Identity

Property	Value
Binary	`glances`
Config	`/etc/glances/glances.conf` (system-wide) or `~/.config/glances/glances.conf` (user)
Logs	No persistent logs — output to terminal (web mode logs to stdout)
Type	Interactive terminal UI / web server / client-server daemon
Install	`apt install glances` (Debian/Ubuntu) / `dnf install glances` (RHEL/Fedora) / `pip install glances` (latest features)

Key Operations

Task	Command
Launch (terminal)	`glances`
Web server mode	`glances -w` (serves on http://0.0.0.0:61208)
Web server, custom port	`glances -w --port 9001`
Connect to remote glances server	`glances -c <host>`
Run as server (no TUI)	`glances -s`
Export to InfluxDB	`glances --export influxdb`
Export to CSV	`glances --export csv --export-csv-file /tmp/glances.csv`
Toggle a plugin on/off	Keyboard shortcut per plugin (e.g., `d` disk, `n` network, `p` processes)
Show container stats	`c` — requires Docker or Podman running
Show GPU stats	Requires `nvidia-ml-py` installed; GPU section appears automatically
Sort processes	`a` auto, `c` CPU%, `m` MEM%, `i` I/O, `p` PID, `u` user
Alert history	`l` — opens the alert log overlay
Quit	`q` or `Esc`

Symptom	Cause	Fix
`glances: command not found`	Not installed	`apt install glances` or `pip install glances`
Sensors section missing	`py-sensors` / `lm-sensors` not installed	`apt install python3-sensors lm-sensors && sensors-detect`
Container section absent	Docker/Podman not running or socket not accessible	Ensure `dockerd` is running; glances user needs access to `/var/run/docker.sock`
GPU section missing	`nvidia-ml-py` not installed or non-NVIDIA GPU	`pip install nvidia-ml-py`; AMD GPU support requires separate backend
Web mode accessible but blank	Browser blocking HTTP (HTTPS expected) or wrong port	Connect to `http://` explicitly; check `--port` value; check firewall
Client can't connect to server	Version mismatch between client and server	Install the same glances version on both ends; `pip install glances==<version>`
Export to InfluxDB fails	Missing `influxdb` Python package	`pip install 'glances[influxdb]'` or `pip install influxdb`
Config file ignored	Wrong path or wrong install method (pip vs package)	Pip installs read `~/.config/glances/glances.conf`; check with `glances --config /path/to/glances.conf`

Web mode requires a browser, not just a terminal: glances -w starts an HTTP server — useful for remote access, but it's a different interface from the terminal TUI and requires a browser or API client rather than SSH.
Many plugins disabled until dependencies are installed: sensor temps (py-sensors), GPU stats (nvidia-ml-py), InfluxDB export (influxdb package), and RAID stats all need separate Python packages. The section simply doesn't appear without them rather than showing an error.
Remote client requires the same version on both ends: glances uses its own XML-RPC protocol. A version mismatch between client and server causes connection failures or garbled output. Pin versions explicitly when deploying.
GPU support is NVIDIA-first: nvidia-ml-py covers NVIDIA cards via NVML. AMD GPU support exists but requires a different backend and is less reliable. Intel GPU stats are not supported.
Config file path varies by install method: pip installs use ~/.config/glances/glances.conf; distro packages may use /etc/glances/glances.conf. Run glances --help and look for --config to verify which path is active.
Keyboard shortcuts are plugin-specific and not all documented in-TUI: press h inside glances to see the help overlay, which lists the active shortcuts. The full list is longer than what fits on screen.

See references/ for: