top Cheatsheet
Startup Options
Common command-line flags for launching top.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
top |
Start top with default settings |
top -d 5 |
Set refresh interval to 5 seconds |
top -n 3 |
Exit after 3 screen updates |
top -u username |
Show only processes owned by a user |
top -p 1234,5678 |
Monitor specific PIDs |
top -b |
Batch mode (non-interactive, for scripts and logging) |
top -b -n 1 |
Print a single snapshot and exit |
top -H |
Show individual threads instead of processes |
Interactive Navigation
Key commands available while top is running.
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
q |
Quit top |
h or ? |
Show help screen |
Space |
Refresh the display immediately |
d or s |
Change the refresh interval |
k |
Kill a process (prompts for PID and signal) |
r |
Renice a process (change priority) |
u |
Filter by user |
n or # |
Set the number of displayed processes |
W |
Save current settings to ~/.toprc |
Sorting
Change the sort column interactively.
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
P |
Sort by CPU usage (default) |
M |
Sort by memory usage |
N |
Sort by PID |
T |
Sort by cumulative CPU time |
R |
Reverse the current sort order |
< / > |
Move the sort column left / right |
F or O |
Open the field management screen to pick a sort column |
Display Toggles
Show or hide parts of the summary and task list.
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
l |
Toggle the load average line |
t |
Cycle through CPU summary modes (bar, text, off) |
m |
Cycle through memory summary modes (bar, text, off) |
1 |
Toggle per-CPU breakdown (one line per core) |
H |
Toggle thread view (show individual threads) |
c |
Toggle between command name and full command line |
V |
Toggle forest (tree) view |
x |
Highlight the current sort column |
z |
Toggle color output |
Filtering and Searching
Narrow the process list while top is running.
| Key | Description |
|---|---|
u |
Show only processes for a specific user |
U |
Show processes by effective or real user |
o / O |
Add a filter (e.g., COMMAND=nginx or %CPU>5.0) |
Ctrl+O |
Show active filters |
= |
Clear all filters for the current window |
L |
Search for a string in the display |
& |
Find next occurrence of the search string |
Summary Area Fields
Key metrics in the header area.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
load average |
System load over 1, 5, and 15 minutes |
us |
CPU time in user space |
sy |
CPU time in kernel space |
ni |
CPU time for niced (reprioritized) processes |
id |
CPU idle time |
wa |
CPU time waiting for I/O |
hi / si |
Hardware / software interrupt time |
st |
CPU time stolen by hypervisor (VMs) |
MiB Mem |
Total, free, used, and buffer/cache memory |
MiB Swap |
Total, free, used swap, and available memory |
Batch Mode and Logging
Use top in scripts or for capturing snapshots.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
top -b -n 1 |
Print one snapshot to stdout |
top -b -n 5 -d 2 > top.log |
Log 5 snapshots at 2-second intervals |
top -b -n 1 -o %MEM |
Single snapshot sorted by memory |
top -b -n 1 -u www-data |
Snapshot of one user’s processes |
top -b -n 1 -p 1234 |
Snapshot of a specific PID |
Related Guides
Full guides for process monitoring and management.
| Guide | Description |
|---|---|
top Command in Linux
|
Full top guide with examples |
ps Command in Linux
|
List and filter processes |
Kill Command in Linux
|
Send signals to processes by PID |
Linux Uptime Command
|
Check system uptime and load average |
Check Memory in Linux
|
Inspect RAM and swap usage |
KI-Assistent
