Can't launch Asitop

[sebalvarez]

I'm trying to run the app Asitop, which is used by a lot of Mac reviewers to show power usage and other info about the Mac, but no matter what I do, this is all I keep getting:

myusername@Mymachinename ~ % sudo asitop

Password:

sudo: asitop: command not found

myusername@Mymachinename ~ % asitop

zsh: command not found: asitop

I have followed all the steps and installed everything that is required, like pip, ptyhon, etc. I added the Asitop path to the path environment file. Hell, I even navigated to the folder it is installed in, and tried launching it from there, and nothing.

Any suggestions?

 

[chown33]

After you've navigated to the folder it's installed in, try this command, then copy and paste the exact output here:

ls -leO@ .

If that command gives an error message rather than a listing, then try just this:

ls -l .

Exactly what command did you type when you tried launching it from its install folder? Details are important with command-lines. For example, simply cding to the install folder and typing asitop usually won't work, because the current working dir (known as ".") isn't usually in the PATh variable. This is because having "." in PATH has security ramifications.

 

[sebalvarez]

This is the output from the first command, with my actual user name replaced:

total 64
-rw-r--r-- 1 myusername staff - 0 Jun 15 17:58 __init__.py
-rw-r--r--@ 1 myusername staff - 13556 Jun 15 17:58 asitop.py
com.apple.lastuseddate#PS 16
-rw-r--r-- 1 myusername staff - 6568 Jun 15 17:58 parsers.py
-rw-r--r-- 1 myusername staff - 6212 Jun 15 17:58 utils.py

The way I tried to run it was the way it said in the asitop github page, "sudo asitop" without quotes.

After that, I even tried and installed asitop using homebrew, but same result.

 

[JimmyjamesEU]

This is the output from the first command, with my actual user name replaced:

total 64
-rw-r--r-- 1 myusername staff - 0 Jun 15 17:58 __init__.py
-rw-r--r--@ 1 myusername staff - 13556 Jun 15 17:58 asitop.py
com.apple.lastuseddate#PS 16
-rw-r--r-- 1 myusername staff - 6568 Jun 15 17:58 parsers.py
-rw-r--r-- 1 myusername staff - 6212 Jun 15 17:58 utils.py

The way I tried to run it was the way it said in the asitop github page, "sudo asitop" without quotes.

After that, I even tried and installed asitop using homebrew, but same result.

Try navigating to that folder and then type “sudo ./asitop.py”

 

[chown33]

Try navigating to that folder and then type “sudo ./asitop.py”

That's worth a shot, but I think it will fail, probably with a permission error.

The file "asitop.py" lacks the 'x' permission. That strongly suggests that the shell will refuse to execute it.

A cmd-line including the 'python' cmd might be more likely to work, but I don't use Python at all, so have nothing concrete or tested to suggest.


Since no link was provided, I looked here:

GitHub - tlkh/asitop: Perf monitoring CLI tool for Apple Silicon

Perf monitoring CLI tool for Apple Silicon. Contribute to tlkh/asitop development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

I don't see any component in the provided source with the exact name 'asitop'. So as given at github.com, there isn't anything with the correct name for the cmd to work as given.

The only thing that makes sense to me is that the 'pip' tool mentioned in the "Installation and Usage" section is absolutely required, and does some magic to create an executable or script with the exact name 'asitop'.

The examples of usage clearly show it being run without 'sudo', and the '-h' option lists out help. That strongly suggests to me that the usage examples are written for a command named exactly 'asitop', located in some dir listed in one's PATH var.

Or I could have missed something.


To the OP:
Did you install asitop using 'pip' as the instructions describe?

 

[JimmyjamesEU]

That's worth a shot, but I think it will fail, probably with a permission error.

The file "asitop.py" lacks the 'x' permission. That strongly suggests that the shell will refuse to execute it.

A cmd-line including the 'python' cmd might be more likely to work, but I don't use Python at all, so have nothing concrete or tested to suggest.


