Noureddine RAMDI / abtop: process-based monitoring of AI coding agents in Rust with tmux integration

Created Mon, 04 May 2026 10:23:03 +0000 Modified Sat, 23 May 2026 20:41:27 +0000
724 Words
github-stars rust tui ai monitoring cli cross-platform

graykode/abtop

abtop takes a different approach to monitoring AI coding agents like Claude Code and Codex CLI by relying solely on local process and file state. No API keys, no authentication — just direct observation of what’s running on your machine. This makes it a privacy-conscious and lightweight tool for real-time tracking of agent sessions, token usage, and rate limits.

What abtop does and how it works

abtop is a Rust-based terminal user interface (TUI) tool designed to monitor multiple concurrent AI coding agent sessions on your local machine. It scans the local process table and inspects file metadata to discover running instances of Claude Code and Codex CLI agents without any need for API authentication or network calls.

Its architecture revolves around cross-platform process inspection, with native support for macOS, Linux, and Windows. It uses system libraries like sysinfo to gather process information and network port usage. The tool tracks detailed session metrics including token usage, context window fill percentage, rate limits, spawned child processes, and open ports associated with each agent session.

The UI is built using Rust’s TUI libraries, providing a responsive dashboard with 12 built-in themes including 4 designed for colorblind users. One standout feature is tmux integration: pressing Enter on a selected agent session jumps directly to that agent’s terminal pane, streamlining your workflow.

Under the hood, abtop uses a read-only privacy model — it never displays file contents or prompt text, only metadata. Session discovery is robust, relying on scanning process metadata and file system state. Rate limit info can be optionally collected using a --setup hook.

What sets abtop apart: process discovery and tmux integration

The core technical strength of abtop lies in its process-based session discovery mechanism. Instead of querying APIs or relying on networked telemetry, it scans the local process table and file metadata to identify AI agent sessions. This approach brings several advantages:

  • No API keys or auth needed: This eliminates the security concerns and complexity of managing credentials.
  • Privacy by design: Since it never reads prompt contents or session files’ internals, it minimizes sensitive data exposure.
  • Cross-platform support: By leveraging platform-specific system calls and utilities (sysinfo crate on Rust, netstat -ano on Windows), it runs natively on macOS, Linux, and Windows without WSL.

The downside is that the monitoring is read-only and local-only — you can’t monitor remote agents or fetch deep contextual info beyond what process metadata reveals.

Another distinguishing feature is the tmux pane jumping. If you run your AI agents inside tmux sessions, abtop lets you select an agent session and hit Enter to jump directly to that tmux pane. This is a neat productivity enhancement that tightly integrates monitoring with your terminal workflow.

The code quality is solid given the complexity of cross-platform system inspection and terminal UI rendering. The project is opinionated about terminal size (recommended minimum 120x40) to fit all the dashboard info neatly. The inclusion of multiple colorblind-friendly themes shows attention to usability.

Quick start

Install

macOS / Linux

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://github.com/graykode/abtop/releases/latest/download/abtop-installer.sh | sh

Cargo

cargo install abtop

Windows

Native support — no WSL required. Uses sysinfo for process info and netstat -ano for listening ports.

powershell -c "irm https://github.com/graykode/abtop/releases/latest/download/abtop-installer.ps1 | iex"

Or cargo install abtop from any terminal with Git in PATH. Claude Code config is resolved automatically from %USERPROFILE%\.claude.

Other

Pre-built binaries for all platforms are available on the GitHub Releases page.

verdict

abtop is a practical tool for developers running AI coding agents locally who want real-time insight into token usage, session state, and rate limits without exposing their data to external services. Its process discovery approach avoids the complexity and security risks of API keys and network telemetry.

The tmux integration is a thoughtful addition for terminal power users who run agents inside multiplexers, making switching between monitoring and interaction seamless.

That said, its read-only and local-only design limits use cases where remote or deep content inspection is needed. The recommended terminal size and Rust-based TUI stack may also be a hurdle for those used to lighter CLI tools.

Overall, abtop fills a niche for privacy-conscious, local monitoring of AI coding agents with a clean, cross-platform implementation. It’s worth understanding even if you don’t adopt it fully, especially if you work heavily with Claude Code or Codex CLI in a terminal-driven workflow.

→ GitHub Repo: graykode/abtop ⭐ 1,651 · Rust