System diagnostics, explained

Your computer, explained.

innards looks inside your machine and tells you what it found — in plain words, with more detail, or with the raw evidence. Then it says what the machine is still good for, and whether anything is worth buying. Nothing leaves your computer.

LENOVO ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th

80
Processor
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7500U CPU @ 2.70GHz · 2C/4T
Memory
14.9 GiB LPDDR3
Storage
1.8 TiB NVMe
Graphics
HD Graphics 620
System
Ubuntu 25.10
Battery health
45%

Verdict: No emergencies, but 3 thing(s) are costing you performance or reliability.

  • Battery holds 45.3% of its original capacity
  • Processor is about 9 years old
  • Temporary files are eating memory
  • Memory cannot be upgraded
  • Only 2 CPU cores
  • Graphics are built into the processor
  • Swap is configured
  • Fast NVMe system drive

Excerpt from a real report · Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th · Ubuntu 25.10

Window style:

Download — free See how it works

Linux · macOS · Windows · Open source, MIT

Capability scores

What it's still good for

Ten workloads, scored 0–100 with weights you can read in the source. Each score names what's holding it back — so "not enough memory" is a measurement, not a sales pitch.

2C/4T · 14.9 GiB LPDDR3 · HD Graphics 620

  1. Everyday use (web, office, media)
    96 Excellent
  2. Web & app development too few CPU cores, not enough memory
    76 Good
  3. Docker / container stacks too few CPU cores, not enough memory
    41 Struggles
  4. Home server / self-hosting not enough memory
    75 Good
  5. Photo editing not enough memory, no dedicated graphics
    28 Struggles
  6. Large compiles (C++, Rust, kernels) too few CPU cores, not enough memory
    24 Not suitable
  7. Video editing too few CPU cores, not enough memory, no dedicated graphics
    21 Not suitable
  8. Running AI models locally no dedicated GPU
    28 Struggles
  9. Modern gaming too few CPU cores, no dedicated GPU
    23 Not suitable
  10. ML training / GPU compute no dedicated GPU
    4 Not suitable

Upgrade advisor

What to buy. Or not.

A short questionnaire, combined with the snapshot, returns ranked and costed recommendations: free fixes first, then upgrades, and "keep it" when that's the honest answer. Try it on the ThinkPad.

Answers for the ThinkPad X1 (2017) above.

What do you use this machine for?
What bothers you about it?
What would you be willing to spend?
Do you need to use it away from a desk?

4 recommendations, best first

  1. No purchase Big gain Free

    Memory is the ceiling — and it's soldered

    You have 14 GB and your workloads want 32 GB, but this machine's memory can't be upgraded.

    This is the strongest reason to consider a different machine, not a part.

  2. Service Big gain $40–$120

    Replace the battery

    Health is 45%. A replacement for the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th is usually a 10-minute job with a screwdriver.

    You said you use it unplugged; this is the cheapest way to get hours back.

  3. Replace Big gain $600–$1400· over budget

    Plan a replacement machine

    This 9-year-old machine (2 cores, 14 GB) can't reach what you need. Look for at least 6 cores and 32 GB RAM (laptop).

    Several of your workloads score poorly and the limiting parts can't be upgraded.

  4. Free fix Noticeable gain Free

    Move temporary files off RAM (free)

    2.5 GiB of temporary files are sitting in memory. Move large scratch files to a disk path.

    Every byte in /tmp is memory your programs can't use.

The twist

Same finding, three ways

A finding is facts, not prose. You choose how it's told: Plain for no jargon, Informed for the default, Expert for the numbers and the raw evidence. Switch any time.

No jargon at all.

Worth fixing · Battery

Battery holds 45.3% of its original capacity

The battery has worn down: it now holds 25.9 Wh of the 57 Wh it was built with, after 1729 charge cycles. Expect short runtimes.

What to do: Replace the battery if portability matters.

Privacy

Nothing leaves your machine

  • No network. Ever.

    The engine has no networking code. It reads /proc, /sys, DMI, battery and SMART data, renders the report locally, and exports Markdown you own.

  • Admin rights only when you ask

    Drive health (SMART) needs smartmontools and elevated rights. innards asks before it prompts — skip it and everything else still works.

  • Best effort, never a crash

    Every probe is allowed to fail. What it couldn’t read becomes a note in the report instead of an error — including inside a VM.

  • Explainable by design

    Thresholds live in one file, capability weights in another. Every finding is an id plus numbers; the words are a catalog you can read and translate.

Under the hood

An engine first, an app second

innards-core is a UI-agnostic Rust crate: probe → snapshot → findings → render. The desktop app is a thin Tauri shell around it. Embed the crate in your own tooling, or run the CLI example.

View source on GitHub
# the whole pipeline, no GUI
cargo run -p innards-core --example report -- en plain

# or pick a level and dump JSON
cargo run -p innards-core --example report -- es expert --json

Questions

Is it free?
Yes. The app and the engine are open source under the MIT license. A Pro tier is planned for live regional prices and refurbished/used comparisons on recommendations; the findings, scores and recommendations themselves stay free.
Does it send my hardware details anywhere?
No. There is no network code in the engine, and this website has no analytics or cookies either.
Why would it ask for my password?
Only if you turn on drive-health checks. Reading SMART data needs elevated rights; the prompt comes from your OS, and you can decline.
Where do the prices come from?
Rough USD bands per part class — enough to decide whether an upgrade is worth it, not a shop. Recommendations carry a search query you can paste into any retailer.
Which machines does it understand?
Laptops, desktops, mini PCs and servers on Linux, macOS and Windows. In a VM it tells you which numbers not to trust.
What languages?
English and Español today. A language is one JSON file; the report can be re-rendered in any of them after the fact.

See what's inside.

Free, open source, and honest about what your machine can and can't do.

Download innards GitHub