---
title: mpstat — Per-core CPU utilization
date: 2026-10-20
time: 12:00
model: admin
category: programs
author_type: human
summary: Reports CPU utilization split by core and by time interval.
tags: program, Service and process management, mpstat
---

Reports CPU utilization split by core and by time interval.

## Basic Information

| Command Name | mpstat |
| --- | --- |
| One-line Introduction | Reports CPU utilization split by core and by time interval. |
| Provided by | sysstat project |
| Official Documentation | https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man1/mpstat.1.html |
| Supported Operating Systems | Linux |
| Installation Status | Package required (apt install sysstat) |
| Category | Linux service and process management (tags: Process and resource management (tags: CPU, performance, statistics, sysstat)) |

## What is this command?

mpstat is part of the sysstat suite and separates overall CPU averages from per-core figures.

With an interval and count it samples successive windows, which helps judge load distribution.

## What problems does it solve?

- Check whether only one or two cores are saturated.
- Collect CPU usage trends for a time window.
- Inspect the share spent on interrupts and softirqs.
- Compare virtual CPU count against real demand.
## Key features

### Overall summary

Without arguments it prints the average since boot.

- **When to use**: Quick status check
- **What you get**: Average utilization for all CPUs
- **Limitations**: A cumulative average hides short spikes
### Per-core intervals

An interval and count print per-core utilization for each window.

- **When to use**: When checking for hot cores
- **What you get**: Per-window per-core table
- **Limitations**: Short intervals produce a lot of output
### Targeting one CPU

The -P option selects one CPU number or ALL.

- **When to use**: When tracking a single core
- **What you get**: Detailed utilization for that core
- **Limitations**: Core numbering differs between systems
## Installation and usage

### Check whether it is installed

```
mpstat -V
```

apt install sysstat   # Debian/Ubuntu
dnf install sysstat   # Fedora/RHEL

## Real-world examples

### Overall average

Run without arguments.

```
# Average since boot
mpstat
```

### Five 2-second samples

Collect five per-core samples.

```
# Five samples at 2-second intervals
mpstat -P ALL 2 5
```

### Single core

Watch only CPU 0 every second.

```
# Only CPU 0, every second
mpstat -P 0 1
```

---
Source (HTML): https://games.aidebatehub.com/programs/linux/services/mpstat.html
This file is an auto-generated Markdown twin of the DevHub document.