CPU, RAM, disk, network —
always visible
Live system stats in your menu bar. See CPU usage, memory pressure, disk capacity, network speeds, and battery health without opening Activity Monitor. Universal app, tested on Apple Silicon.
Watch it in action
System: Mac GPU, power, thermal and batteries. CPU, GPU, power, thermal, audio, Bluetooth batteries, camera, mic and USB.
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Activity Monitor is buried three clicks deep
When your Mac feels slow, you open Spotlight, type "Activity Monitor", wait for it to load, and navigate to the right tab. By then, the spike might be over. Developers need system stats accessible in one click — not a full app launch. Most install iStat Menus ($14.99), adding another menu bar icon.
System awareness without the overhead
CPU Usage & Temperature
Real-time CPU utilization with user, system, and idle breakdown. See which cores are active and how hard your Mac is working.
Memory Monitoring
App memory, wired, compressed, cached, and free. Understand memory pressure at a glance without opening Activity Monitor.
Disk Capacity
Per-drive usage percentage and available space. Spot a filling disk before it causes build failures or crashes.
Network Speeds
Live upload and download speeds. Know instantly if a large transfer is running or if your connection has dropped.
Battery Health
Cycle count, capacity percentage, and health status. Pro adds configurable alerts when battery health drops below thresholds.
Quit Heavy Processes
Quit… on the heaviest processes, with a confirm every time; an app gets a normal Quit, so it can ask to save. FavTray re-checks it's the same process first and never quits macOS's own processes or another user's. On Free, quits share Ports' 10 a day.
Top Processes
See the top 5 processes by CPU and by memory, with name and usage. Identify resource hogs without opening Activity Monitor.
Everything your Mac reports, at a glance
CPU
- Usage percentage
- User / System / Idle
- Core count by core type
- Chip model
Memory
- App memory
- Wired memory
- Compressed
- Cached files
- Free memory
- Memory pressure
Disk
- Total capacity
- Used space
- Available space
- Usage percentage
- Per-drive breakdown
Network
- Upload speed
- Download speed
- Interface name
- Active connection
Battery
- Charge level
- Cycle count
- Health percentage
- Charging status
- Power source
Hardware
- Chip model
- Total RAM
- GPU info
- Serial number
- macOS version
What else can System show?
System answers the next question after "how busy is my Mac": why it's hot, what drained the battery, why it won't sleep, whether the mic is on. Nothing needs root or a privileged helper, and the glance in each section is free.
GPU
GPU load and memory, the Metal device and its working set, and the app using the GPU most. Pro lists every app on the GPU.
Power & Battery
System watts, the charger's watts and details, battery condition, maximum capacity and cycles, charging on hold, Low Power Mode, and what's keeping the Mac awake, by app. Battery sessions for today; Pro keeps 30 days.
Thermal
The thermal state macOS reports, today's minutes in each state and a timeline strip.
Audio
Every output and input device with a Use button to switch the default, device volume and mute where the device allows it, and the apps playing or recording now (macOS 14.2+).
Per-app volume (Pro)
Set each app from 0 to 150% or mute it, remembered per app. macOS 14.2 or later. Details below.
Bluetooth
Battery levels for Magic Keyboard, Mouse and Trackpad and for AirPods (left, right and case) and other headphones. Connect or disconnect a device you've already paired.
Network
Throughput per interface, Wi-Fi details, router latency and VPN state. Pro adds network by app.
Displays
Built-in and external displays.
Storage I/O
Reads and writes per disk and the SSD's SMART status. Pro adds disk reads and writes by app.
USB & Thunderbolt
Connected devices, with a USB 2 speed warning when a fast device is running at USB 2 speed.
Camera & Mic
Whether a camera or microphone is in use right now. On macOS 14.2+ it names the app using the microphone. Pro lists today's sessions.
Processes
The heaviest apps by energy, what woke the Mac, and your launch agents and daemons (read-only). Free shows the top 3 rows; Pro shows every app and column.
You can put GPU load, system power, router latency, a Bluetooth battery or the mic and camera state in the menu bar, and ask Flow AI about thermal state, power, energy use and history.
How do I change one app's volume on a Mac?
Open System › Audio › Apps, or the output chip in the cockpit, and drag an app's slider. Each app goes from 0 to 150% or mutes, and FavTray remembers the level for that app next time it plays. Boost a quiet call, or mute a noisy app without touching the rest.
- macOS 14.2 or later. It uses Core Audio process taps, added in macOS 14.2, so there's no audio driver or kernel extension to install. On earlier versions the Apps card doesn't appear.
- System Audio Recording permission. macOS asks for it because a tap reads an app's audio. FavTray never records or saves audio. If you say no, app volumes stay at 100% and everything else in Audio still works.
- If FavTray quits, macOS removes the taps and every app's sound goes straight back to normal.
- Limits: an app playing to a device other than the default output stays at 100%.
- Free sees the apps that played recently, with the sliders locked. Per-app volume is part of Pro ($4.99 once).
How it works under the hood: Per-app volume on macOS without a driver.
What's free, and what does Pro add?
Free
Every section's live values; the top app on the GPU; battery sessions today; the top 3 apps by energy, GPU and disk; the last wake; audio device switching, device volume and mute; Bluetooth batteries and connect; 1-hour and 24-hour history.
