Activity Monitor functions such as process sampling, spindumps, or broader system diagnostics.
- The source describes individual Mac monitoring features, but does not document team sharing or integrations.
FAQ
Does Vitals completely replace Activity Monitor?
No. Vitals is intended for everyday monitoring: identifying which app is using resources, reviewing historical activity, and receiving alerts. Activity Monitor remains the better tool for sampling a process, taking a spindump, and other system diagnostics.
What macOS versions does Vitals support, and where does it run?
Vitals requires macOS 15 or later. The source describes it as a menu bar application; when opened at login it can stay in the menu bar, and it can also be shown in the Dock if preferred.
How does Vitals organize monitoring data?
Vitals groups helper processes under the app that launched them, then presents app-level figures for CPU, memory, energy, disk, and network. Its history views cover 12 hours, 24 hours, 7 days, and 30 days, with the apps using the most resources identified.
What kinds of alerts does Vitals provide?
It can send a notification when an app keeps the CPU busy, continues growing in memory, or generates unusually heavy disk or network activity. The notification names the app involved.
How is Vitals priced?
The product is sold as a one-time purchase. The site lists an introductory price of $9, a later price of $29, updates for life, and a 14-day refund policy.
Quick Facts
- Category
- Mac system monitor
- Platform
- macOS 15 or later
- Primary interface
- Menu bar, with configurable window and dropdown views
- History
- Up to 30 days for every metric, per app
- Pricing model
- One-time purchase; site lists $9 launch pricing and $29 afterward
- Refund policy
- 14-day refund listed on the product site
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