Htop Launch, Install, and Startup Flags/Sort by a specific column on startup

Pick an initial sort key from the shell.

Section: Install and start

Sort by a specific column on startup

bash
bash
htop --sort-key=PERCENT_CPU
Explanation

Helpful when you want CPU-heavy tasks surfaced immediately.

Learn the surrounding workflow

Compare similar commands or jump into common fixes when this command is part of a bigger troubleshooting path.

Related commands

Same sheet · prioritizing Install and start
Launch htop
Start the interactive process viewer.
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Install on Debian or Ubuntu
Install htop from APT repositories.
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Install on RHEL, CentOS Stream, Fedora
Install htop with dnf.
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Install on Arch Linux
Install htop with pacman.
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Set update delay in tenths of a second
Control refresh cadence from the command line.
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Show only selected PIDs
Restrict the list to one or more specific processes.
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