bmon
What it is
bmon is a bandwidth monitor and rate estimator for Linux and macOS. It captures networking statistics and presents them visually to support monitoring and debugging. Its interactive curses interface can display graphs using Braille cells, while programmable text output can be used in scripts. The 5.0 release notes also list JSON output, filters for traffic control ingress and egress, and IPv4 and IPv6 addresses in additional information. The project provides package installation instructions for Fedora and CentOS 7, build instructions for Debian/Ubuntu and CentOS 6, and macOS installation options through Homebrew or compiling from source. Release notes mention continuous integration builds for Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD, as well as fixes for FreeBSD, DragonFly BSD, and OpenBSD builds. The repository lists MIT and BSD license files. bmon is free, with a listed price of free. The project is maintained by tgraf and hosted on GitHub Pages.
For and against
For
- Interactive interface can render graphs with Braille cells.
- Programmable text output supports scripting.
- JSON output is available.
- Free plan is listed as free.
Against
- Does not provide application monitoring.
- Does not provide user monitoring.
- Does not provide SNMP monitoring or bandwidth alerts.
The verdict
bmon offers visual network statistics and scriptable output at no cost. It does not include application, user, or SNMP monitoring, or bandwidth alerts.
Who it suits
bmon suits users who want to inspect network statistics on Linux or macOS, including through a terminal interface or scriptable text output.
Plans and prices
Free
Open-source bandwidth monitoring and rate estimation tool
Read 7 Oct 2026 · github.com
On the record
- Address details
- The 5.0 release notes say IPv4 and IPv6 addresses were added to additional information.github.com · read 7 Oct 2026
- Graph display
- The 5.0 release notes say the curses interface can render graphs with Braille cells.github.com · read 7 Oct 2026
- Installation
- The README provides package installation instructions for Fedora and CentOS 7, and build instructions for Debian/Ubuntu and CentOS 6.github.com · read 7 Oct 2026
- JSON output
- The 5.0 release notes list support for JSON output.github.com · read 7 Oct 2026
- License
- The repository lists MIT and BSD license files.github.com · read 7 Oct 2026
- Linux and BSD builds
- The 5.0 release notes mention CI builds for Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD, plus fixes for FreeBSD, DragonFly BSD, and OpenBSD builds.github.com · read 7 Oct 2026
- macOS support
- The README documents installation on macOS through Homebrew or by compiling from source.github.com · read 7 Oct 2026
- Maintainer and hosting
- The project page says it is maintained by tgraf and hosted on GitHub Pages.jafaral.github.io · read 7 Oct 2026
- Output modes
- It provides an interactive curses interface and programmable text output for scripting.github.com · read 7 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- bmon captures networking-related statistics and presents them visually as a monitoring and debugging tool.github.com · read 7 Oct 2026
- Rate estimation
- The project describes bmon as a bandwidth monitor and rate estimator.github.com · read 7 Oct 2026
- Traffic control filters
- The 5.0 release notes list display filters for traffic control ingress and egress.github.com · read 7 Oct 2026
