{"id":54861,"date":"2024-09-06T23:22:12","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T23:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/?p=54861"},"modified":"2024-09-06T23:22:12","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T23:22:12","slug":"how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use the Linux top Command (and Understand Its Output)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_68_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >\u062c\u062f\u0648\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u062d\u062a\u0648\u064a\u0627\u062a<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#An_Information-Packed_Dashboard\" title=\"An Information-Packed Dashboard\">An Information-Packed Dashboard<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#Check_Your_Version_of_top\" title=\"Check Your Version of top\">Check Your Version of top<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#The_Default_Display\" title=\"The Default Display\">The Default Display<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#Changing_the_Numeric_Units\" title=\"Changing the Numeric Units\">Changing the Numeric Units<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#Changing_the_Summary_Contents\" title=\"Changing the Summary Contents\">Changing the Summary Contents<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#Color_and_Highlighting\" title=\"Color and Highlighting\">Color and Highlighting<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#Sorting_by_Columns\" title=\"Sorting by Columns\">Sorting by Columns<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#See_the_Full_Command_Line\" title=\"See the Full Command Line\">See the Full Command Line<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#See_Processes_for_a_Single_User\" title=\"See Processes for a Single User\">See Processes for a Single User<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#Only_See_Active_Tasks\" title=\"Only See Active Tasks\">Only See Active Tasks<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#Set_How_Many_Processes_to_Display\" title=\"Set How Many Processes to Display\">Set How Many Processes to Display<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#Renice_a_Process\" title=\"Renice a Process\">Renice a Process<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#Kill_a_Process_with_top\" title=\"Kill a Process with top\">Kill a Process with top<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#Customizing_the_Display\" title=\"Customizing the Display\">Customizing the Display<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#Alternative_Display_Mode\" title=\"Alternative Display Mode\">Alternative Display Mode<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#Other_Keystrokes\" title=\"Other Keystrokes\">Other Keystrokes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/#Are_There_Alternatives_to_Top\" title=\"Are There Alternatives to Top?\">Are There Alternatives to Top?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p> The Linux <code>top<\/code> command is one of the stalwarts of Unix-like operating systems. Its utilitarian display is packed with useful information about your system&#8217;s running processes and resource usage. But, did you know it also supports color, highlighting, and even elementary graphs? <\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":0,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":0,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":0,\"ruleCount\":200,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":283} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":1,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":1,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":0,\"ruleCount\":200,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":200,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><br \/>\n<!-- No winning ad found for zone: below first paragraph! --><br \/>\n<!-- No winning ad found for zone: native in content! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"an-information-packed-dashboard\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"An_Information-Packed_Dashboard\"><\/span> An Information-Packed Dashboard <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> The <code>top<\/code> command <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/man7.org\/linux\/man-pages\/man1\/top.1.html\">has been around since 1984<\/a>, and there are many variants of it. For this article, we&#8217;re running Ubuntu 18.04 with all patches applied, and version 3.3.12 of <code>top<\/code>. As of Ubuntu 23.04, very little has changed. We also cross-referenced everything on two other test computers, one running Fedora and the other Manjaro. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":1,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":1,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":1,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":334} --><\/p>\n<p> The default <code>top<\/code> display crams as much information as possible in the terminal window. Information is a prerequisite to administration, so this is a good thing. One of the traits of a good system administrator is the ability to identify emerging problems and deal with them before they affect service. <code>top<\/code> gives you a dashboard of many different system metrics that help you do just that. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":1,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":1,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":1,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":723} --><\/p>\n<p> The display is best described as functional, rather than intuitive, and abbreviations abound. When you first encounter <code>top<\/code>, it feels cramped, cryptic, and off-putting. With a few keypresses, though, you can tune the contents and format of the display according to what&#8217;s important to you. <\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":1,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":1,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":1,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":1017} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":1,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":0} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"check-your-version-of-top\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Check_Your_Version_of_top\"><\/span> Check Your Version of top <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> To check which version of top you have, type the following a terminal window: <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":79} --><\/p>\n<pre>top -v<\/pre>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":87} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"147\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top -v in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C147&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":327} --><\/p>\n<p> If your version is way behind 3.3.12, it might not support all the features we&#8217;re going to cover. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":430} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":430} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-default-display\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Default_Display\"><\/span> The Default Display <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> You can start <code>top<\/code> by typing the following and hitting &#8220;Enter&#8221;: <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":504} --><\/p>\n<pre>top<\/pre>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":509} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"57\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664919_420_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664919_420_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C57&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":749} --><\/p>\n<p> The default display contains two areas of information: the summary area (or dashboard), and the task area (or process list). By default, <code>top<\/code> updates its display every three seconds&#8212;you&#8217;ll notice a slight flicker when it does. <\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":982} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":3,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":3,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"the default top display in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664919_843_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664919_843_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":3,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":3,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":3,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":240} --><\/p>\n<p> The first line of numbers on the dashboard includes the time, how long your computer has been running, the number of people logged in, and what the load average has been for the past one, five, and 15 minutes. The second line shows the number of tasks and their states: running, stopped, sleeping, or zombie. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":3,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":3,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":3,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":550} --><\/p>\n<p> The third line displays the following central processing unit (CPU) values: <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":3,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":3,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":3,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":627} --><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>us:<\/strong> Amount of time the CPU spends executing processes for people in &#8220;user space.