Glances was created in 2011 by Nicolas Hennion in France as a cross-platform system monitoring tool. The project was designed to be a curses-based, cross-platform system monitoring tool that could display a lot of information in a small space. The name “Glances” reflects its purpose: giving you a quick glance at your system’s health.
Nicolas Hennion, a French software developer, created Glances in 2011. His motivation came from:
- top/htop Limitations: Wanted more information in one view
- Cross-Platform: Need for Linux, macOS, Windows support
- Python-Based: Easy to extend and modify
- Curses Interface: Terminal-based, SSH-friendly
Initial Design Goals:
- Cross-platform monitoring
- Curses-based interface
- Python implementation
- Plugin architecture
- Client/server mode
Glances 1.0 was released in 2011 as an open-source project under the LGPL license. The initial release featured:
- Curses-based interface
- CPU, memory, disk, network monitoring
- Process listing
- Python implementation
- Cross-platform support
The tool quickly gained popularity among system administrators.
| Year |
Version |
Milestone |
| 2011 |
1.0 |
First public release |
| 2012 |
1.5 |
Enhanced plugins, better UI |
| 2013 |
2.0 |
Web UI, client/server mode |
| 2014 |
2.1 |
Docker support, more exports |
| 2015 |
2.2 |
Enhanced performance, REST API |
| 2016 |
2.3 |
Cloud exports, improved UI |
| 2017 |
2.4 |
Python 3 support, bug fixes |
| 2018 |
2.5 |
Enhanced plugins, better performance |
| 2019 |
2.6 |
Modern features, security updates |
| 2020 |
2.7 |
Enhanced exports, bug fixes |
| 2021 |
2.8 |
Performance improvements |
| 2022 |
2.9 |
Modern features, security |
| 2023 |
3.0 |
Major release, enhanced features |
| 2024 |
3.1 |
Bug fixes, stability |
| 2025 |
3.2 |
Enhanced features |
| 2026 |
3.3.x |
Current stable release |
Initial Glances architecture:
- Python/Curses: Terminal interface
- psutil Library: Cross-platform metrics
- Plugin System: Extensible monitoring
- Single Host: Local monitoring only
Version 2.0+ brought significant improvements:
- Web UI: Browser-based monitoring
- Client/Server: Remote monitoring
- REST API: Programmatic access
- Exports: Multiple export formats
- Docker Support: Container monitoring
Modern features added:
- Python 3: Full Python 3 support
- Enhanced Plugins: More monitoring options
- Cloud Exports: Cloud storage integration
- Performance: Optimized resource usage
- Security: Enhanced security features
Glances is developed as an open-source project:
- Primary Developer: Nicolas Hennion
- Community Contributions: Community bug reports and PRs
- GitHub-Based: Issue tracking and development
- LGPL License: Open-source license
- Open Development: Public GitHub repository
- Regular Releases: Frequent updates
- Community Input: Feature requests via GitHub
- Python Ecosystem: PyPI package distribution
Glances’s plugin architecture enabled extensive monitoring:
- Built-in Plugins: 60+ monitoring plugins
- Export Plugins: CSV, JSON, InfluxDB, etc.
- Action Plugins: Automated responses
- Community Plugins: User-contributed extensions
Glances gained widespread adoption:
- PyPI Downloads: Millions of downloads
- Linux Distributions: Included in major distros
- System Administrators: Daily use tool
- Enterprise: Production deployments
Common Glances deployments:
- System Monitoring: Real-time system health
- SSH Monitoring: Remote server monitoring
- Quick Diagnostics: Fast system assessment
- Development: Development server monitoring
- GitHub Stars: 8,000+
- Contributors: 100+
- Downloads: Millions of installations
- Community: Active user base
- Development: Active development
- Regular feature releases
- Security patches
- Bug fixes
- Plugin updates
- Enhanced Plugins: More monitoring options
- Cloud Integration: Better cloud support
- Performance: Continued optimization
- Security: Enhanced security features
- UI/UX: Improved interface
Any questions?
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