Since no link was provided, I looked here:

GitHub - tlkh/asitop: Perf monitoring CLI tool for Apple Silicon

Perf monitoring CLI tool for Apple Silicon. Contribute to tlkh/asitop development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

I don't see any component in the provided source with the exact name 'asitop'. So as given at github.com, there isn't anything with the correct name for the cmd to work as given.

The only thing that makes sense to me is that the 'pip' tool mentioned in the "Installation and Usage" section is absolutely required, and does some magic to create an executable or script with the exact name 'asitop'.

The examples of usage clearly show it being run without 'sudo', and the '-h' option lists out help. That strongly suggests to me that the usage examples are written for a command named exactly 'asitop', located in some dir listed in one's PATH var.

Or I could have missed something.


To the OP:
Did you install asitop using 'pip' as the instructions describe?

So…”sudo python3 ./asitop.py”…?

 

[jdb8167]

This is the output from the first command, with my actual user name replaced:

total 64
-rw-r--r-- 1 myusername staff - 0 Jun 15 17:58 __init__.py
-rw-r--r--@ 1 myusername staff - 13556 Jun 15 17:58 asitop.py
com.apple.lastuseddate#PS 16
-rw-r--r-- 1 myusername staff - 6568 Jun 15 17:58 parsers.py
-rw-r--r-- 1 myusername staff - 6212 Jun 15 17:58 utils.py

The way I tried to run it was the way it said in the asitop github page, "sudo asitop" without quotes.

After that, I even tried and installed asitop using homebrew, but same result.

Run:
which -a asitop

If that shows:
/opt/homebrew/bin/asitop
Then you installed it correctly with brew. Make sure that file is executable:
-rwxr-xr-x 1 jdb8167 admin 238 May 12 10:16 /opt/homebrew/bin/asitop
The first x in -rwxr-xr-x is necessary for it to execute. In my case, anyone can execute it.

 

[chown33]

So…”sudo python3 ./asitop.py”…?

Maybe.

The thing is, we don't know what might be in the actual executable whose name is 'asitop'.

When I write shell scripts, for example, I might look for env vars, or set some up, before continuing with whatever other sub-tools get run.

 

[jdb8167]

Maybe.

The thing is, we don't know what might be in the actual executable whose name is 'asitop'.

When I write shell scripts, for example, I might look for env vars, or set some up, before continuing with whatever other sub-tools get run.

The version that I installed with pip3 (downloaded with Python@3.9 with brew) has the following in /opt/homebrew/bin/asitop:
#!/opt/homebrew/opt/python@3.9/bin/python3.9 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*- import re import sys from asitop.asitop import main if __name__ == '__main__': sys.argv[0] = re.sub(r'(-script\.pyw|\.exe)?$', '', sys.argv[0]) sys.exit(main())

 

[sebalvarez]

First of all, thank you for all your replies. None of the suggestions worked, but I really appreciate nevertheless. Here's the funny thing: I'm an old fart and my memory is going downhill, so I couldn't even remember the path to it from like, yesterday. I kind of remembered it was in the user library, so I went there and did a search for asitop, which gave me this:

So I double click on the Unix exec file and voilá! Asitop started, after asking me for the admin password. So I guess I just need to put a shortcut to that file on the desktop and that's it!

 

[sebalvarez]

OK I think I spoke too soon. That worked only once. After I closed it, when I tried to open it again, I got this (my real user name and machine name replaced obviously):

Last login: Fri Jun 17 22:43:21 on ttys000
/Users/myusername/Library/Python/3.8/bin/asitop ; exit;
Adding directories to PATH:
PATH += /Users/myusername/emsdk
PATH += /Users/myusername/emsdk/upstream/emscripten
PATH += /Users/myusername/emsdk/node/14.18.2_64bit/bin

