System monitor
Dux Modular Shell
System monitor
The system monitor opens with dms ipc call processlist focusOrToggle (bound to Ctrl+Alt+Delete and
Ctrl+Alt+M in the default keybinds). Its data comes from dgop, so it needs dgop installed.
| Page | Shows |
|---|---|
| Processes | Every process with CPU, memory, GPU, disk and network use. Open a row for its overview, resources, connections and details. |
| Performance | CPU, memory, each GPU, drive and network interface with a live chart. The charts record from the moment the window opens. |
| Disks | Each drive's health, SMART values, read/write chart and partitions. A sleeping hard drive is not woken up here. |
| System | Software, hardware and sensor readings. Copy summary copies a short overview, Copy report everything as Markdown. Neither includes the hostname, user name or network names. |
Processes of the same program are merged into one row that shows their total. Memory is each process's own share of the memory it uses, so shared libraries aren't counted once per process. A drive's Wear is the share of its rated write endurance used up.
A GPU is only read once GPU Monitoring is on in its Performance pane (a GPU temperature bar widget turns it on too). Until then a sleeping GPU is not woken up, and its per-process use and sensor readings stay empty.
Ending and restarting processes
Open a process, or right-click it and choose Quit or restart, for Quit, Force quit, End process tree and Restart. Each asks for confirmation. For the compositor, the user's systemd, the session bus and DMS itself it also warns that this usually ends the session and offers a restart instead.
| Process | Restart does |
|---|---|
| DMS | dms restart |
| Compositor | Reloads its configuration (it can't restart without ending the session) |
| A systemd service's main process | Restarts the service |
| Any other program | Quits it and starts it again with the same command, environment and working directory |
| A program in a terminal | Not available, restart it from the terminal |
Pausing and priority
Pause freezes a process and everything it started until Resume, which can save power while a game sits idle. Paused rows are dimmed and show a pause icon. Session processes and DMS itself can't be paused. Pausing a single program inside a terminal hands the terminal back to the shell, the same as pressing Ctrl+Z.
Priority sets the nice value of a process and all its threads, from Highest (-20) to Lowest (19). On a merged row it applies to every process in the row. The expanded row shows the current level, and the optional Priority column sorts by it. Raising the priority or changing another user's process needs authentication, or Unlock.
Unlock
Linux only lets the owner or root read a process's disk and network activity, so most values of other users'
processes show —. The lock button in the Processes toolbar asks for your password once and then reads every
process as root until you lock it again or close the window. While unlocked, ending another user's process needs no
further password, and the Disks page shows each drive's full SMART report.