gpustat is a lightweight Python command-line utility designed to provide fast, human-readable monitoring of NVIDIA GPU status in real time. It serves as a simplified alternative to the more verbose nvidia-smi tool by presenting key GPU metrics in a compact, developer-friendly format. The utility retrieves data through NVIDIA’s NVML bindings and displays information such as temperature, utilization, memory usage, and running processes directly in the terminal. Because it is easy to install via pip and requires minimal configuration, gpustat is widely used in machine learning environments, research clusters, and shared GPU servers. The tool also supports watch mode for continuous monitoring and JSON output for integration into automation pipelines. Overall, gpustat focuses on speed, clarity, and scriptability, making it especially useful for engineers who need quick GPU visibility without heavy monitoring stacks.
Features
- Real-time NVIDIA GPU status reporting
- Compact terminal output optimized for readability
- Watch mode for continuous monitoring
- JSON output for automation workflows
- Displays GPU processes and memory usage
- Easy installation via pip