pfSense » pfSense Plus

Problem:
pfSense currently provides limited real-time system monitoring tools in the shell environment (e.g., top/htop if installed manually). These tools lack modern visualization, multi-metric layout, and ease of use for monitoring complex systems in real time.

For advanced users running pfSense Plus in high-performance or lab environments (e.g., multi-gig networking, VPN routing, IDS/IPS, or hybrid workloads), the existing tools do not provide sufficient visibility into system performance.

Proposed Solution:
Add support for btop (https://github.com/aristocratos/btop) as an optional package or built-in utility for pfSense Plus.

btop provides:
- Real-time CPU, memory, disk, and network usage visualization
- Per-core CPU breakdown
- Network throughput graphs (especially useful for WAN/LAN/VPN monitoring)
- Disk I/O monitoring
- Clean and modern terminal UI
- Low overhead compared to many GUI-based tools

Use Case:
In advanced deployments, administrators often use tmux or SSH sessions to monitor pfSense systems remotely.

Example workflow:
- Run pfSense in a tmux session
- Split the terminal into multiple panes
- Display btop alongside logs, interface statistics, or VPN status
- Monitor real-time system behavior during:
- High throughput traffic
- VPN activity (WireGuard/OpenVPN)
- IDS/IPS processing
- Multi-WAN or failover scenarios

This is especially valuable for:
- Homelab environments
- AI/compute-integrated networks
- High-throughput firewall deployments
- Troubleshooting performance bottlenecks

Additional Benefits:
- Improves observability without requiring external monitoring tools
- Reduces reliance on separate systems (e.g., exporting metrics elsewhere)
- Provides a modern alternative to legacy CLI tools
- Enhances usability for power users and engineers

Notes:
btop is lightweight, widely adopted, and actively maintained. It could be provided as:
- An optional package via pfSense package manager
- Or included in pfSense Plus for advanced users

This feature would significantly improve real-time monitoring capabilities for users who rely on terminal-based workflows.