&#8221; <\/li>\n<li><strong>sy:<\/strong> Amount of time spent running system &#8220;kernel space&#8221; processes. <\/li>\n<li><strong>ni:<\/strong> Amount of time spent executing processes with a manually set nice value. <\/li>\n<li><strong>id:<\/strong> Amount of CPU idle time. <\/li>\n<li><strong>wa:<\/strong> Amount of time the CPU spends waiting for I\/O to complete. <\/li>\n<li><strong>hi:<\/strong> Amount of time spent servicing hardware interrupts. <\/li>\n<li><strong>si:<\/strong> Amount of time spent servicing software interrupts. <\/li>\n<li><strong>st:<\/strong> Amount of time lost due to running virtual machines (&#8220;steal time&#8221;). <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":3,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":3,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":3,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":1159} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":4,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":4,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":3,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<p> The fourth line shows the total amount (<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kibibyte\">in kibibytes<\/a>) of physical memory, and how much is free, used, and buffered or cached. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":4,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":4,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":4,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":127} --><\/p>\n<p> The fifth line shows the total amount (also in kibibytes) of swap memory, and how much is free, used, and available. The latter includes memory that&#8217;s expected to be recoverable from caches. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":4,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":4,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":4,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":323} --><\/p>\n<p> The column headings in the process list are as follows: <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":4,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":4,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":4,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":380} --><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>PID:<\/strong> Process ID. <\/li>\n<li><strong>USER:<\/strong> The owner of the process. <\/li>\n<li><strong>PR:<\/strong> Process priority. <\/li>\n<li><strong>NI:<\/strong> The nice value of the process. <\/li>\n<li><strong>VIRT:<\/strong> Amount of virtual memory used by the process. <\/li>\n<li><strong>RES:<\/strong> Amount of resident memory used by the process. <\/li>\n<li><strong>SHR:<\/strong> Amount of shared memory used by the process. <\/li>\n<li><strong>S:<\/strong> Status of the process. (See the list below for the values this field can take). <\/li>\n<li><strong>%CPU:<\/strong> The share of CPU time used by the process since the last update. <\/li>\n<li><strong>%MEM:<\/strong> The share of physical memory used. <\/li>\n<li><strong>TIME+:<\/strong> Total CPU time used by the task in hundredths of a second. <\/li>\n<li><strong>COMMAND:<\/strong> The command name or command line (name + options). <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":4,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":4,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":4,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":962} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":5,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":5,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":4,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<p> Memory values are shown in kibibytes. The <code>COMMAND<\/code> column is off-screen, to the right&#8212;it didn&#8217;t fit in the image above, but we&#8217;ll see it shortly. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":5,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":5,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":5,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":156} --><\/p>\n<p> The status of the process can be one of the following: <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":5,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":5,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":5,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":212} --><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>D:<\/strong> Uninterruptible sleep <\/li>\n<li><strong>R:<\/strong> Running <\/li>\n<li><strong>S:<\/strong> Sleeping <\/li>\n<li><strong>T:<\/strong> Traced (stopped) <\/li>\n<li><strong>Z:<\/strong> Zombie <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":5,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":5,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":5,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":291} --><\/p>\n<p> Press Q to exit <code>top<\/code>. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":5,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":5,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":5,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":313} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":5,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":5,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":5,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":313} --><\/p>\n<p> You can press the Up or Down Arrows, Home, End, and Page Up or Down keys to move up and down and access all the processes. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":5,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":5,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":5,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":437} --><\/p>\n<p> Press the Left or Right Arrow to move the process list sideways. This is useful to see any columns that don&#8217;t fit within the confines of the terminal window. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":5,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":5,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":5,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":600} --><\/p>\n<p> In the image below, we&#8217;ve pressed the Right Arrow a few times to see the <code>COMMAND<\/code> column. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":5,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":5,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":5,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":694} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top with the process list scrolled sideways to reveal the command column, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664920_268_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664920_268_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":5,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":5,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":5,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":934} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":6,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":6,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":5,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":6,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":6,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":6,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":0} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"changing-the-numeric-units\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Changing_the_Numeric_Units\"><\/span> Changing the Numeric Units <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> Let&#8217;s change the display units to sensible values. Press capital E to cycle through the units used to display memory values in these options: kibibytes, mebibytes, gibibytes, tebibytes, pebibytes, and exbibytes. The unit in use is the first item on lines four and five. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":6,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":6,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":6,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":275} --><\/p>\n<p> Press lowercase &#8220;e&#8221; to do the same thing for the values in the process list: kibibytes, mebibytes, gibibytes, tebibytes, and pebibytes. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":6,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":6,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":6,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":422} --><\/p>\n<p> We pressed E to set the dashboard memory units to gibibytes and &#8220;e&#8221; to set the process list memory units to mebibytes. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":6,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":6,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":6,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":552} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top with gibibytes and mebibytes used for memory units in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664920_764_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664920_764_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":6,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":6,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":6,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":792} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":6,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":6,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":6,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":792} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"changing-the-summary-contents\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Changing_the_Summary_Contents\"><\/span> Changing the Summary Contents <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> You can change the display settings for the lines in the dashboard or remove them completely. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":6,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":6,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":6,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":887} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":887,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":true,\"countRemainingForInjection\":13,\"nextBlockCount\":122,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":true,\"nextCount\":1009} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":6,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":6,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":6,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":900} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":7,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":7,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":6,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":0} --><\/p>\n<p> Press l to toggle the load summary line (the first line) on or off. We removed the load summary line in the image below. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":7,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":7,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":7,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":109} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Load summary line removed from top in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664920_104_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664920_104_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":7,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":7,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":7,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":349} --><\/p>\n<p> If you have a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Multi-core_processor\">multi-core CPU<\/a>, press 1 to change the display and see individual statistics for each CPU. There are four CPUs on our computer. We press 1 to see how hard each of them is working. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":7,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":7,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":7,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":543} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top with the cpu display expanded to see individual cpu statistices, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664920_683_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664920_683_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":7,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":7,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":7,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":783} --><\/p>\n<p> Of course, this takes up more screen real estate within the terminal window. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":7,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":7,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":7,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":861} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":861,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":true,\"countRemainingForInjection\":39,\"nextBlockCount\":125,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":true,\"nextCount\":986} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":7,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":7,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":7,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":900} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":8,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":8,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":7,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":0} --><\/p>\n<p> You can press &#8220;t&#8221; to swap the CPU displays to simple <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ASCII\">ASCII<\/a> graphs that show the percentage of usage for each CPU. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":8,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":8,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":8,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":86} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top with ASCII graphs showing the CPU workload, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664921_314_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664921_314_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":8,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":8,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":8,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":326} --><\/p>\n<p> For each CPU, <code>top<\/code> displays three numbers and the graph. From left to right, the numbers are as follows: <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":8,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":8,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":8,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":431} --><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> The combined <code>us<\/code> and <code>ni<\/code> percentage (user space+tasks with nonstandard nice settings). <\/li>\n<li> The <code>sy<\/code> percentage (kernel space). <\/li>\n<li> The total (rounded to an integer value). <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":8,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":8,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":8,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":595} --><\/p>\n<p> Press &#8220;t&#8221; again to change the graph display to solid block characters. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":8,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":8,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":8,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":677} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top with ASCII block graphs showing the CPU workload, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664921_297_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664921_297_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":8,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":8,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":8,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":917} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":9,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":9,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":8,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<p> Press &#8220;t&#8221; once more to remove the CPU display and task summary line completely. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":9,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":9,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":9,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":91} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top with the CPU and task summary lines removed, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664921_105_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664921_105_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":9,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":9,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":9,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":331} --><\/p>\n<p> Press &#8220;m&#8221; to cycle the memory and swap memory lines through different display options. The first press replaces the statistics with an ASCII graph. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":9,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":9,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":9,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":490} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top showing ASCII graphs for the memory statistics, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664922_618_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664922_618_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":9,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":9,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":9,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":730} --><\/p>\n<p> Another press changes the graph to block characters. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":9,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":9,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":9,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":784} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":784,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":true,\"countRemainingForInjection\":116,\"nextBlockCount\":240,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":true,\"nextCount\":1024} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":9,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":9,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":9,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":900} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":10,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":10,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":9,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":0} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top showing ASCII block graphs for the memory statistics, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664922_732_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664922_732_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":10,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":10,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":10,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":124} --><\/p>\n<p> Press &#8220;m&#8221; once more to remove the CPU lines altogether. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":10,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":10,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":10,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":191} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top with the memory and swap lines removed from the display, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664922_723_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664922_723_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":10,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":10,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":10,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":431} --><\/p>\n<p> If you want, you can see CPU and memory graphs at the same time. Just press &#8220;t&#8221; and &#8220;m&#8221; until you get the combination you want. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":10,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":10,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":10,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":580} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top with ASCII graphs for CPU and memory, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664923_351_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664923_351_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":10,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":10,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":10,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":820} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":10,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":10,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":10,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":820} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"color-and-highlighting\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Color_and_Highlighting\"><\/span> Color and Highlighting <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> You can press &#8220;z&#8221; to add color to the display. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":10,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":10,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":10,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":878} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":878,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":true,\"countRemainingForInjection\":22,\"nextBlockCount\":240,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":true,\"nextCount\":1118} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":10,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":10,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":10,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":900} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":11,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":11,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":10,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":0} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top with a colored display, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664923_440_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664923_440_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":11,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":11,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":11,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":218} --><\/p>\n<p> When you think of <code>top<\/code>, you probably don&#8217;t think of colored displays and ASCII graphs, but they&#8217;re built right in. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":11,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":11,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":11,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":341} --><\/p>\n<p> Press &#8220;y&#8221; to highlight running tasks in the process list. Pressing &#8220;x&#8221; highlights the column used to sort the process list. You can toggle between bold and reversed text highlighting by pressing &#8220;b.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":11,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":11,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":11,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":572} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"644\" height=\"380\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top with running task and sorted column highlighted using reversed text, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664923_576_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664923_576_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=644%2C380&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":11,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":11,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":11,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":812} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":11,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":11,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":11,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":812} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"sorting-by-columns\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Sorting_by_Columns\"><\/span> Sorting by Columns <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> By default, the process list is sorted by the <code>%CPU<\/code> column. You can change the sort column by pressing the following: <\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":11,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":11,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":11,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":930} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":12,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":12,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":11,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>P:<\/strong> The <code>%CPU<\/code> column. <\/li>\n<li><strong>M:<\/strong> The <code>%MEM<\/code> column. <\/li>\n<li><strong>N:<\/strong> The <code>PID<\/code> column. <\/li>\n<li><strong>T:<\/strong> The <code>TIME+<\/code> column. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":12,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":12,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":12,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":81} --><\/p>\n<p> In the image below, the process list is sorted by the <code>PID<\/code> column. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":12,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":12,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":12,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":148} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"644\" height=\"380\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top with the process listed sorted by the PID column, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664924_110_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664924_110_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=644%2C380&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":12,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":12,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":12,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":388} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":12,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":12,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":12,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":388} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"see-the-full-command-line\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"See_the_Full_Command_Line\"><\/span> See the Full Command Line <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> Pressing &#8220;c&#8221; toggles the COMMAND column between displaying the process name and the full command line. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":12,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":12,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":12,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":502} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"644\" height=\"380\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top showing the full command line in the command column, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664924_372_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664924_372_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=644%2C380&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":12,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":12,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":12,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":742} --><\/p>\n<p> To see a &#8220;tree&#8221; of processes that were launched or spawned by other processes, press V. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":12,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":12,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":12,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":841} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":12,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":12,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":12,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":841} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"see-processes-for-a-single-user\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"See_Processes_for_a_Single_User\"><\/span> See Processes for a Single User <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> Press &#8220;u&#8221; to see the processes for a single user. You&#8217;ll be prompted for the name or <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/User_identifier\">UID<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":12,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":12,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":12,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":946} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":13,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":13,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":12,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"User prompt in a terminal window. \" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664924_560_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664924_560_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":13,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":13,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":13,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":240} --><\/p>\n<p> Type the name of the UID of the person you want to monitor. We&#8217;ll type &#8220;dave&#8221; and hit &#8220;Enter.&#8221; Now, the only processes in the task area belong to the user <code>dave<\/code>. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":13,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":13,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":13,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":426} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top displaying tasks for a single user, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664924_576_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664924_576_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":13,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":13,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":13,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":666} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":13,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":13,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":13,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":666} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"only-see-active-tasks\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Only_See_Active_Tasks\"><\/span> Only See Active Tasks <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> Press I to see only active tasks. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":13,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":13,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":13,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":701} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top showing only active tasks, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664924_845_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664924_845_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":13,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":13,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":13,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":941} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":14,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":14,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":13,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<p> Tasks that haven&#8217;t consumed any CPU since the last update won&#8217;t be shown. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":14,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":14,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":14,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":83} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":14,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":14,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":14,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":83} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"set-how-many-processes-to-display\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Set_How_Many_Processes_to_Display\"><\/span> Set How Many Processes to Display <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> Press &#8220;n&#8221; to limit the display to a certain number of lines, regardless of whether the tasks are active. You&#8217;ll be prompted for the number of processes to display. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":14,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":14,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":14,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":262} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top prompting for the number of lines to display, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664925_851_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664925_851_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":14,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":14,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":14,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":502} --><\/p>\n<p> We typed 10 and pressed Enter, so 10 processes appear in the task area. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":14,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":14,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":14,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":575} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top displaying ten processes in the task area, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664925_179_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664925_179_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":14,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":14,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":14,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":815} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":14,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":14,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":14,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":815} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":815,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":true,\"countRemainingForInjection\":85,\"nextBlockCount\":284,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":true,\"nextCount\":1099} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":14,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":14,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":14,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":900} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":15,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":15,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":14,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":0} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"renice-a-process\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Renice_a_Process\"><\/span> Renice a Process <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> You can press &#8220;r&#8221; to change the nice value (priority) for a process. You&#8217;ll be prompted for the process ID. Just press Enter to use the process ID of the task at the top of the process window. We type 7800, which happens to be the process ID of an instance of Firefox. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":15,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":15,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":15,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":199} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top prompting for the process ID of a process, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664925_749_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664925_749_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":15,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":15,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":15,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":439} --><\/p>\n<p> After you hit Enter, you&#8217;re prompted for the new nice value to apply to the process. We type 15, and then press Enter. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":15,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":15,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":15,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":563} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top setting a process to a nice value of 15, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664926_611_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664926_611_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":15,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":15,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":15,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":803} --><\/p>\n<p> The new nice value is applied to the process immediately. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":15,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":15,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":15,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":862} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":15,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":15,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":15,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":862} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":862,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":true,\"countRemainingForInjection\":38,\"nextBlockCount\":222,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":true,\"nextCount\":1084} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":15,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":15,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":15,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":900} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":16,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":16,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":15,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":0} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"kill-a-process-with-top\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Kill_a_Process_with_top\"><\/span> Kill a Process with top <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> Press &#8220;k&#8221; to kill a process. You&#8217;ll then be prompted for the process ID you want to kill. In fact, you can send any signal to the process. We&#8217;re going to kill process 7879, which has stopped responding. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":16,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":16,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":16,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":184} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top prompting for a process id, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664926_845_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664926_845_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":16,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":16,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":16,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":424} --><\/p>\n<p> You&#8217;ll be offered the chance to type the signal you want to send. You can specify it by name or number. If you simply hit Enter, <code>top<\/code> sends the <code>SIGTERM<\/code> (kill) signal. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":16,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":16,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":16,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":595} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top prompting for a signal to send, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664926_115_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664926_115_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":16,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":16,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":16,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":835} --><\/p>\n<p> As soon as you hit Enter, the signal is sent to the process. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":16,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":16,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":16,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":897} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":16,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":16,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":16,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":897} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":897,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":true,\"countRemainingForInjection\":3,\"nextBlockCount\":151,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":true,\"nextCount\":1048} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":16,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":16,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":16,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":900} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":17,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":17,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":16,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":0} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"customizing-the-display\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Customizing_the_Display\"><\/span> Customizing the Display <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> You can also customize the colors and columns that are displayed. We&#8217;re going to change the color used for prompts, the default for which is red. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":17,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":17,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":17,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":148} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top showing a light red prompt, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664926_773_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664926_773_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":17,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":17,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":17,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":388} --><\/p>\n<p> Press capital Z to go to the color settings page. The top part of the screen shows the colors in use by the different display elements. To indicate which display element you want to change, press one of the following, which are case sensitive: <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":17,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":17,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":17,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":633} --><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>S<\/strong>: Summary Data area. <\/li>\n<li><strong>M<\/strong>: Messages and prompts. <\/li>\n<li><strong>H<\/strong>: Column headings. <\/li>\n<li><strong>T<\/strong>: Task information in the process list. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":17,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":17,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":17,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":742} --><\/p>\n<p> We press M to change the prompts. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":17,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":17,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":17,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":777} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top color setting page with option M selected, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664927_675_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664927_675_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":17,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":17,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":17,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":1017} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":18,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":18,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":17,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<p> To pick a color, press one of the following numbers: <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":18,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":18,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":18,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":54} --><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>0:<\/strong> Black. <\/li>\n<li><strong>1:<\/strong> Red. <\/li>\n<li><strong>2:<\/strong> Green. <\/li>\n<li><strong>3:<\/strong> Yellow. <\/li>\n<li><strong>4:<\/strong> Blue. <\/li>\n<li><strong>5:<\/strong> Magenta. <\/li>\n<li><strong>6:<\/strong> Cyan. <\/li>\n<li><strong>7:<\/strong> White. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":18,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":18,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":18,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":134} --><\/p>\n<p> We press 6 to use cyan. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":18,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":18,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":18,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":159} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top color settings window with color 6 selected, in a termnal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664927_658_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664927_658_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":18,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":18,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":18,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":399} --><\/p>\n<p> Press Enter to save your settings. Prompts for input will now be in the color you selected. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":18,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":18,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":18,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":492} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top with a cyan prompt, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664927_240_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664927_240_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":18,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":18,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":18,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":732} --><\/p>\n<p> We can also change the columns displayed in the Fields Management screen. Press F to enter the Fields Management screen. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":18,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":18,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":18,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":854} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":854,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":true,\"countRemainingForInjection\":46,\"nextBlockCount\":240,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":true,\"nextCount\":1094} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":18,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":18,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":18,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":900} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":19,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":19,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":18,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":0} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top showing the fields management screen, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664927_895_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664927_895_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":19,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":19,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":19,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":194} --><\/p>\n<p> Fields that are displayed have an asterisk (<code>*<\/code> ) beside them and are highlighted in bold. Press the Up and Down arrows to move the highlight through the list of fields. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":19,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":19,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":19,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":363} --><\/p>\n<p> If you move the highlight off the bottom of a column, it will appear at the top of the next (unless you&#8217;re at the bottom of the last column). If you move it off the top of a column, it will appear at the bottom of the previous (unless you&#8217;re at the top of the first column). <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":19,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":19,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":19,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":647} --><\/p>\n<p> We moved the highlight to the <code>COMMAND<\/code> entry, and then pressed &#8220;d&#8221; to remove the asterisk (<code>*<\/code>). We then moved to the <code>UID<\/code> entry and pressed &#8220;d&#8221; to place an asterisk next to that entry. This means the <code>COMMAND<\/code> column won&#8217;t be displayed, but the <code>UID<\/code> column will. <\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":19,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":19,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":19,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":929} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":20,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":20,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":19,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top displaying the field management screen with the UID column selected, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664927_441_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664927_441_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":20,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":20,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":20,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":240} --><\/p>\n<p> While the highlight is on the <code>UID<\/code> column, we press &#8220;s&#8221; to sort the process list on the <code>UID<\/code> column. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":20,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":20,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":20,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":350} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top displaying the field management screen with the UID column set as the sort column, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664928_665_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664928_665_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":20,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":20,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":20,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":590} --><\/p>\n<p> Press Enter to save your settings, and then press &#8220;q&#8221; to leave the Fields Management screen. