Explanation of everything you can see in htop/top on Linux (2019) (peteris.rocks)

Article summary

The article explains the various fields and metrics displayed in the htop and top commands on Linux systems, including uptime, load average, processes, and memory usage. It delves into the details of each field, providing examples and explanations to help users understand what they are seeing. The article aims to educate users on how to effectively use these commands to monitor and manage system resources. By understanding these metrics, users can better diagnose and troubleshoot system issues.

Main themes

• Linux system monitoring
• htop and top commands
• System resource management
• Process management
• Memory usage and optimization

What commenters say

• Some users find htop to be a useful tool, but often only use it to find process IDs or CPU culprits, without fully understanding its other features.
• The btop command is considered by some to be a more modern and user-friendly alternative to htop, with additional features such as timeline-centric views and better rendering of key metrics.
• Others prefer htop over btop due to its ability to display more detailed information, such as strace output and open files, and its customizable interface.
• There is disagreement over which metric is most reliable for measuring memory usage, with some arguing for resident set size and others for proportional set size.
• Some users appreciate the simplicity and resource efficiency of htop, while others value the additional features and visualizations provided by btop.
• The discussion highlights the importance of understanding system metrics and resource management in order to effectively diagnose and troubleshoot system issues.