How to Check GPU Usage on Linux Systems

Want to know how much of your GPU is being used on Linux? Whether you’re gaming, training machine learning models, or monitoring performance, Linux offers several ways to check GPU usage — both through command line and GUI tools.

Here’s how to do it.

1. Check GPU Usage for NVIDIA Cards

If you’re using an NVIDIA GPU, the easiest way to check usage is with the nvidia-smi tool.

Install NVIDIA Drivers and Tools

Most distros require the proprietary NVIDIA driver to use nvidia-smi. Install it with:

sudo apt install nvidia-driver nvidia-smi   # For Debian/Ubuntu

sudo dnf install xorg-x11-drv-nvidia        # For Fedora

Run the Command

nvidia-smi

This will display GPU load, memory usage, temperature, and running processes. It updates once per run — for live stats, use:

watch -n 1 nvidia-smi

2. Check GPU Usage for AMD Cards

AMD cards use different tools, depending on the driver and system.

Option A: Using radeontop

Install it via:

sudo apt install radeontop        # Ubuntu/Debian

sudo dnf install radeontop        # Fedora

Run it with:

sudo radeontop

This shows a live readout of GPU usage, similar to top for CPUs.

Option B: Use amdgpu-pro Tools (if using AMD’s official drivers)

AMD’s proprietary drivers include clinfo and amd-info, which can show usage stats — though it’s more limited than NVIDIA’s tool.

3. Using glxinfo and vulkaninfo (General Info)

If you just want to verify your GPU is active and what it supports:

glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"

Or for Vulkan-based systems:

vulkaninfo | less

Install with:

sudo apt install mesa-utils vulkan-tools

4. Use GUI Tools for Easy Monitoring

• GNOME System Monitor Extensions: Some distros support GPU plugins.
• Psensor: Monitor GPU temperature and load.
• KSysGuard (KDE): With the right sensors, you can monitor GPU usage graphically.

5. Monitor with htop + GPU Plugins

While htop doesn’t show GPU stats by default, some third-party tools like nvtop offer a similar look for NVIDIA GPUs:

sudo apt install nvtop

Run with:

nvtop

It shows real-time usage per process, just like htop.

Final Thoughts

Linux gives you several powerful options to track GPU usage — it just depends on your hardware. For NVIDIA users, nvidia-smi is your go-to. For AMD, try radeontop. And if you prefer GUI tools, there are solid desktop options too.

Have a favorite tool or ran into a problem? Drop a comment and let’s troubleshoot it together.