cpulimit ☆

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Description:
CPU usage limiter

Type: Formula | Latest Version: 0.2@0 | Tracked Since: Dec 17, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: System utilities

Tags: system-utilities cpu limiting performance command-line

Install: brew install cpulimit

About:
cpulimit is a command-line utility designed to throttle the CPU usage of specific processes without altering their priority. It works by sending SIGSTOP and SIGCONT signals to the target process, ensuring it does not exceed a defined percentage of CPU time. This is particularly useful for managing resource-intensive applications on shared servers or preventing overheating on older hardware.

Key Features:

Process-based limiting (by PID or command name)
Precise control over CPU percentage usage
Background mode for daemon-like operation
Low-overhead signal-based mechanism

Use Cases:

Preventing a single runaway process from consuming all server resources
Limiting background compilation tasks to keep the desktop responsive
Managing resource usage on VPS instances with strict CPU quotas

Alternatives:

nice/renice – Adjusts process priority (niceness) rather than strictly capping CPU percentage; less precise for hard limits.
cgroups (Control Groups) – A Linux kernel feature for advanced resource allocation; more powerful but significantly more complex to configure.

License: GPL-2.0-or-later

Bottles available for: arm64_tahoe, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_ventura, arm64_monterey, arm64_big_sur, sonoma, ventura, monterey, big_sur, catalina, arm64_linux, x86_64_linux

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Sep 13, 2025 8:31pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	03bc690f