CPUPeek: See how busy your CPU is, and what’s keeping it busy.

What is making my Mac slow or hot right now?

Features

• Rings for thermal state, CPU in use (apps and macOS) and load against your core count
• A chart of CPU use since you opened the screen, and one bar per core
• Chip name and performance / efficiency core counts as macOS reports them
• 1, 5 and 15-minute load averages and uptime
• The 20 busiest processes over the last interval (100 % is one core, as in Activity Monitor)
• A ring on the launcher with CPU in use and load, red when macOS reports the Mac is running hot
• Samples only while its screen is open; nothing runs in the background

How it works

1. Open CPUPeek from the launcher.
2. Wait one sampling interval for the first reading.
3. Check the busiest processes and the thermal ring while the slowdown happens.

Installation

CPUPeek is part of MacPeek. Install MacPeek, open Manage utilities and make sure CPUPeek is switched on (it is on by default). There is nothing separate to download.

Privacy

What CPUPeek reads:

• Per-core CPU load (host_processor_info), the load average and macOS’s thermal state, only while CPUPeek is open; two quick readings when the launcher opens
• CPU time of processes your user can inspect (libproc), only while CPUPeek is open

Access it needs: None. Other users’ processes, including some macOS services, are not listed.

Everything stays on your Mac: no account, no telemetry, no network access. Read the full privacy statement.

Open source

MacPeek and every utility in it are MIT-licensed. Read the code on GitHub, or see how a utility is built.

Frequently asked questions

What does CPUPeek do?

CPUPeek samples CPU use at the refresh interval you choose (down to every second) while its screen is open: overall and per core, split into apps and macOS, with the busiest processes over the last interval. It shows the load average, the chip and its performance and efficiency cores, and the thermal state macOS reports, so you can see when the Mac is being slowed to cool down. Every value is labelled as sampled.

What does CPUPeek read from my Mac?

Per-core CPU load (host_processor_info), the load average and macOS’s thermal state, only while CPUPeek is open; two quick readings when the launcher opens; CPU time of processes your user can inspect (libproc), only while CPUPeek is open.

Does CPUPeek need any permissions?

None. Other users’ processes, including some macOS services, are not listed.

Does CPUPeek send my data anywhere?

No. Everything stays on your Mac: no account, no telemetry, nothing is sent anywhere.

Is CPUPeek free?

Yes. CPUPeek is part of MacPeek, which is free and open source under the MIT license.