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Mac Vitals Diagnostics

Diagnoses slow or hot Macs (CPU, GPU, memory, thermal, disk, startup) using read-only checks.

Source Download skill
Repository
danielmiessler/LifeOS
Stars
19,682
Licence
MIT
Files
6 files

What it does

When installed, the agent can inspect a macOS computer's performance using a small read-only command-line tool. Instead of dumping raw numbers, it interprets them against stored thresholds and names the likely culprit, such as a runaway process, memory pressure, or heat throttling, then suggests fixes for you to approve. It never kills processes or changes settings itself.

Great for

  • Mac users asking why their computer feels slow, hot, or has loud fans
  • Developers troubleshooting chronic slowdowns on macOS
  • People who want a plain-language health summary of their Mac

Skip it if

  • Network or Wi-Fi problems, which the skill explicitly excludes
  • Deployed website or app health, or security scanning, which are out of scope
  • Non-macOS systems such as Windows or Linux, since the tool relies on macOS-specific commands like pmset, ioreg and launchd

Try asking

  • “My Mac is dragging, what's going on?”
  • “Why are my fans so loud?”
  • “Run a full diagnosis, my Mac has been slow for weeks”
  • “How's my system doing?”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Mac Vitals DiagnosticsInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 6 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.

    Vitals.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip Vitals.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip Vitals.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Describe the specific symptom you notice (stuttering cursor, loud fans, a lagging app) so the diagnosis can say whether the evidence explains it.
  • Expect the full diagnosis to take several seconds, since some sampling commands take about 3 to 4 seconds.
  • Review any suggested remediation before approving it; the sudo step runs only with your explicit consent.

What's inside

  • Intents/DeepDiagnosis.md
  • Intents/FindCulprit.md
  • Intents/HealthCheck.md
  • Interpretation.md
  • SKILL.md
  • Tools/Vitals.ts

Redistributed unmodified from danielmiessler/LifeOS under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.