Idle Pod Monitor is a tool that helps you save money by providing a way to manage Pods that are not being utilized or forgot to turn off. The repository provides either a self-contained CLI script that can be executed inside of a Pod directly for self-Pod idle monitoring or a Runpod template for team level Pod management and monitoring with a full-on UI.

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Configuration modes

The monitor operates in two modes:

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🛑 Auto-Stop mode

Automatically stops (not terminates) Pods when utilization falls below defined thresholds for a specified duration.
  • Saves: GPU/CPU compute costs
  • Preserves: Pod /workspace storage

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📊 Monitor-only mode

Tracks and alerts on idle Pods without taking action.
  • Purpose: Surface idle Pods for manual review
  • Benefit: Visibility into resource utilization patterns

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Quick deployment for team level monitoring

Deploy the team monitor on Runpod: Deploy template Make sure to select CPU pod and not GPU pod, when deploying for the template to show up. For the cheapest option, run on a CPU Pod. The monitor automatically excludes itself from monitoring.

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Quick deployment for self-Pod monitoring

For individual Pod monitoring without external dependencies, use the self-contained CLI version that runs directly in your Pod. 
apt-get update && apt-get install -y tmux curl && \
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/justinwlin/Runpod-Idle-Pod-Monitor/refs/heads/main/self-contained/quick_install.sh -o /tmp/quick_install.sh && \
chmod +x /tmp/quick_install.sh && /tmp/quick_install.sh

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How it works

Define idle thresholds for your Pods (e.g., ≤1% GPU, CPU, or memory usage). The monitor samples utilization every minute:
  • Below threshold: Counter increments toward your defined duration limit
  • Above threshold: Counter resets, monitoring continues
  • Duration reached: Triggers auto-stop or alert based on your configuration
This ensures Pods are only flagged as idle after sustained low utilization, preventing false positives from temporary dips.

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Team level monitoring feature preview

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Home dashboard

Home Dashboard Main dashboard showing Pod status, real-time monitoring, and quick actions for managing your Pods*

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Configuration management

Configuration View Configure auto-stop settings, set CPU/GPU/memory thresholds

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Monitoring table

Monitoring Table Table view of Pods versus their threshold monitoring

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Performance metrics

Graph View Visualize historical usage data