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ConsoleMonster

Host overview

Show a compact, read-only host summary with resource bars and optional sections for a terminal or SSH login.

Show-ConsoleOverview prints a host summary with CPU and memory bars, local disks, network addresses and the optional information your account can read. It runs once, without elevating or changing the machine.

  1. Install the module for your user account:

    Install-Module ConsoleMonster -Scope CurrentUser

  2. Import it and print the overview:

Import-Module ConsoleMonster
Show-ConsoleOverview

The title shows the host, OS and version, uptime and local time. Panels use two columns at 80 columns or more, fitting within 120 columns and 24 rows. Below 80 columns they stack at their natural height so every volume bar and the three login rows remain visible; the terminal can scroll. Disk bars turn amber at 80% used and red at 90%; the words high and critical keep those states readable without colour. Large sections in the wide view show +N more; clipped disk sections keep the fullest volumes first. Select fewer sections to give each more room.

These frames use fixed illustrative data, including reserved example addresses and synthetic users. The complete C# program beside the frame defines those values and renders them with the same OverviewWidget used by the command. The PowerShell command collects values from your own host.

dotnet run 120×1924-bitFull
C#Program.cs
var snapshot = new OverviewSnapshot(
    "demo-host", "Example OS 1.0", new TimeSpan(3, 4, 5, 0),
    new DateTimeOffset(2026, 10, 22, 12, 34, 0, TimeSpan.FromHours(2)),
    new[] {
        new OverviewSection("Resources", "CPU / memory", new[] {
            new OverviewItem("CPU", "8 logical CPUs", 24),
            new OverviewItem("Memory", "12 / 32 GiB", 37.5)
        }),
        new OverviewSection("Disks", "Disks", new[] {
            new OverviewItem("/", "54 / 100 GiB", 54),
            new OverviewItem("/data", "82 / 100 GiB", 82),
            new OverviewItem("/archive", "91 / 100 GiB", 91)
        }),
        new OverviewSection("Network", "Network", new[] {
            new OverviewItem("eth0", "192.0.2.10"),
            new OverviewItem("eth1", "2001:db8::10")
        }),
        new OverviewSection("Services", "Key services", new[] {
            new OverviewItem("Status", "All 3 running", null, ThemeToken.Pass)
        }),
        new OverviewSection("Updates", "Updates / reboot", new[] {
            new OverviewItem("Pending", "4 updates"),
            new OverviewItem("Reboot", "Reboot required", null, ThemeToken.Warn)
        }),
        new OverviewSection("Security", "Security", new[] {
            new OverviewItem("Failed logons (24 h)", "2", null, ThemeToken.Warn),
            new OverviewItem("12:00", "demo-user"),
            new OverviewItem("11:00", "test-user"),
            new OverviewItem("10:00", "sample-user")
        })
    });
Terminal.Write(new OverviewWidget(snapshot));
Full program
using ConsoleMonster;
using ConsoleMonster.Overview;
using ConsoleMonster.Styling;

var snapshot = new OverviewSnapshot(
    "demo-host", "Example OS 1.0", new TimeSpan(3, 4, 5, 0),
    new DateTimeOffset(2026, 10, 22, 12, 34, 0, TimeSpan.FromHours(2)),
    new[] {
        new OverviewSection("Resources", "CPU / memory", new[] {
            new OverviewItem("CPU", "8 logical CPUs", 24),
            new OverviewItem("Memory", "12 / 32 GiB", 37.5)
        }),
        new OverviewSection("Disks", "Disks", new[] {
            new OverviewItem("/", "54 / 100 GiB", 54),
            new OverviewItem("/data", "82 / 100 GiB", 82),
            new OverviewItem("/archive", "91 / 100 GiB", 91)
        }),
        new OverviewSection("Network", "Network", new[] {
            new OverviewItem("eth0", "192.0.2.10"),
            new OverviewItem("eth1", "2001:db8::10")
        }),
        new OverviewSection("Services", "Key services", new[] {
            new OverviewItem("Status", "All 3 running", null, ThemeToken.Pass)
        }),
        new OverviewSection("Updates", "Updates / reboot", new[] {
            new OverviewItem("Pending", "4 updates"),
            new OverviewItem("Reboot", "Reboot required", null, ThemeToken.Warn)
        }),
        new OverviewSection("Security", "Security", new[] {
            new OverviewItem("Failed logons (24 h)", "2", null, ThemeToken.Warn),
            new OverviewItem("12:00", "demo-user"),
            new OverviewItem("11:00", "test-user"),
            new OverviewItem("10:00", "sample-user")
        })
    });
Terminal.Write(new OverviewWidget(snapshot));

