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Linux Beginner

What is Top/Htop?

Interactive process viewers that display real-time system resource usage including CPU, memory, and running processes.

Top is the classic process monitor showing CPU, memory, swap, and per-process statistics in real-time. Htop is an improved version with color coding, mouse support, tree view, and easier process management.

Key information includes load average, CPU per core, memory usage, and process lists sortable by CPU%, MEM%, or time. Press k to kill a process, f to filter, and t for tree view (htop). Essential for identifying resource-hungry processes.

Related Terms

Ulimit
A command that sets or displays resource limits for user processes, such as maximum open files or memory usage.
Disk Quota
A system for limiting the amount of disk space or number of files that individual users or groups can consume on a filesystem.
Xargs
A command that builds and executes commands from standard input, useful for processing lists of items.
Strace
A diagnostic tool that traces system calls and signals made by a process, useful for debugging and performance analysis.
Logrotate
A utility that manages automatic rotation, compression, and removal of log files to prevent disk space exhaustion.
SELinux
Security-Enhanced Linux — a mandatory access control system that confines programs to minimum required privileges beyond standard file permissions.
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