Process Management

htop

Interactive process viewer with color display, tree view, and mouse support.

Synopsis

syntax
htop [OPTION]...

Examples

Launch interactive process viewer
htop
Start with process tree view
htop -t
Monitor nginx user processes
htop -u nginx
Monitor a specific process
htop -p 1234

Common options

FlagDescription
-dUpdate delay in tenths of seconds
-uShow only processes for user
-pMonitor specific PIDs
-tStart in tree view mode
-CMonochrome mode

About htop

The `htop` command interactive process viewer with color display, tree view, and mouse support. Process management commands let you monitor, control, and schedule running processes.

Linux is a multitasking operating system, and understanding how to list processes, send signals, adjust priorities, and manage background jobs is vital for system administration and debugging performance issues. The command accepts 5 commonly used flags shown above, though the full set of options is available in the man page (`man htop`).

The 4 examples on this page cover typical real-world usage patterns that you can copy and adapt for your own workflows.

Related commands

More Process Management Commands

Other commands in the Process Management category

Related tools