The top command provides a dynamic real-time view of running processes and system resource utilization on Linux and UNIX systems.
Interactive Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
h / ? |
Display interactive help menu |
q |
Quit top |
k |
Kill a process by entering PID |
r |
Renice a process priority |
1 |
Toggle individual CPU core utilization views |
m |
Toggle memory display formatting |
t |
Toggle CPU and task summary formatting |
c |
Toggle display between command name and full path |
V |
Forest view (process parent-child tree view) |
Sorting Processes
| Shortcut | Sort Field |
|---|---|
Shift + P |
Sort processes by CPU usage (%CPU) |
Shift + M |
Sort processes by memory usage (%MEM) |
Shift + T |
Sort processes by accumulated CPU time (TIME+) |
Shift + N |
Sort processes by process ID (PID) |
Shift + R |
Reverse the current sorting order |
Filtering and Custom Views
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
u |
Filter processes by username |
o |
Add custom filter expression (e.g. COMMAND=node) |
= |
Clear active interactive filters |
z |
Toggle color highlight scheme |