top - Live Process Monitor in Linux

From the Linux Essential Commands cheat sheet · Process Management · verified Jul 2026

Real-time view of system processes and resource usage

bash

# Launch top
top

# Common keys:
# q - Quit
# k - Kill process (prompts for PID)
# M - Sort by memory usage
# P - Sort by CPU usage
# h - Help

✅ Updates every few seconds showing CPU and memory usage

💡 Press M to sort by memory, P to sort by CPU

🔍 Press k then enter PID to kill a process

processesmonitoringinteractive

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