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I'd like to monitor in real-time the power consumption of a RPi. (0.5A, 1A, 2A, etc.)

I know this can be done with a multimeter in ammeter mode in series, but I thought maybe there is an easier method, directly from command-line ?
After all, a RPi has many electronic features, so maybe it already has various sensors, including one for the electric current in Amperes?

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  • You've googled this, right? raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/67756/…
    – Michael Graf
    Commented Nov 12, 2020 at 8:40
  • @MichaelGraf Yes, but this is very specific to CPU consumption. Here I'd like the consumption of the whole RPi + the current it delivers via USB, etc.
    – Basj
    Commented Nov 12, 2020 at 9:00
  • There's also the first line of the 2nd paragraph: "I am aware of the fact that there is no tool for measuring the energy of the whole device "
    – Michael Graf
    Commented Nov 12, 2020 at 9:48

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That is a good question that I've wondered myself. I don't think there is a ready-made software solution that currently exists, unfortunately. A cool idea for a project would be to build a current measuring device into the USB cable so that you can actively view the reading via a LCD or OLED display. It would just be to extract the functionality of the multimeter amp reading and integrate it directly into the USB cable via a break in the wire at that point.

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    "A cool idea for a project would be to build a current measuring device into the USB cable" -> You don't need to build one, they are called USB ammeters, easily found online for ~$10-20 USD.
    – goldilocks ♦
    Commented Nov 20, 2020 at 20:12
  • @goldilocks Thanks, I see you're right.
    – PHimmel
    Commented Nov 20, 2020 at 20:46
  • @PHimmel there are panel mount/project-ready current/voltage meters in Amazon which can easily be fitted with a USB cable or directly into any project. I'm putting one in a diy laptop to monitor battery power.
    – Galaxy
    Commented Nov 28, 2020 at 1:36

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