Essential System Utils

smem2 – reports on memory usage on Linux systems

smem2 is a command line utility for Linux that reports process and system memory usage with a focus on proportional set size (PSS), giving a more realistic picture of shared memory use than RSS alone.

It reads live data from procfs, can generate reports for processes, users, mappings, and the whole system, and also works as a Python library for scripted use.

This is free and open source software.

Key Features

  • Reports memory usage for processes, users, mappings, and the whole system.
  • Shows proportional set size, unique set size, resident set size, and swap figures.
  • Supports filtering by process, mapping, user, or specific PID.
  • Offers totals, percentages, human-readable units, and configurable columns.
  • Exports output in raw text or JSON format.
  • Can be run with uvx or pipx, installed with pip, or imported as a Python library.
  • Includes Docker support for running the tool and its test suite.

Website: github.com/slhck/smem2
Support:
Developer: Werner Robitza
License: GNU General Public License v2.0

smem2 help

smem2 is written in Python. Learn Python with our recommended free books and free tutorials.


Related Software

Process Memory Tools
ps_memAccurately reports memory usage of programs
pscircleVisualizes Linux processes in a form of radial tree
psrecordRecord the CPU and memory activity of a process
smem2Reports on memory usage on Linux systems
process-memDisplay memory used by processes
process-mapVisualize the virtual memory of a process
SmemstatReports the physical memory usage
mstatMeasure memory usage of a program over time
alramHelps when available memory is below threshold, with optional task killer

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