Modules
Dev Cockpit is thirteen modules behind one window. This page covers how navigation works, then what each module does.
The one thing to understand first
The interface has two levels, and most early confusion comes from not realising which one you are in.
Browse level. You are moving between modules. Tab and the arrow keys move from one to the next. Keys like q and ? belong to the application.
Focused level. You have pressed Enter on a module, and from then on the module receives every key. j scrolls its list rather than doing anything global. Esc hands control back to the browse level.
If a key seems to do nothing, you are almost certainly at the wrong level. Press Esc until you are back to browsing.
One exception worth knowing: when a module has a confirmation prompt or input field open, Esc closes that first and leaves you focused. Press it again to unfocus.
Global keys
Available at the browse level.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Tab, → | Next module |
Shift+Tab, ← | Previous module |
Home | First module (Dashboard) |
End | Last module (Support) |
Enter | Focus the current module |
Esc | Leave a focused module |
? | Toggle the help overlay |
l | Toggle the log overlay |
q | Quit |
Ctrl+C | Quit from anywhere, including inside a focused module |
Ctrl+C is the only key that always works. Everything else is handed to the module while one is focused.
Common keys inside modules
Most modules follow the same conventions.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
j, ↓ | Move down |
k, ↑ | Move up |
g / G | Jump to top / bottom |
Enter | Select or execute |
r | Refresh |
/ | Search, where the module supports it |
Esc | Close a prompt, or unfocus |
1–5 | Switch between a module's own sub-views |
Number keys switch sub-views within a module. They do not jump between modules.
The modules
Listed in the order they appear. Home takes you to the first, End to the last.
1. Dashboard
Real-time CPU, GPU, memory, disk and network monitoring, with history graphs drawn from the local metrics database.
Sub-views are on 1–5. Graph height and which detail panels are shown are configurable, see Configuration.
2. Processes
An interactive process manager.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
/ | Search by name |
s | Cycle the sort field |
S | Reverse the sort direction |
x | Kill the selected process |
g / G | Jump to top / bottom |
x always asks for confirmation before sending a signal. Nothing is killed on a single keypress.
3. Services
Homebrew services and detected listening ports in one list, so you can see whether Postgres or Redis is actually up without leaving the app. r refreshes.
4. Quick Actions
One-keypress maintenance tasks: flushing caches, restarting common services and similar routine jobs. Select with Enter. Anything that needs elevated rights will prompt for it.
5. Cleanup
Reclaim disk space from caches, logs, trash and downloads.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Enter | Toggle a target for cleaning |
a | Select all |
n | Select none |
r | Rescan sizes |
Targets are scanned and shown with their sizes before anything is deleted, and you choose them individually. If you only want the trash emptied, there is a CLI equivalent: devcockpit cleanup empty-trash.
6. Packages
Homebrew, npm and other detected package managers in one place. Lists outdated packages and lets you update them. o filters to outdated, u updates.
Detection depends on the tools being on your PATH. If a manager you use is missing, see Troubleshooting.
7. System
Hardware details, OS information and system diagnostics. Sub-views on 1–4, and Tab cycles them.
8. Docker
Container management: running and stopped containers, images, and cleanup of reclaimable space. Works with Docker Desktop, OrbStack and anything else exposing a standard Docker socket. The socket path is configurable, see Configuration.
9. Network
Interface analysis and connectivity diagnostics, in five sub-views.
| Key | View |
|---|---|
1 | Overview, interfaces and gateway |
2 | Ports, what is listening |
3 | Diagnostics, ping, traceroute and DNS |
4 | Quality, throughput and latency |
5 | Tools, whois |
Tab and Shift+Tab cycle the views. The Quality view depends on the networkQuality tool and is skipped automatically when unavailable.
In the Diagnostics and Tools views, Enter opens an input field for a target host. Targets accept host names, IPv4 and IPv6 only.
10. Security
Firewall, FileVault and System Integrity Protection status on macOS, with the equivalent checks on Linux. Read-only: Dev Cockpit reports on these settings and never changes them. r re-runs the checks.
11. Diagnostics
The health score and the checks behind it, each expandable with Enter for the measurements and suggested fixes. Same data as devcockpit diag.
12. Logs
A multi-source log aggregator. Sub-views on 1–4 select the source, / searches, f follows new lines and c clears the view. Additional log files can be added, see Configuration.
13. Support
Project sponsorship and support links. No system access.
See also
- CLI Reference for the command-line equivalents
- Configuration for per-module settings
- Troubleshooting when a module misbehaves