Explore LiteMonitor: A Lightweight, Customizable Windows Hardware Monitor

Project Overview

LiteMonitor

is a lightweight, open‑source desktop hardware monitor for Windows. It uses a kernel driver to read real‑time metrics such as CPU, GPU, memory, disk and network usage, and presents them in a floating window that can be arranged horizontally, vertically, or embedded in the taskbar.

Key Features

Real‑time monitoring of core hardware performance indicators (CPU, GPU, RAM, disk I/O, network traffic).

Multiple display modes: horizontal bar, vertical bar, and taskbar integration.

Built‑in theme system with JSON‑based theme files; users can customize colors, fonts, spacing, corner radius, and other UI attributes.

Three‑color alarm thresholds for critical values, with configurable warning levels.

Highly configurable UI: adjustable transparency (0.1‑1.0), auto‑hide on screen edge, mouse‑through mode, always‑on‑top, and lock‑position options.

Instant language switching; several language packs are included and can be extended.

Installation

Download the latest release zip from the GitHub releases page, extract it to any folder, and launch LiteMonitor.exe. The application requires the .NET 8.0 runtime; if it is not present, a prompt will guide you to install the runtime. Because the program loads a driver, Windows Defender or other antivirus software may show a warning on first run—add the executable to the trusted list to avoid interruption.

Configuration and Usage

After starting the program, right‑click the floating window to open the settings menu. The menu provides the following options:

Show/Hide Items : Select which metrics (CPU, GPU, memory, disk, network) are displayed.

Adjust Appearance : Change background color, text color, font size, and transparency.

Window Control : Enable always‑on‑top, lock position, edge auto‑hide, and mouse‑through mode.

Display Mode : Switch between vertical, horizontal, and taskbar modes; in taskbar mode you can choose compact layout, small‑font mode, and manual left/right positioning.

Theme System

Theme files are stored in the /themes/ directory as JSON documents. Editing a theme file updates the UI instantly, and the current configuration is persisted in settings.json, which can be copied for backup or migration to another machine.

Source Repository

The full source code, issue tracker, and contribution guidelines are available at https://github.com/Diorser/LiteMonitor