Setting environment variables:
PATH = /Users/myusername/emsdk:/Users/myusername/emsdk/upstream/emscripten:/Users/myusername/emsdk/node/14.18.2_64bit/bin:/opt/homebrew/bin:/opt/homebrew/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/Library/Apple/usr/bin
EMSDK = /Users/myusername/emsdk
EM_CONFIG = /Users/myusername/emsdk/.emscripten
EMSDK_NODE = /Users/myusername/emsdk/node/14.18.2_64bit/bin/node
EMSDK_PYTHON = /Users/myusername/emsdk/python/3.9.2_64bit/bin/python3
SSL_CERT_FILE = /Users/myusername/emsdk/python/3.9.2_64bit/lib/python3.9/site-packages/certifi/cacert.pem
Setting environment variables:
myusername@My-Mac-Studio ~ % /Users/myusername/Library/Python/3.8/bin/asitop ; exit;

ASITOP - Performance monitoring CLI tool for Apple Silicon
You can update ASITOP by running `pip install asitop --upgrade`
Get help at `https://github.com/tlkh/asitop`
P.S. You are recommended to run ASITOP with `sudo asitop`


[1/3] Loading ASITOP


[2/3] Starting powermetrics process

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/Users/myusername/Library/Python/3.8/bin/asitop", line 8, in <module>
    sys.exit(main())
  File "/Users/myusername/Library/Python/3.8/lib/python/site-packages/asitop/asitop.py", line 109, in main
    powermetrics_process = run_powermetrics_process(timecode,
  File "/Users/myusername/Library/Python/3.8/lib/python/site-packages/asitop/utils.py", line 49, in run_powermetrics_process
    os.remove(tmpf)
PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/tmp/asitop_powermetrics1655519400'

Saving session...
...copying shared history...
...saving history...truncating history files...
...completed.

[Process completed]

I copied and pasted the whole text in the terminal window so maybe one of you can tell me what's wrong. About a week ago I tried to compile Unreal Engine 4.24 from Github, following every step, and it didn't work, there were errors on pretty much everything I did because that probably worked 3 years ago when they posted the instructions.

So all the EMSDK stuff you see there was part of the installation of one of the many items you have to install to compile that engine, and some day when I have more time I'm going to find how to uninstall it. I don't know if it's causing any conflict with asitop. I just find it really weird that I was able to launch asitop just fine double clicking that Unix file and now it gives me this error. Actually I went to that file that says permission denied, and I gave "Read & Write" permissions to the three users that were there, but still no luck.

Any ideas?

 

[sebalvarez]

So here's the weird thing: if I delete that file that it creates when I launch it, then the next time it opens fine. But I have to delete that file (/tmp/asitop_powermetrics1655524086) to be able to run it. That doesn't sound like it should be that way.

 

[altaic]

You just need to add /Users/myusername/Library/Python/3.8/bin to your shell’s PATH environment variable. For instance, if you use bash, edit .bash_profile in your home directory and add a line at the end:

export PATH="/Users/myusername/Library/Python/3.8/bin:$PATH"

Then reopen a Terminal session. Now you can just run sudo asitop from Terminal.

If your shell is something else (e.g. csh, zsh, etc.), the steps would be similar.

 

[NHerby]

I jump on this thread as I have the very same issue.
On my side, I had to install pip first, then "pip3 install asitop" but after:

sudo asitop                                      
Password:
sudo: asitop: command not found

And if I try "sudo python3 /Users/myusername/Library/Python/3.8/lib/python/site-packages/asitop/asitop.py", it gives:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/Users/herve/Library/Python/3.8/lib/python/site-packages/asitop/asitop.py", line 6, in <module>
    from .utils import *
ImportError: attempted relative import with no known parent package

 

[sebalvarez]

I jump on this thread as I have the very same issue.

I forgot to post about this for weeks, but what worked for me was that I made an alias to Asitop on the desktop, so I just launch it from there. It asks me for my admin password, and then it opens fine.

 

[danielktdoranie]

I got it to work! ...and without Homebrew (that I don't like!) too!

