nice

Overview

The nice command runs a program with modified scheduling priority. It allows you to start a process with a different niceness (priority) value.

Syntax

nice [options] [command [arguments]]

Common Options

Option Description
-n adjustment Priority value
--adjustment Priority value
-h Show help
-v Verbose mode
--version Show version

Nice Values

Value Priority
-20 Highest
-10 High
0 Normal
10 Low
19 Lowest

Key Use Cases

  1. Process priority
  2. Resource control
  3. Background tasks
  4. System optimization
  5. Performance tuning

Examples with Explanations

Example 1: Basic Usage

nice command

Run with default nice

Example 2: Set Priority

nice -n 10 command

Run with lower priority

Example 3: High Priority

nice -n -10 command

Run with higher priority

Common Usage Patterns

  1. Background task:

    nice -n 19 longprocess

  2. CPU intensive:

    nice -n -10 compute

  3. Check nice:

    nice -n 0 nice

Priority Management

  1. Default priority
  2. Adjustment range
  3. User limits
  4. System impact
  5. Process groups

Additional Resources

Best Practices

  1. Check limits
  2. Monitor impact
  3. Document usage
  4. Test settings
  5. Regular review

Security Considerations

  1. User permissions
  2. System resources
  3. Priority limits
  4. Process control
  5. Resource abuse

Troubleshooting

  1. Permission denied
  2. Priority limits
  3. System load
  4. Process behavior
  5. Resource conflicts

System Impact

  1. CPU scheduling
  2. Process priority
  3. System load
  4. User experience
  5. Resource sharing