MangoHud is a Vulkan and OpenGL overlay for monitoring real-time performance metrics including FPS, temperatures, CPU and GPU load.
The tool addresses the need to observe system performance during gameplay or application execution without launching separate monitoring utilities. It works by injecting an overlay directly into Vulkan and OpenGL applications, displaying metrics in-game or in-application. Users configure the overlay through environment variables or configuration files, and the tool supports both X11 and Wayland display servers. The project includes mangoplot for local visualization of logged performance data and integrates with an online visualization service.
MangoHud suits developers and gamers on Linux who need lightweight, in-application performance monitoring. It works with any Vulkan or OpenGL application and supports multiple GPU vendors through different metric collection methods depending on hardware and driver. The tool is particularly useful for benchmarking and performance analysis workflows where external monitoring windows are impractical. Installation is available through multiple channels including pre-packaged binaries for major distributions or compilation from source using meson.
The project maintains active development with regular updates to support new GPU metrics and driver features. Build infrastructure uses meson with modular options allowing users to customize compilation for their specific hardware and display server needs. The codebase includes optional components like mangoapp and mangohudctl alongside the core overlay, with test coverage available as a configurable build option. Documentation covers extensive configuration possibilities through environment variables and preset files, reflecting ongoing refinement of user customization capabilities.