Pro ($4.99 once)
Per-app volume; alerts (memory pressure, thermal throttling, an app keeps your mac awake on battery, network down or slow, charger can't keep up, bluetooth device battery low); 7-day and 30-day history for the new metrics; every app and column; network and disk by app; 30 days of battery sessions; every wake in the last day; today's mic and camera sessions; CSV and JSON export and a Mac health report you can save to Notes.
Which permissions does System ask for?
Only what a section needs, and only when you use it: Bluetooth to list and connect paired devices, Location to show the Wi-Fi network name (macOS treats it as location data), and System Audio Recording for per-app volume. Camera and mic status needs no camera or microphone permission. When one is needed, FavTray opens the right System Settings pane with a guide docked beside it, checks the switch live, and says when it's done. See why macOS asks for permissions again.
How FavTray compares to system monitors
| Tool | Price | Scope | Extras | Privacy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FavTray | Included ($4.99 once) | CPU, RAM, Disk, Network, Battery | + the rest of FavTray | No FavTray server |
| iStat Menus | $14.99 | Full system metrics | System monitor only | Local |
| Stats | Free (open source) | CPU, RAM, Disk, Network, Battery | System monitor only | Local |
| Activity Monitor | Free (built-in) | Full system metrics | Separate app window | Local |
| MenuMeters | Free (open source) | CPU, RAM, Network | No disk or battery | Local |
For a deeper look, read Stats vs iStat Menus, compared.
Built for people who want quick system awareness
Developers Running Builds
See CPU spike during compilation. Know when a build is actually running vs stuck. Spot memory pressure before your IDE freezes.
DevOps Engineers
Monitor local Docker containers, databases, and services. Network speed shows if a deployment upload is progressing.
Remote Workers
Battery health tracking for long work sessions away from power. Know your cycle count and when to start planning a battery replacement.
Mac Power Users
Quick glance at system health without opening a separate app. Integrated with the other FavTray tools you already use from your menu bar.
Frequently asked questions
Is System Info free?
Core monitoring is free: CPU, RAM, disk, network stats, hardware info, and the top 5 processes. Pro unlocks battery health alerts. Pro is a one-time $4.99.
How is this different from Activity Monitor?
Activity Monitor is a full window app you have to open and navigate. FavTray's System Info lives in your menu bar — one click to see CPU, RAM, disk, and network stats without leaving your current workspace.
Does it work on Apple Silicon?
Yes. System Info is Apple Silicon aware and shows how many cores of each kind your chip has. FavTray is a universal app, tested on Apple Silicon with macOS 26.
Does monitoring affect performance?
Very little. Live stats are polled only while you're looking at them, plus light background checks for history and alerts.
How does it compare to iStat Menus?
iStat Menus is a dedicated system monitor ($14.99) with deeper metrics and its own menu bar icon. FavTray includes system monitoring free, alongside its other tools in one icon; Pro is a one-time $4.99. If you only need system stats, iStat is more detailed. If you want system stats plus eye rest, AI tracking, and more, FavTray is the all-in-one option.
Is my system data private?
Yes. CPU, RAM, disk, battery, and network stats are read locally and shown in the menu bar — never logged to a server, never shared. No FavTray server stores your data.
Can I set the volume of each app separately on a Mac?
Yes, on macOS 14.2 or later. FavTray's per-app volume (System › Audio › Apps, or the output chip in the cockpit) sets each app from 0 to 150% or mutes it, and remembers the level per app. It uses Core Audio process taps, so there's no audio driver to install. It needs the System Audio Recording permission and never records or saves audio. Per-app volume is Pro ($4.99 once); Free shows the apps that played recently with the sliders locked.
How do I see which app is using my microphone or camera?
FavTray's Camera & Mic section shows whether each is in use. On macOS 14.2 or later it names the app using the microphone. macOS doesn't tell other apps which app has the camera, so FavTray shows only that the camera is on; Control Center's privacy indicator names the app.
Does System show AirPods and Magic Mouse battery?
Yes. The Bluetooth section shows battery levels for Magic Keyboard, Mouse and Trackpad, and for AirPods (left, right and case) and other headphones that report them. You can connect or disconnect paired devices; FavTray never pairs, forgets or scans for devices. Low-battery alerts are Pro.
What is the USB 2 speed warning?
The USB & Thunderbolt section lists connected devices and warns when one is running at USB 2 speed, which usually means a slow cable or hub is limiting a fast drive.
Which permissions does System need?
None for the basics. Bluetooth permission lists and connects paired devices, Location shows the Wi-Fi network name, and System Audio Recording enables per-app volume. Camera and mic status reads device state and never asks for camera or microphone access. Each permission opens a guide beside System Settings.
Which System features are free?
The glance is free: every section above with its current values and 1-hour and 24-hour history. Pro adds per-app volume, alerts, 7-day and 30-day history for the new metrics, every row of the process, GPU and disk tables, network and disk by app, battery sessions before today, and CSV, JSON and health-report export.
Know your Mac at a glance
Try FavTray free. System monitoring, eye rest, AI tracking and more — all in one menu bar app.