btop

Updated

July 31, 2026

Overview

btop is a modern, interactive resource monitor for Linux. It displays real-time processor, memory, storage, network, and process usage statistics with a responsive visual terminal interface.

Syntax

btop [options]

Common Options

Option Description
-lc, --low-color Run in 16-color mode for legacy terminals
-t, --preset NUM Start with a specific layout preset
-h, --help Show command line options

Interactive Keybindings

Key Action
m Toggle memory view layout
p Toggle process view sorting
f Filter processes by name
k Send termination signal to selected process
q Quit btop

Key Use Cases

  1. Visual monitoring of CPU core temperatures, frequencies, and load.
  2. Tracking process tree hierarchies and memory usage in real time.
  3. Live network bandwidth throughput monitoring per interface.