AppControl Command Line Tool
The AppControl Command Line Tool is a terminal version of AppControl that runs in Windows Terminal, PowerShell, or Command Prompt. It gives you a fast, keyboard-driven view of what your PC is doing right now, without opening the graphical app. It is useful for power users, anyone working over SSH or a remote shell, and any time you just want a quick read on system activity from the keyboard.
If you have AppControl installed, you already have access to this tool and no separate download or installation is required. All you need to do is to start the Windows Terminal, then type: appcontrol
The tool has two main views: Monitor and Log. You can switch between them at any time using the keys shown along the bottom of the window.
Monitor View
Monitor is the default view when you launch the tool. It works in the same spirit as top, htop, btop, or ntop on Linux and macOS, showing live system activity in your console.
The top of the screen displays a summary of:
- Number of running processes
- CPU usage
- Memory (RAM) usage
- Disk usage
- CPU temperature (if your hardware supports it)
- GPU temperature (if your hardware supports it)
Below the summary is a list of processes sorted in order of resource usage, with the heaviest consumers at the top. The list refreshes continuously so you can watch usage change in real time.
Pausing the view
Press P at any time to pause the live view. The numbers stop scrolling so you can read them carefully, identify a specific process, or take a screenshot without anything moving on screen. Press P again to resume. Most Unix-style monitors do not pause cleanly, so this is one of the things the AppControl command line tool was built to do well.
Focusing on one resource
You can drill into a single resource at a time and see a dedicated view of just CPU, memory, disk, or GPU. This is helpful when you are tracking down which app is hammering one specific part of your system, rather than reading a full overview.
Commands
All available commands are listed across the bottom of the window so you do not have to memorize them. The most common keys are P to pause, L to switch to the Log view, and the resource shortcuts shown in the on-screen menu for jumping into a single-resource view.
Log View
Press L to switch to the Log view. This is a live, scrolling feed of every process that starts or exits on your PC, similar to execsnoop on Linux. It mirrors what you would see in the Events screen of the AppControl desktop app, but in your terminal and updating as activity happens.
The Log view is useful for:
- Catching short-lived processes that exit before you can see them in Task Manager
- Watching what runs at login or shortly after boot
- Tracking down mysterious background activity
- Auditing what runs while you are away from the keyboard
- Quick security and privacy checks during troubleshooting
Each entry shows the process name, the time it started or exited, and identifying details so you can tell legitimate background tasks apart from anything unexpected.
Press L again, or use the M key shown at the bottom of the window, to return to the Monitor view.
Getting Help
If you run into an issue or have a feature request for the command line tool, you can reach the AppControl team on the AppControl Forum or the AppControl Discord.