This comes down to Python not being in your path, like altaic said

Warning asitop ONLY runs on macOS Monterey! Make sure Monterey is up-to-date on 12.6

1. Open Terminal.app
2. Type

   python3 --version

   (you're looking for Python 3.9.6)
3. Download pip by running the following command:

   curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py -o get-pip.py

4. Install the downloaded package by running:

   python3 get-pip.py

5. You will get a warning in yellow stating something to the effect of it's not in "PATH"
6. Run this command:

   nano .zprofile

   (assuming you are using the default macOS Monterey Zsh shell)
7. While editing .zprofile in the Nano editor type:

   # Set PATH

   on the first line and

   export PATH="/Users/WhateverYourUsername/Library/Python/3.9/bin:$PATH"

   on the second line... it should look similar to mine here:
   
8. Press control and the letter x on your keyboard. You will be asked to save the file. Answer with:

   Y

9. You will be asked for a file name, just press enter.
10. Run this command:

    nano .zprofile

    again to open the file and make sure your edits were saved. If not, you messed up and go back to step 6!
11. Exit the Terminal app. Make sure you quit the Terminal app, not just close the terminal window! (restart the Mac if you like!)
12. At the Zsh shell prompt type:

    pip3 install asitop

    this will install asitop
13. Again, exit the Terminal app. Make sure you quit the Terminal app!
14. Open Terminal.app and type

    sudo asitop

    and press the enter key. You will be prompted for you macOS system password, enter it. Now it should run! Press the control and the c keys to exit asitop.

FYI my computer is a MacBook Air (M1, 2020) w/ 16GB RAM running macOS Monterey 12.6. My package manager is pkgsrc (not that it matters as Python comes with macOS) To install pkgsrc on your Mac: https://pkgsrc.joyent.com/install-on-macos/ (again, NOT NECESSARY for asitop, just a really good package manager I like)

 

[ArkSingularity]

I can't help much with AsiTop, but MX Power Gadget is a similar tool that has the same functionality. It is basically an Intel-Power-Gadget clone for Apple-Silicon.

It sounds like @danielktdoranie 's suggestions are easy to follow though, I'll try to install it later this afternoon and see what happens.

 

[mike.coulter]

I got it to work! ...and without Homebrew (that I don't like!) too!

This comes down to Python not being in your path, like altaic said

Warning asitop ONLY runs on macOS Monterey! Make sure Monterey is up-to-date on 12.6

1. Open Terminal.app
2. Type

   python3 --version

   (you're looking for Python 3.9.6)
3. Download pip by running the following command:

   curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py -o get-pip.py

4. Install the downloaded package by running:

   python3 get-pip.py

5. You will get a warning in yellow stating something to the effect of it's not in "PATH"
6. Run this command:

   nano .zprofile

   (assuming you are using the default macOS Monterey Zsh shell)
7. While editing .zprofile in the Nano editor type:

   # Set PATH

   on the first line and

   export PATH="/Users/WhateverYourUsername/Library/Python/3.9/bin:$PATH"

   on the second line... it should look similar to mine here: View attachment 2092714
8. Press control and the letter x on your keyboard. You will be asked to save the file. Answer with:

   Y

9. You will be asked for a file name, just press enter.
10. Run this command:

    nano .zprofile

    again to open the file and make sure your edits were saved. If not, you messed up and go back to step 6!
11. Exit the Terminal app. Make sure you quit the Terminal app, not just close the terminal window! (restart the Mac if you like!)
12. At the Zsh shell prompt type:

    pip3 install asitop

    this will install asitop
13. Again, exit the Terminal app. Make sure you quit the Terminal app!
14. Open Terminal.app and type

    sudo asitop

    and press the enter key. You will be prompted for you macOS system password, enter it. Now it should run! Press the control and the c keys to exit asitop.

FYI my computer is a MacBook Air (M1, 2020) w/ 16GB RAM running macOS Monterey 12.6. My package manager is pkgsrc (not that it matters as Python comes with macOS) To install pkgsrc on your Mac: https://pkgsrc.joyent.com/install-on-macos/ (again, NOT NECESSARY for asitop, just a really good package manager I like)

Thanks for the step-by-step instructions! Worked perfectly for me.