w Command
Beginner User Management man(1)Show who is logged in and what they are doing
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📅 Updated: Apr 28, 2026
SYNTAX
w [OPTION]... [USER]
What Does w Do?
w displays who is logged in and what they are doing. It shows the username, terminal, remote host, login time, idle time, CPU usage, and the current command for each logged-in user.
w combines the functionality of who (who is logged in) and uptime (system load). It is a quick way to see system activity, identify idle sessions, and check how many people are using the system.
w is commonly used for security monitoring (who is connected), capacity planning (how busy is the system), and troubleshooting (what are users running).
w combines the functionality of who (who is logged in) and uptime (system load). It is a quick way to see system activity, identify idle sessions, and check how many people are using the system.
w is commonly used for security monitoring (who is connected), capacity planning (how busy is the system), and troubleshooting (what are users running).
Options & Flags
| Option | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -h | Do not print header | w -h |
| -s | Short format | w -s |
| -f | Toggle showing FROM field | w -f |
| -u | Ignore current process username | w -u |
| username | Show only specific user | w admin |
Practical Examples
#1 Show all users
Shows who is logged in, their terminal, source, idle time, and current command.
$ w
Output:
USER TTY FROM IDLE WHAT
admin pts/0 192.168.1.50 0.00s w
jdoe pts/1 10.0.0.100 5:30 vim deploy.sh
#2 Short format
Shows abbreviated output without login time and CPU columns.
$ w -s#3 Specific user
Shows sessions only for the admin user.
$ w admin#4 Without header
Shows logged-in users without the header line — useful in scripts.
$ w -h#5 Count logged-in users
Counts the number of active user sessions.
$ w -h | wc -l
Output:
3
Tips & Best Practices
Quick system overview: w shows users, load average, and uptime in one command — perfect for a quick check when connecting to a server.
IDLE column: IDLE shows how long since the user last typed. High idle times may indicate forgotten sessions or hanging connections.
FROM may be empty: The FROM field shows the source IP/hostname. It may be empty for console logins or local sessions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I see who is logged in?
Use w for detailed info (user, terminal, IP, idle time, current command), or who for simpler output.
What does the IDLE time mean?
IDLE shows time since last keyboard/mouse activity. Long idle times may indicate inactive sessions that should be closed.
How do I kick a user off the system?
Find their terminal with w, then: sudo pkill -t pts/N to kill all processes on that terminal.
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