Pick the sections you want in their display order:

Show-ConsoleOverview -Section Resources,Disks,Network
Show-ConsoleOverview -Section Services,Updates -Width 60

The built-in keys are Resources, Disks, Network, Services, Updates and Security. Unknown keys produce an error. Unavailable sections disappear; they do not fill the screen with placeholders.

dotnet run 60×2724-bitFull

Use -AsObject to inspect the snapshot or use the data in another report. -AsString captures the rendered plain text on PowerShell 5.1 and 7:

$snapshot = Show-ConsoleOverview -Section Resources,Disks -AsObject
$snapshot.Sections | ForEach-Object {
    $_.Items | Select-Object Label,Value,Percentage
}

$text = Show-ConsoleOverview -Width 80 -AsString
$text | Set-Content -Path ./host-summary.txt

For a terminal profile, keep collection inside an interactive-session check:

if ([Environment]::UserInteractive -and -not [Console]::IsOutputRedirected) {
    Import-Module ConsoleMonster
    Show-ConsoleOverview -Section Resources,Disks,Network -BudgetMilliseconds 500
}

The default collection budget is 750 ms; -BudgetMilliseconds accepts 1–900 ms. A section still collecting at the deadline shows … (... in ASCII). Each probe receives a cancellation token with a timeout of at most two seconds. The waiting budget excludes OS scheduling and terminal rendering. Built-ins launch no child processes. Repeated calls share any in-flight provider, so a blocked native call cannot create another copy on each login.

Windows uses native CPU and memory counters, read-only service status for RPC, Event Log and Task Scheduler, cached Windows Update install metadata and reboot markers. Its pending-update count queries the installed Windows Update Agent with online search and automatic agent upgrades disabled, so the count reflects cached applicability data. The native call is registered for COM cancellation when the probe expires. Security events require existing permission to read the Security channel; the command never enables privileges or changes audit policy. Failed-logon counts cover the last 24 hours, capped at 1,024 events with a + marker; the last three interactive logon events are shown when readable.

Linux reads /proc CPU and memory counters. Where the operating system already provides libsystemd and a local system bus, the service panel queries loaded journaling, D-Bus, SSH and cron units through systemd's read-only GetUnit and ActiveState calls. Each local method has a 100 ms timeout; no service is loaded or started. Update information uses update-notifier's cached status, /run/reboot-required and the tail of the dpkg installation log where present. Security uses a bounded 64 KiB tail of readable /var/log/auth.log: failed SSH password logons and up to three accepted SSH logons in the last 24 hours. Its count is labeled as a sample lower bound. Journal-only authentication logs, other distributions' update systems and non-systemd service managers are not queried. Optional panels stay hidden when no supported source is readable.

macOS uses native CPU counters and estimates available memory from free and inactive pages. Optional service, update and security panels are hidden. Local fixed volumes and active interface addresses use the framework's platform facilities on all three systems; disconnected network and removable disks are skipped. Native platform calls cannot be forcibly aborted by managed cancellation, so an unexpectedly blocked call retains its single registry slot until it returns.

For C#, create a console app and add the package, then replace Program.cs with one of the complete programs below:

dotnet new console -n HostOverview
Set-Location HostOverview
dotnet add package ConsoleMonster

Collect and render through the same core API:

using ConsoleMonster;
using ConsoleMonster.Overview;

var snapshot = await new OverviewCollector().CollectAsync(new OverviewOptions {
    Sections = new[] { "Resources", "Disks", "Network" },
    CollectionBudget = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(500)
});
Terminal.Write(new OverviewWidget(snapshot));

Register application sections with the fluent registry API. A private registry collects only its providers; registering on OverviewSectionRegistry.Default also makes the section available to Show-ConsoleOverview -Section in that process:

using ConsoleMonster;
using ConsoleMonster.Overview;

var registry = new OverviewSectionRegistry()
    .Register("Worker", "Background worker", token => {
        token.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
        return Task.FromResult<OverviewSection?>(new OverviewSection(
            "Worker", "Background worker",
            new[] { new OverviewItem("Queue", "3 waiting") }));
    });

var snapshot = await new OverviewCollector(registry).CollectAsync();
Terminal.Write(new OverviewWidget(snapshot));

Providers return null when unavailable, honor cancellation, release their resources and keep collection read-only. Text is displayed literally. Providers execute on worker threads; PowerShell script-block callbacks that require the caller's runspace are not supported as probe delegates.

Next, choose a theme, pin a terminal profile or browse the PowerShell command reference.

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