machogs
Find out what's hogging your Mac, in plain English
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What is machogs?
machogs is a free, open-source macOS diagnostic tool that identifies resource-hogging processes—stuck CPU spinners, memory leaks, storage bloat, and port conflicts—and explains why your Mac feels slow, hot, or battery-draining. Available as a lightweight CLI utility (one bash file, no dependencies) and native menu bar app.
machogs pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Free and open source (MIT license)
machogs pros
- Identifies root causes of Mac performance issues: stuck CPU processes, clone armies of helpers, zombie processes, memory squatters, and port conflicts
- Zero dependencies—ships with macOS; uninstall = delete one file
- AI-native design: --json output, exit codes, and pre-written findings for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor
- Safe disk cleaning: only touches caches (npm, Xcode, app caches) on a hardcoded allowlist; user documents untouchable by construction
- Menu bar companion (Machogs.app) with real-time monitoring and one-click solutions
machogs cons
- Machogs.app (native companion) is still in development; signed/notarized download announced but not yet available
- macOS-only; not cross-platform
- Requires terminal familiarity for CLI, though AI agent installation option exists
Frequently asked questions about machogs
Why is my Mac fan so loud or running hot?
Usually one program stuck at 98% CPU. machogs names the app (often a helper process you didn't open) so you can close it, instead of just rebooting.
Why is my battery draining fast?
A stuck process keeps the CPU awake, preventing low-power states. machogs identifies it and can close it to restore battery life.
Why is my Mac slow?
Two causes: something eating CPU (machogs finds and closes it) or you've run out of fast memory (machogs tells you plainly: restart only, because nothing else helps).
How do I free up storage?
machogs disk shows disk usage for common junk spots (caches, Docker, Xcode, npm); you decide what to clear, and machogs disk clear does it safely from its allowlist.
Port 3000 is already in use—by what?
Run `machogs port 3000` to see which app is squatting it and `machogs port 3000 kill` to free it.