Activity Monitor
Activity Monitor is a system monitoring utility included with macOS that provides real-time information about the processes, CPU, memory, energy, disk, and network usage on a Mac. It allows users to view and manage running applications and system processes, helping identify performance bottlenecks or resource-intensive tasks. Developers often use it to debug memory leaks, monitor CPU spikes, or analyze network activity during application development and testing.
Developers should learn to use Activity Monitor when optimizing macOS applications, as it helps diagnose performance issues like high CPU usage, memory leaks, or excessive disk I/O that can degrade user experience. It is particularly useful during debugging sessions to monitor resource consumption of specific processes, such as identifying which app is causing system slowdowns or checking network connections for security or efficiency analysis.