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F2 → ColumnsNotes
Lets you add fields like PID, USER, CPU%, MEM%, TIME+, and command line.
Htop Columns, Meters, Threads, and Display Options
Customize meters, visible columns, threads, kernel tasks, and display density for different monitoring scenarios.
Export
Copy the compact sheet, download it, or print it.
Download
`D` dense toggle · `C` copy all
Columns and meters
Configure what htop shows at the top and in the process table.
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F2 → MetersNotes
Useful for different layouts on laptops versus servers.
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KNotes
Can reduce visual noise when you only care about user processes.
text
HNotes
Helpful when multithreaded programs clutter the list.
Tree view plus thread settings
Use tree mode and thread visibility together when investigating process structure.
textANYtreethreads
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t, H, KNotes
Combining these views often makes service hierarchies easier to read.
Show only one account's workload
Launch htop already scoped to an application user.
bashANYuserscope
bash
htop -u appNotes
Great for separating your app from system services.
Display options
Tune appearance and information density for your terminal.
bash
htop -CNotes
Useful in limited terminals or when color themes reduce readability.
bash
htop -d 5Notes
A value of 5 refreshes about every half second.
Search long command lines on crowded hosts
Open search while keeping the full-screen UI.
textANYsearchcrowded-host
text
/ then type queryNotes
Excellent for locating one service among hundreds of entries.
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F6 → PERCENT_MEMNotes
Useful during out-of-memory or swap-thrashing investigations.
Follow the selected process
Keep the selection on a moving target as the list refreshes.
textANYfollowselection
text
FNotes
Helpful when the process order changes frequently because of sorting updates.
More in htop
Htop Troubleshooting and FAQ Recipes
Troubleshooting recipes for missing visibility, permission issues, terminal quirks, and common htop interpretation mistakes.
Htop Batch Alternatives, Exports, and Companion Commands
Practical command-line companions and non-interactive alternatives to htop for logs, scripts, and copyable output.
Htop Remote, Container, and Server Recipes
Common htop workflows for SSH sessions, containers, services, and production troubleshooting on Linux hosts.
Htop Config, Persistence, and Theming
Persist htop settings, edit configuration files, and manage practical theming and display preferences across sessions.
Htop Process Actions, Signals, and Priority Changes
Use htop to renice, kill, tag, and inspect processes, including shortcuts for signals, strace, lsof, and affinity-related workflows.
Htop Navigation, Search, Filter, Sort, and Tree View
Interactive keys and workflows for moving around htop, searching processes, filtering by command, changing sort columns, and working in tree view.