🌡️ temperatures

October 23, 2025 · View on GitHub

A lightweight, zero-dependency plugin that shows your machine’s CPU and (optionally) GPU temperatures directly in your Zsh prompt.
Originally designed for Raspberry Pi but works on any Linux system exposing /sys/class/thermal/.

Perfect for quick system health checks — no watch, no htop, just glance at your prompt.

🚀 Features

📊 Displays CPU and GPU temperatures in °C or °F
🎨 Auto-colorizes temperatures (green / yellow / red) based on thresholds
⚙️ User-configurable decimals, format, units, and position
⚡ Lightweight (no polling daemon; reads on prompt render)
🧠 Smart caching to keep your prompt snappy
🔁 Resilient to source ~/.zshrc reloads (auto-reattaches)
🧩 Compatible with any theme (manual or auto placement)

🧰 Installation

Option 1 — Oh My Zsh custom plugin (recommended)

git clone https://github.com/groberth/temperatures-zsh   "${ZSH_CUSTOM:-$HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/temperatures-zsh"

Then in your ~/.zshrc:

plugins+=(temperatures-zsh)
# optional configuration below

Reload your shell:

exec zsh

Option 2 — Manual sourcing (without Oh My Zsh)

git clone https://github.com/groberth/temperatures-zsh ~/.zsh/temperatures-zsh
source ~/.zsh/temperatures-zsh/temperatures-zsh.plugin.zsh

Add $(temperatures_prompt) anywhere in your PROMPT or RPROMPT.

⚙️ Configuration

All options are set via environment variables before the plugin loads (usually in .zshrc).
Each has a default, so you can override only what you need.

Variable	Default	Description
`TEMPERATURES_AUTO`	`true`	Whether to automatically inject the temperature display into your prompt. Set to `false` if you want to place it manually in your theme.
`TEMPERATURES_POSITION`	`right`	Position when auto-inserting. `right` puts it in `RPROMPT`, `left` prepends it to `PROMPT`.
`TEMPERATURES_UNIT`	`C`	Unit of measurement — `C` for Celsius or `F` for Fahrenheit.
`TEMPERATURES_DECIMALS`	`1`	Number of decimal places (e.g. `0` for integers, `2` for high precision).
`TEMPERATURES_POLL_INTERVAL`	`2`	Number of seconds to cache readings between prompt draws (performance trade-off).
`TEMPERATURES_FORMAT`	`CPU:%s°%s GPU:%s°%s`	`printf`-style format string (`cpu, unit, gpu, unit`). Collapses gracefully if GPU is disabled/unavailable.
`TEMPERATURES_THRESHOLDS`	`50 70`	Two numeric thresholds (in °C) that separate low → medium → high temperature coloring.
`TEMPERATURES_COLOR_LOW`	`%F{green}`	Zsh color for “cool” temperatures (below first threshold).
`TEMPERATURES_COLOR_MED`	`%F{yellow}`	Color for medium temperatures.
`TEMPERATURES_COLOR_HIGH`	`%F{red}`	Color for hot temperatures (above second threshold).
`TEMPERATURES_SHOW_GPU`	`auto`	Controls GPU reading. `auto` enables only if `vcgencmd` exists, `true` always tries, `false` disables.

🧩 Manual usage (themes & Powerlevel10k)

You can manually insert the output anywhere in your prompt:

RPROMPT='$(temperatures_prompt)  %~'

Powerlevel10k integration

Add this to ~/.p10k.zsh:

function prompt_temperatures() {
  local s="$(temperatures_prompt)"
  [[ -n "$s" ]] || return
  p10k segment -t "$s"
}

POWERLEVEL9K_RIGHT_PROMPT_ELEMENTS+=(temperatures-zsh)

🧪 Example configuration

# ~/.zshrc
plugins+=(temperatures-zsh)

# show in °F with no decimals
TEMPERATURES_UNIT=F
TEMPERATURES_DECIMALS=0

# make it appear on the left of the prompt
TEMPERATURES_POSITION=left

# longer cache for faster prompts
TEMPERATURES_POLL_INTERVAL=5

# hide GPU
TEMPERATURES_SHOW_GPU=false

Result:

CPU:118°F  ~/projects

🛠️ Requirements

CPU: any Linux system exposing /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp
GPU (optional): Raspberry Pi or similar, with vcgencmd in PATH
Shell: Zsh ≥ 5.0
Framework: optional (works with or without Oh My Zsh)