If you're looking for a powerful yet user-friendly way to monitor your Linux system’s resource usage, htop is one of the best tools out there. It’s an interactive process viewer designed as an improved alternative to the classic top command.
With its colorful interface and real-time stats, htop gives users detailed insight into CPU, memory, and swap usage, along with a live list of running processes. Unlike top, it allows you to scroll vertically and horizontally, making navigation much easier.
Why Use htop?
- Interactive and user-friendly interface
- Supports mouse operation
- Kill processes easily using function keys
- Displays full command lines for running processes
- Customizable appearance and sorting options
How to Install htop
Installation is simple and available through the default package managers in most distributions.
- Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt install htop - Fedora:
sudo dnf install htop - Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S htop - openSUSE:
sudo zypper install htop
How to Use
To start htop, simply open your terminal and type:
htop
Once opened, you’ll see a dynamic interface with bars showing CPU, memory, and swap usage at the top, and a list of running processes below. You can use arrow keys or your mouse to navigate through the list.
Useful Shortcuts
F2– Setup / configure interfaceF3– Search process listF4– Filter processesF5– Tree view of processesF6– Sort by criteria (CPU, memory, etc.)F9– Kill processF10– Quit htop
Read also: Alacritty fast and minimal terminal
How to Uninstall
- Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt remove htop - Fedora:
sudo dnf remove htop - Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -R htop - openSUSE:
sudo zypper remove htop
Final Thoughts
Whether you're a beginner trying to understand what's slowing down your Linux system, or an advanced user who wants detailed control over processes, htop is a must-have utility. Its clean and interactive interface makes system monitoring a lot more accessible and even enjoyable.
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