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Metrics and monitoring

How to monitor CPU, RAM, and disk usage on your desktop in real-time.

2 min read

Desktop metrics

Le Bureau shows real-time metrics for every running desktop. You can check CPU load, memory usage, and disk consumption from the dashboard without SSHing in or running monitoring tools yourself.

Available metrics

CPU load

Shows current CPU utilization as a percentage.

Sustained 90%+ CPU usually means a process is stuck or the workload exceeds the desktop's tier. Brief spikes during package installation or compilation are normal.

RAM usage

Shows current memory consumption versus the total available for your tier.

If RAM stays above 85%, your agent or applications may start swapping to disk, which slows everything down. Memory leaks in long-running processes can cause gradual increases over time.

Disk usage

Shows how much of your desktop's storage is in use.

Free tier desktops have limited disk space, so keep an eye on this during large downloads or installations. If disk usage hits 95%+, the system may become unstable. Clean up temporary files or remove unused packages.

Where to find metrics

  1. Open the dashboard.
  2. Your desktop cards show a summary of key metrics.
  3. Click into a desktop to see detailed, real-time metrics in the desktop viewer.

Metrics update automatically.

Checking metrics from the terminal

If you prefer the command line, you can check metrics directly in the terminal:

# CPU and memory overview
top -bn1 | head -20

# Memory details
free -h

# Disk usage
df -h

# Which processes use the most CPU
ps aux --sort=-%cpu | head -10

# Which processes use the most memory
ps aux --sort=-%mem | head -10

When to take action

MetricWarning levelAction
CPUAbove 90% sustainedCheck for stuck processes with top. Kill or restart them.
RAMAbove 85%Identify memory-hungry processes. Consider upgrading your tier.
DiskAbove 90%Run sudo apt clean, remove temp files, or delete unused data.

Tips

  • Metrics are only available for desktops in running status.
  • If metrics stop updating, the VM may have frozen. Try restarting the desktop.
  • For long-running agent tasks, check metrics periodically to catch resource issues early.

Related docs

Desktop lifecycle

How a Le Bureau desktop moves from creation to destruction.

Slow desktop performance

Diagnose sluggish desktops, high resource usage, and disk space problems.

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