ps-mem
A utility to report core memory usage per program
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need accurate per-process memory reporting on Linux and are comfortable with an unmaintained tool. The package is stable, has no dependencies, and works well for its narrow purpose. However, the project has not been updated since 2022, so it may not work correctly on very recent Linux kernels or distributions, and no fixes will be forthcoming. Suitable for systems where the tool's behavior is already proven to work.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Linux; the tool reads from /proc filesystem which is Linux-specific.
- Installation is straightforward with no runtime dependencies.
- The project is marked abandoned with the last commit in 2022, so expect no active maintenance or bug fixes going forward.
License · maintenance · safety
LGPLv2 (copyleft) — Licensed under LGPLv2 (copyleft), which requires that any modifications you distribute must also be released under LGPLv2 or a compatible license. Using the package as-is carries no obligation.
last release 2022-05-28 (1539 days) · last repo commit 2022-10-19 · 1,636 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 1,340,778 downloads/mo, #4,030 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install ps_mem
ps_mem
# or filter by PID:
ps_mem -p $(pgrep -d, -u $USER)- Whether the tool works correctly on modern Linux kernels and distributions post-2022.
- Compatibility with Python versions beyond what the fact sheet specifies (python_support is unspecified).
What it is and what it does
ps_mem is a command-line utility that measures and displays the actual memory footprint of running processes on Linux. Unlike tools that report virtual memory, it calculates core memory by accounting for both private memory (unique to each process) and shared memory (libraries and resources used by multiple processes), then attributes a fair share of shared memory to each program. The tool runs as a standalone script with no Python runtime dependencies, making it lightweight and easy to deploy.
You invoke it from the shell to see a summary table of all processes ranked by memory usage, or filter results by PID, user, or other criteria. It supports options to split arguments, show totals, and report swap usage. The output format clearly separates private and shared components so you can understand whether a process is genuinely memory-hungry or just sharing a lot of system libraries.
Use it for
- Identify which processes are consuming the most actual RAM on a Linux system for capacity planning.
- Diagnose memory bloat in a running application by comparing its private vs. shared memory footprint.
- Generate per-user memory usage summaries for multi-user systems or shared hosting environments.
- Monitor a specific process or set of processes (by PID) to track memory growth over time.
- Understand the true cost of running multiple instances of the same program (e.g., browser tabs, containers).
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need accurate per-process memory reporting on Linux and are comfortable with an unmaintained tool.
The package is stable, has no dependencies, and works well for its narrow purpose. However, the project has not been updated since 2022, so it may not work correctly on very recent Linux kernels or distributions, and no fixes will be forthcoming. Suitable for systems where the tool's behavior is already proven to work.
Install
ps-mem on PyPI
Before you install
Installation is straightforward with no runtime dependencies. The project is marked abandoned with the last commit in 2022, so expect no active maintenance or bug fixes going forward.
Requires Linux; the tool reads from /proc filesystem which is Linux-specific.
License in practice
Licensed under LGPLv2 (copyleft), which requires that any modifications you distribute must also be released under LGPLv2 or a compatible license. Using the package as-is carries no obligation.
Quickstart
pip install ps_mem
ps_mem
# or filter by PID:
ps_mem -p $(pgrep -d, -u $USER)Verify before relying
- Whether the tool works correctly on modern Linux kernels and distributions post-2022.
- Compatibility with Python versions beyond what the fact sheet specifies (python_support is unspecified).
Package facts
| License | LGPLv2 copyleft |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Abandoned 1,539 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 1,340,778 / month, #4,030 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableLicense :: OSI Approved :: GNU Lesser General Public License v2 (LGPLv2)Programming Language :: PythonTopic :: System :: Systems AdministrationTopic :: Utilities |
Evidence: ps_mem-3.14-py2.py3-none-any.whl
Tags
Let your AI agent find packages like this
Example. Real query, live index.
You found this page by searching. An agent finds it by wishing: SkillFed indexes 14,416 PyPI packages by what they can do, searchable in plain language.
wish › “memory usage per process”
- ps-memps_mem reports the actual core memory usage (private plus shared) for…
- nvgpuQueries and monitors NVIDIA GPUs on a machine, providing a CLI and…
- memory-profilerProfiles memory consumption line-by-line in Python functions and…
Give your agent the search over MCP, or paste the wish link into any chat.
More Utilities packages
Converts domain names between Unicode and ASCII-compatible encoding (Punycode) according to IDNA 2008 and Unicode Technical Standard 46, with security validation and broader script coverage than the standard library.
Install it if you work with internationalized domain names, need to validate domains, or use HTTP clients that depend on it transitively.
Detects and normalizes text encoding from unknown or ambiguous sources, supporting all IANA character sets that Python's core library provides codecs for, with the ability to register custom codecs.
Setuptools is a Python build backend and package management tool that handles building, distributing, and installing Python packages, including support for C/C++ extension modules.
Pluggy provides a plugin system that lets you define hook specifications and register implementations to be called in sequence, enabling extensible Python applications without tight coupling.
Install it if you're building an extensible application or framework.
Pygments is a syntax highlighter that colorizes source code and text in over 500 languages and formats, outputting to HTML, LaTeX, RTF, SVG, images, or ANSI terminal sequences.
Install it if you need to display or transform source code.
Six provides utility functions to write Python code that runs on both Python 2.7 and Python 3.3+, smoothing over language differences between the two versions.
See also memory-profiler · setproctitle · psutil · gpustat · py-spy · scooby · mmgp · rpm-vercmp · pystack · bitmath