htop
TLDR
Start htop
SYNOPSIS
htop [options]
DESCRIPTION
htop is an interactive process viewer and system monitor, designed as an enhanced alternative to the traditional top command. It provides a full-screen, colorful display of system processes with intuitive keyboard and mouse controls.
The interface shows CPU, memory, and swap usage with graphical meters, followed by a sortable list of running processes. Users can scroll through the process list, search, filter, and perform operations like sending signals or changing priorities.
htop supports multiple views including tree mode (showing process hierarchy), and allows customization of displayed columns and meters through its setup menu.
PARAMETERS
-u user, --user= user
Show only processes of specified user.-p pid, --pid= pid
Show only specified PIDs.-t, --tree
Start in tree view mode.-s column, --sort-key= column
Sort by specified column.-d delay, --delay= delay
Update interval in tenths of seconds.-C, --no-color
Monochrome mode.-F string, --filter= string
Show only processes containing string.-H, --highlight-changes
Highlight new/changed processes.--readonly
Disable process manipulation.
KEYBOARD CONTROLS
F1 / h: Help screen
F2 / S: Setup menu
F3 / /: Search
F4 / \\: Filter
F5 / t: Tree view toggle
F6 / >: Sort column menu
F9 / k: Kill process
F10 / q: Quit
Space: Tag process
U: Untag all
c: Tag and children
CAVEATS
Some features require root privileges (changing priorities, killing other users' processes). High refresh rates may impact system performance. Process information is a snapshot and may change between refreshes.
HISTORY
htop was created by Hisham Muhammad in 2004 as a more user-friendly process viewer for Linux. It addressed common complaints about top's interface and lack of interactivity. The project was later forked as htop-dev by a community group after maintenance lapsed. htop has become the de facto interactive process viewer on Linux systems.