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":20,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":20,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":20,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":694} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top with the UID column displayed, and set as the sort column, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664928_328_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664928_328_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":20,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":20,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":20,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":934} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":21,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":21,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":20,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<p> The <code>UID<\/code> column has replaced the <code>COMMAND<\/code> column, and the process list is sorted by it. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":21,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":21,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":21,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":87} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":21,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":21,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":21,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":87} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"alternative-display-mode\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Alternative_Display_Mode\"><\/span> Alternative Display Mode <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> This works best in full-screen mode. Press A to display four areas in the process list, and then press &#8220;a&#8221; to move from area to area. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":21,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":21,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":21,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":232} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"382\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"top with the alternative display activated, in a terminal window\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664928_320_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664928_320_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=646%2C382&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":21,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":21,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":21,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":472} --><\/p>\n<p> Each area has a different collection of columns, but each is also customizable through the Fields Management screen. This gives you scope to have a full-screen, customized display showing different information in each area, and the ability to sort each area by a different column. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":21,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":21,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":21,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":754} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":21,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":21,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":21,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":754} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"other-keystrokes\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_Keystrokes\"><\/span> Other Keystrokes <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> The following are some other keys you might find useful in <code>top<\/code>: <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":21,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":21,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":21,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":819} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":819,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":true,\"countRemainingForInjection\":81,\"nextBlockCount\":187,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":true,\"nextCount\":1006} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":21,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":21,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":21,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":900} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":22,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":22,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":21,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":0} --><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>W<\/strong>: Save your settings and customizations so they&#8217;ll still be in effect when you next start <code>top<\/code>. <\/li>\n<li><strong>d<\/strong>: Set a new display refresh rate. <\/li>\n<li><strong>Space<\/strong>: Force <code>top<\/code> to refresh its display right now. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":22,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":22,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":22,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":106} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":22,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":22,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":22,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":106} --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"are-there-alternatives-to-top\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_There_Alternatives_to_Top\"><\/span> Are There Alternatives to Top? <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p> As we&#8217;ve seen, <code>top<\/code> has quite a repertoire. However, there are alternatives out there if you want something different. The utility <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/hisham.hm\/htop\/\"><code>htop<\/code><\/a> is probably the most common and popular top alternative, since it is lightweight. It will be immediately familiar to anyone that has ever used top, but has colors applied right out of the gate that make it easier to read. It also nicely spells out the controls along the bottom. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":22,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":22,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":22,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":525} --><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item\">\n<figure><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"474\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Htop on Ubuntu. \" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664929_221_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1725664929_221_How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.png?resize=750%2C474&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"height:auto;max-width:100%\" title=\"\">  <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":22,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":22,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":22,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":765} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"currentRuleCount\":900,\"actualCount\":765,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":true,\"countRemainingForInjection\":135,\"nextBlockCount\":302,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":true,\"nextCount\":1067} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":22,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":22,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":22,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":900} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":23,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":23,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":22,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":true,\"actualCount\":0} --><\/p>\n<p> The major advantage <code>top<\/code> has is its ubiquity \u2014 <code>top<\/code> is installed everywhere. When you go to businesses to look at networks or servers, you&#8217;ll often be told that absolutely nothing can be changed on the live servers. The client makes the rules, so you have to use what&#8217;s already installed. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":23,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":23,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":23,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":167} --><\/p>\n<p> Even if you prefer a different monitoring tool, you should get to know <code>top<\/code>. Sooner or later, you&#8217;ll likely find yourself in a situation where it&#8217;s all you&#8217;ll have access to. <\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":23,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":23,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":23,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":354} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":23,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":23,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":23,\"ruleCount\":900,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":674} --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Linux top command is one of the stalwarts of Unix-like operating systems. Its utilitarian display is packed with useful information about your system&#8217;s running processes and resource usage. But, did you know it also supports color, highlighting, and even elementary graphs? An Information-Packed Dashboard The top command has been around since 1984, and there &#8230; <a title=\"How to Use the Linux top Command (and Understand Its Output)\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/how-to-use-the-linux-top-command-and-understand-its-output\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about How to Use the Linux top Command (and Understand Its Output)\">\u0625\u0642\u0631\u0623 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0632\u064a\u062f<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[322,42],"class_list":["post-54861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-linux","tag-features","tag-linux"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/How-to-Use-the-Linux-top-Command-and-Understand-Its.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}