top — Real-time Process Monitor
top shows a live view of running processes and system resources.
Run top
top
Interactive keys inside top
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
q | Quit |
k | Kill a process (enter PID) |
h | Help |
M | Sort by memory |
P | Sort by CPU |
u | Filter by user |
1 | Show per-CPU stats |
Space | Refresh now |
top header
top - 10:30:00 up 5 days, 2:30, 2 users, load average: 0.15, 0.10, 0.05
Tasks: 120 total, 1 running, 119 sleeping
%Cpu(s): 2.0 us, 1.0 sy, 0.0 ni, 96.0 id
MiB Mem : 7876.5 total, 2000.0 free, 3000.0 used
- load average: 1, 5, 15 minute averages (1.0 = 100% one core)
- us: user space CPU
- sy: kernel/system CPU
- id: idle
Non-interactive
top -b -n 1 | head -20 # One snapshot, pipe-able
htop
htop is top but better — color, mouse support, easier killing.
htop