What does htop show?

htop is an interactive process viewer for Unix-like systems that provides a colorful and user-friendly interface to monitor system performance. Here’s what it typically shows:

Key Components:

1. Header:

   • CPU Usage: Displays the percentage of CPU usage for each core, often represented with color-coded bars.
   • Memory Usage: Shows the total, used, and free memory, along with a visual representation.
   • Swap Usage: Indicates the usage of swap space.

2. Body:

   • Process List: A list of currently running processes, including:
     • PID: Process ID.
     • USER: The user who owns the process.
     • PR: Process priority.
     • NI: Nice value, which affects scheduling priority.
     • VIRT: Virtual memory used by the process.
     • RES: Resident memory (physical memory).
     • SHR: Shared memory.
     • S: Process status (e.g., running, sleeping).
     • %CPU: CPU usage percentage.
     • %MEM: Memory usage percentage.
     • TIME+: Total CPU time used by the process.
     • COMMAND: The command that started the process.

3. Footer:

   • Keyboard Shortcuts: Displays available commands for navigation and actions, such as:
     • F1 or ?: Help
     • F2: Setup menu
     • F3: Search for a process
     • F5: Tree view
     • F9: Kill a process
     • F10: Quit htop

Benefits:

• Real-time Monitoring: Provides live updates on system performance.
• User-Friendly Interface: Easier to read and navigate compared to the traditional top command.
• Process Management: Allows users to sort, filter, and manage processes directly from the interface.

If you have more questions about using htop or need further details, feel free to ask!