monitoring beginner

htop

An interactive process viewer for Linux. A better alternative to top with a visual layout, color coding, and mouse support.

#linux #processes #performance #terminal

visit website ↗ github repository ↗

What it is

htop is a cross-platform interactive process viewer. Unlike the default top command, it gives you a clear visual layout of CPU cores, memory, and swap usage at a glance — and lets you scroll, search, and kill processes without memorizing keyboard shortcuts.

Why I use it

It’s the first thing I install on any new Linux server. The per-core CPU bars alone make it worth it when diagnosing load spikes.

Installation

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install htop

# RHEL / Rocky / AlmaLinux
sudo dnf install htop

# Arch
sudo pacman -S htop

Key shortcuts

F6 — sort by column
F4 — filter processes by name
F9 — kill a process
Space — tag multiple processes
t — toggle tree view