bashANYinstallaptdebian
bash
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y htopUseful on Debian, Ubuntu, and compatible systems.
Htop Launch, Install, and Startup Flags
Core htop installation and launch commands, including startup options for delay, sorting, tree view, and PID filtering.
Export
Copy the compact sheet, download it, or print it.
Download
`D` dense toggle · `C` copy all
Install and start
Package-manager and startup examples for common Linux systems.
bashANYinstalldnfrhel
bash
sudo dnf install -y htopCommon on Fedora and modern RHEL-family distributions.
bashANYinstallarchpacman
bash
sudo pacman -S htopStandard package-manager install for Arch-based systems.
bashANYstartupinteractive
bash
htopShows CPU, memory, and process information in an interactive full-screen UI.
bashANYdelayrefresh
bash
htop -d 20A value of 20 refreshes about every 2 seconds.
bashANYpidfilter
bash
htop -p 1,1234,5678Useful when watching a small set of services or worker processes.
bashANYuserfilter
bash
htop -u www-dataHandy when investigating app-server or container-user processes.
bashANYsortstartup
bash
htop --sort-key=PERCENT_CPUHelpful when you want CPU-heavy tasks surfaced immediately.
Startup modes
Launch into special views such as tree mode or read-only mode.
bashANYtreehierarchy
bash
htop -tUseful for seeing parent-child relationships immediately.
bashANYreadonlysafe
bash
htop --readonlyGood on shared systems when you only need visibility, not renice or kill actions.
bashANYcolormonochrome
bash
htop -CUseful in limited terminals or for screenshots with minimal color noise.
bashANYtreesortmemory
bash
htop -t --sort-key=PERCENT_MEMTree sorting applies among direct children within each subtree.
bashANYpidpgrepservice
bash
htop -p "$(pgrep -d, -f 'gunicorn|uvicorn')"Creates a focused watch list for matching service processes.
bashANYdockercontainer
bash
docker exec -it my-container htopUseful when htop is installed in the container image.
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 Columns, Meters, Threads, and Display Options
Customize meters, visible columns, threads, kernel tasks, and display density for different monitoring scenarios.
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.