
Unfortunately, most Linux distributions don’t have this command right out of the box, so you need to install it manually. What’s more, the command allows you to use a mouse to select items, kill processes without inserting their PIDs, change the priority of multiple processes easily, and so on. As such, you can see the complete list of your Linux processes along with their full command lines. Running “htop” Commandīoth the htop and top command display the same information when listing your Linux processes, but the former offers user-friendly features that are great for everyday process management.įirst thing first, the htop command allows you to scroll vertically and horizontally. Keep in mind that the keys above are case sensitive, so be sure not to enable the caps lock. Once the shell returns the list, you can press the following keys to interact with it: Keys That means you’ll see real-time updates for CPU usage and running time. Unlike the ps command, the output of the top command is updated periodically.

Therefore, unlike the Windows task manager, the results are static. The ps (process statuses) command produces a snapshot of all running processes. Ps command provides static snapshot of all processes, while top and htop sorts by CPU usage. To list processes in Linux, use one of the three commands: ps, top or htop. Regardless of the case, all these tasks require you to do the same thing: listing the running processes on Linux. Alternatively, times when you may want to change the priority level of a process, so the system will allocate more resources to it. Occasionally, processes may consume a lot of resources and need to be killed. Each Linux process is assigned a unique PID (process identification number). For instance, Google Chrome will start a different process each time a new tab is opened.Ī process can be initiated as a foreground or background process. However, an application can run multiple processes for different tasks.

They can be launched when opening an application or when issuing a command through the command-line terminal.
