| name | system-memory-cleanup |
| description | Monitor and clean up system resources on macOS. Use when the user wants to check CPU/memory usage, find resource hogs, kill orphaned processes, or free up system resources. Triggers on requests like "what's using CPU", "memory hogs", "clean up processes", "kill Chrome", "system slow", or "activity monitor". |
System Cleanup
Monitor system resources and clean up wasteful processes on macOS.
Quick Commands
Show top processes
bash scripts/top-processes.sh
Find orphaned claude CLI processes
bash scripts/find-orphan-claude.sh
Kill orphaned claude CLI processes (preserves active ghostty sessions)
bash scripts/kill-orphan-claude.sh
Manual Commands
Top CPU consumers
ps -arcwwwxo "pid %cpu %mem rss command" | head -20
Top memory consumers
ps -amcwwwxo "pid %cpu %mem rss command" | head -20
Total memory usage
ps -axo rss= | awk '{sum+=$1} END {printf "%.1f GB\n", sum/1024/1024}'
Kill all processes by name
pkill -f "Google Chrome"
pkill -f "chrome-headless-shell"
Force kill (if regular kill doesn't work)
pkill -9 -f "Process Name"
Common Cleanup Targets
| Process | What it is | Safe to kill? |
|---|
| claude | Claude CLI sessions | Yes, if orphaned |
| chrome-headless-shell | Headless Chrome (MCP) | Yes |
| Google Chrome | Browser | Yes |
| node | Node.js processes | Check what's using it |
| Electron apps | Various apps | Depends on app |
Workflow
- Run
bash scripts/top-processes.sh to see what's consuming resources
- Identify targets (orphaned processes, unused apps)
- Kill specific processes with
pkill -f "name" or use the cleanup scripts
- Verify cleanup with another top-processes check
Notes
- Claude CLI processes become orphaned when terminal tabs are closed without exiting claude first
- Always use
/exit or Ctrl+C before closing terminal tabs
- WindowServer, launchd, and kernel_task are essential system processes - never kill them
