System Resource Monitoring: Is Ubuntu's htop Command Better Than top?

If you frequently use the Ubuntu system, especially when managing servers or for daily development, it’s crucial to understand the system’s “pulse”—that is, the running status of the CPU, memory, and processes. At this point, a reliable system resource monitoring tool becomes essential. In Ubuntu, the two most commonly used tools are top and htop. Today, we’ll explore these two tools to determine which is more suitable for beginners and why.

First, Meet the “Veteran Steward”: The top Command¶

top is a classic system monitoring tool for Linux, like an experienced “veteran steward” that provides real-time core system information.

How to Start: Enter top in the terminal and press Enter to view the system status.

Interface Features:
- Top Section: Displays overall system information, such as “Load average” (system load, where the three numbers represent the average load over 1, 5, and 15 minutes), CPU usage (four numbers correspond to user mode, kernel mode, idle time, and I/O wait), and memory/swap space usage.
- Middle Section: A list of processes, with each process showing key information like PID (Process ID), user, CPU usage, and memory usage.

Common Operations:
- Press P to sort processes in descending order of CPU usage (helpful for identifying resource-hungry programs).
- Press M to sort processes by memory usage in descending order (quickly locate memory-intensive programs).
- Press N to sort by PID.
- Press q to exit top.

Drawbacks (Unfriendly for Beginners):
- Monochrome Interface: Information is tightly packed, which may feel “cluttered” to new users.
- Keyboard Shortcuts: Some functions require remembering shortcuts (e.g., pressing f to manually select which columns to display, otherwise information overload makes it hard to focus).
- No Mouse Support: Cannot directly select processes with the mouse.
- Memory Unit: Defaults to “Kb” (kilobytes), which is unintuitive for beginners (e.g., 1G of memory is displayed as 1048576 Kb, less understandable than “1G”).

Next, Check the “Upgraded Assistant”: The htop Command¶

htop is an enhanced version of top, hailed as a “more user-friendly system monitoring tool,” especially suitable for beginners.

Installation (Not Preinstalled by Default in Ubuntu):
Open the terminal and run: sudo apt update && sudo apt install htop, then press Enter and follow prompts to enter your password.

How to Start: After installation, simply enter htop in the terminal and press Enter.

Interface Features:
- Color-Coded Display: Different information is distinguished by colors (e.g., green for CPU usage, blue for memory, red for process status), making the interface more visually clear.
- Column Layout: The left side shows real-time charts for CPU, memory, and swap space, while the right side directly displays the process tree (parent-child relationships are clear at a glance).
- Mouse Support: Click the header to sort directly (e.g., clicking the “CPU%” header sorts processes by CPU usage), and use the scroll wheel to view more processes.

Common Operations (Essential for Beginners):
- Press F10 to exit htop.
- Press F5 to display the “Process Tree” (see which process spawns others, e.g., a large program may have multiple child processes).
- Press F6 to select a sorting method (e.g., by CPU, memory, user, or PID—more intuitive than top’s shortcuts).
- Select a process with arrow keys and press F9 to “kill” it directly (no need to remember PID; just select the process name).
- Press / to quickly search for a process (e.g., type “chrome” to locate the target process).

Key Advantages:
- Enhanced Visualization: Easier for beginners to understand due to color-coding and structured layout.
- Mouse Support + Color: Reduces the need to memorize shortcuts.
- Intuitive Memory Units: Displays memory in “M” (megabytes) or “G” (gigabytes) instead of “Kb”.
- Dynamic Adjustments: Press Space to pause/resume process updates, or F2 to customize displayed information (e.g., add “Threads” or “Disk I/O” columns).

Which is Better for Beginners?¶

While top is classic, it has more basic functionality and is better suited for users familiar with Linux commands. htop, by contrast, is designed for simplified operations, making it more beginner-friendly.

Summary:
- If you are new to Linux, htop’s “intuitive interface + mouse support + color-coding” will help you get started quickly.
- If you need complex monitoring (e.g., analyzing kernel processes or adjusting system parameters), top may require further learning, but htop suffices for daily monitoring.
- Remember: htop’s core is “maximum information with minimal operations”—e.g., F5 to view the process tree or clicking headers to sort processes, which is far friendlier than top’s purely command-line approach.

Quick Tips to Master htop¶

1. Install: sudo apt install htop
2. Start: htop
3. Must-Know Operations:
   - Press F5 to view the process tree (to identify child processes of a parent program).
   - Press F6 to select a sorting method (e.g., sort by “%MEM” for memory usage).
   - Click the “CPU%” or “MEM%” headers with the mouse to sort processes in ascending/descending order.
   - Press q to exit (or F10).

By comparing these tools, you’ll find that htop is not just an “upgraded version” of top but also a “friendly assistant” for beginners. It simplifies system resource monitoring to feel as intuitive as “playing a game”—just a few key presses or mouse clicks reveal the system’s status clearly. Next time you open the terminal, try using htop to check if your Ubuntu system is “busy” right now!