Load Average Metric¶

The Load Average metric monitors the system load over 1, 5, and 15 minutes.

How it works¶

It uses the gopsutil library to retrieve the system load average.

Note: This metric is only available on Unix-like systems (Linux, macOS). It is disabled on Windows.

Understanding Load Average¶

Load average represents the average number of processes waiting for CPU time:

Load < Number of Cores: System is underutilized
Load = Number of Cores: System is fully utilized
Load > Number of Cores: System is overloaded (processes are queuing)

For example, on a 4-core system: - Load of 2.0 = 50% utilization - Load of 4.0 = 100% utilization - Load of 8.0 = 200% utilization (overloaded)

Configuration¶

Auto Mode (Recommended)¶

By default, TinyMonitor automatically calculates thresholds based on your CPU count:

[load]
enabled = true
auto = true           # Calculate thresholds based on CPU count
warning_ratio = 0.7   # warning = CPU_COUNT × 0.7
critical_ratio = 0.9  # critical = CPU_COUNT × 0.9
duration = 180

With auto mode, the same configuration works on any machine:

CPUs	Warning (0.7×)	Critical (0.9×)
2	1.4	1.8
4	2.8	3.6
8	5.6	7.2
16	11.2	14.4

Manual Mode¶

For specific thresholds, disable auto mode:

[load]
enabled = true
auto = false
warning = 5.0
critical = 10.0
duration = 180

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`enabled`	`bool`	`true`	Enable or disable this metric.
`auto`	`bool`	`true`	Calculate thresholds based on CPU count.
`warning_ratio`	`float`	`0.7`	Multiplier for warning threshold (auto mode).
`critical_ratio`	`float`	`0.9`	Multiplier for critical threshold (auto mode).
`warning`	`float`	-	Absolute warning threshold (manual mode).
`critical`	`float`	-	Absolute critical threshold (manual mode).
`duration`	`int`	`180`	Time in seconds the value must exceed threshold before alerting.

Viewing Effective Thresholds¶

Use the info command to see the calculated thresholds on your system:

tinymonitor info

Example output on an 8-core system:

Metrics
  [✓] Load        warning: 5.6     critical: 7.2    duration: 180s   (auto: 8 CPUs)

Tips¶

Use auto mode for portable configurations that work across different machines
Default duration of 3 minutes (180s) helps avoid false positives from temporary load spikes, as load average already has natural inertia
Adjust ratios if you want more/less headroom:
- Conservative: warning_ratio = 0.5, critical_ratio = 0.7
- Aggressive: warning_ratio = 0.8, critical_ratio = 1.0