Memory Monitoring
OtterStat provides detailed memory usage information to help you understand how your Mac uses RAM.
Menu Bar Display
The Memory indicator supports multiple display modes (configurable in Settings → Menu Bar):
- Text Only - Usage percentage
- Graph Only - Mini live chart
- Text + Graph - Percentage with chart
- Bar - Vertical or horizontal bar
- Graph + Label - Chart with "MEM" label
Memory Popover
Click the Memory indicator to open the detailed view.
Memory Breakdown
macOS manages memory in several categories:
- Active - Memory currently in use by applications
- Wired - Memory that cannot be paged out (used by system)
- Compressed - Memory that has been compressed to save space
- Cached - Memory used for caching files and data
Each category shows both GB values and percentages.
Historical Chart
View memory usage over time with 1h / 24h / 7d / 30d / All time range selectors.
Top Processes
The Memory popover shows the top 5 processes using the most memory, with:
- App icons resolved from app bundles
- Memory usage per process
- Child processes grouped under parent apps
- Usage highlighted in red/orange for high values
Understanding Memory Usage
Unlike Windows, macOS uses available RAM aggressively for caching. High memory usage doesn't necessarily mean your Mac needs more RAM.
Key indicators of memory pressure:
- Swap usage - If your Mac is using swap heavily, you may benefit from more RAM
- Compressed memory - High compression indicates memory pressure
- Page outs - Frequent page outs suggest insufficient RAM
Tips
- macOS is designed to use most available RAM for performance
- Focus on memory pressure rather than raw usage numbers
- Quit unused apps to free up memory when needed
- Restart your Mac periodically to clear memory leaks