KumoMTA has upgraded one of its most popular monitoring tools, kcli top, making it easier for email engineers to see what’s happening on their systems in real time.
The update was detailed in a KumoMTA blog post published on January 27, 2026, where the developers explained how the interface has evolved in response to community feedback.
What is kcli top?
kcli top (often referred to as ktop) is a real-time, command-line dashboard built into KumoMTA’s CLI. It displays live metrics from your mail server, including open connections, delivery rates, queue sizes, memory usage, and more — all continuously updated in the terminal.
The concept is similar to the Linux top command, but tailored specifically for monitoring Message Transfer Agent (MTA) performance.
What’s new in the interface
The January 2026 post highlights several improvements introduced over recent months:
Search (FIND)
You can now press f in kcli top to filter the display by keyword. For example, entering smtpsrv limits the view to metrics containing that term, making it easier to focus on relevant data without scrolling through everything.
Resizable histograms
Usage histograms are now adjustable. Press + or - to increase or decrease their size, improving readability depending on your terminal layout.
Multi-tab views
Instead of a single long screen, kcli top now supports multiple tabs. Each tab can group related metrics or views, while still respecting any active search filters.
Together, these changes make the interface more flexible and easier to use, particularly on high-traffic systems.
Why this matters for MailOps teams
For teams managing large-scale email infrastructure, fast insight into queue behavior, connection levels, and potential bottlenecks is critical. The ability to quickly filter metrics and visually track trends helps engineers diagnose and respond to issues more efficiently.
Source
All updates described above are from the KumoMTA blog post “Revisiting KCLI”, published on January 27, 2026.
KumoMTA is an enterprise member of Emailexpert, supporting its mission to connect email and digital messaging professionals worldwide.
