1TOP(1) User Commands TOP(1)
2
6 top - display Linux processes
7
10 top -hv|-bcHiOSs -d secs -n max -u|U user -p pid -o fld -w [cols]
11 The traditional switches `-' and whitespace are optional.
14
17 The top program provides a dynamic real-time view of a running
18 system. It can display system summary information as well as a
19 list of processes or threads currently being managed by the Linux
20 kernel. The types of system summary information shown and the
21 types, order and size of information displayed for processes are
22 all user configurable and that configuration can be made persis‐
23 tent across restarts.
24 The program provides a limited interactive interface for process
26 manipulation as well as a much more extensive interface for per‐
27 sonal configuration -- encompassing every aspect of its opera‐
28 tion. And while top is referred to throughout this document, you
29 are free to name the program anything you wish. That new name,
30 possibly an alias, will then be reflected on top's display and
31 used when reading and writing a configuration file.
32
35 Documentation
36 The remaining Table of Contents
37 1. COMMAND-LINE Options
39 2. SUMMARY Display
40 a. UPTIME and LOAD Averages
41 b. TASK and CPU States
42 c. MEMORY Usage
43 3. FIELDS / Columns Display
44 a. DESCRIPTIONS of Fields
45 b. MANAGING Fields
46 4. INTERACTIVE Commands
47 a. GLOBAL Commands
48 b. SUMMARY AREA Commands
49 c. TASK AREA Commands
50 1. Appearance
51 2. Content
52 3. Size
53 4. Sorting
54 d. COLOR Mapping
55 5. ALTERNATE-DISPLAY Provisions
56 a. WINDOWS Overview
57 b. COMMANDS for Windows
58 c. SCROLLING a Window
59 d. SEARCHING in a Window
60 e. FILTERING in a Window
61 6. FILES
62 a. SYSTEM Configuration File
63 b. PERSONAL Configuration File
64 c. ADDING INSPECT Entries
65 7. STUPID TRICKS Sampler
66 a. Kernel Magic
67 b. Bouncing Windows
68 c. The Big Bird Window
69 d. The Ol' Switcheroo
70 8. BUGS, 9. HISTORY Former top, 10. AUTHOR, 11. SEE Also
71 Operation
74 When operating top, the two most important keys are the help (h or
75 ?) key and quit ('q') key. Alternatively, you could simply use
76 the traditional interrupt key (^C) when you're done.
77 When started for the first time, you'll be presented with these
79 traditional elements on the main top screen: 1) Summary Area; 2)
80 Fields/Columns Header; 3) Task Area. Each of these will be
81 explored in the sections that follow. There is also an Input/Mes‐
82 sage line between the Summary Area and Columns Header which needs
83 no further explanation.
84 The main top screen is generally quite adaptive to changes in ter‐
86 minal dimensions under X-Windows. Other top screens may be less
87 so, especially those with static text. It ultimately depends,
88 however, on your particular window manager and terminal emulator.
89 There may be occasions when their view of terminal size and cur‐
90 rent contents differs from top's view, which is always based on
91 operating system calls.
92 Following any re-size operation, if a top screen is corrupted,
94 appears incomplete or disordered, simply typing something innocu‐
95 ous like a punctuation character or cursor motion key will usually
96 restore it. In extreme cases, the following sequence almost cer‐
97 tainly will:
98 key/cmd objective
99 ^Z suspend top
100 fg resume top
101 <Left> force a screen redraw (if necessary)
102 But if the display is still corrupted, there is one more step you
104 could try. Insert this command after top has been suspended but
105 before resuming it.
106 key/cmd objective
107 reset restore your terminal settings
108 Note: the width of top's display will be limited to 512 positions.
110 Displaying all fields requires approximately 250 characters.
111 Remaining screen width is usually allocated to any variable width
112 columns currently visible. The variable width columns, such as
113 COMMAND, are noted in topic 3a. DESCRIPTIONS of Fields. Actual
114 output width may also be influenced by the -w switch, which is
115 discussed in topic 1. COMMAND-LINE Options.
116 Lastly, some of top's screens or functions require the use of cur‐
118 sor motion keys like the standard arrow keys plus the Home, End,
119 PgUp and PgDn keys. If your terminal or emulator does not provide
120 those keys, the following combinations are accepted as alterna‐
121 tives:
122 key equivalent-key-combinations
123 Up alt + \ or alt + k
124 Down alt + / or alt + j
125 Left alt + < or alt + h
126 Right alt + > or alt + l (lower case L)
127 PgUp alt + Up or alt + ctrl + k
128 PgDn alt + Down or alt + ctrl + j
129 Home alt + Left or alt + ctrl + h
130 End alt + Right or alt + ctrl + l
131 The Up and Down arrow keys have special significance when prompted
133 for line input terminated with the <Enter> key. Those keys, or
134 their aliases, can be used to retrieve previous input lines which
135 can then be edited and re-input. And there are four additional
136 keys available with line oriented input.
137 key special-significance
138 Up recall older strings for re-editing
139 Down recall newer strings or erase entire line
140 Insert toggle between insert and overtype modes
141 Delete character removed at cursor, moving others left
142 Home jump to beginning of input line
143 End jump to end of input line
144 Startup Defaults
147 The following startup defaults assume no configuration file, thus
148 no user customizations. Even so, items shown with an asterisk
149 (`*') could be overridden through the command-line. All are
150 explained in detail in the sections that follow.
151 Global-defaults
153 A - Alt display Off (full-screen)
154 * d - Delay time 1.5 seconds
155 * H - Threads mode Off (summarize as tasks)
156 I - Irix mode On (no, `solaris' smp)
157 * p - PID monitoring Off (show all processes)
158 * s - Secure mode Off (unsecured)
159 B - Bold enable On (yes, bold globally)
160 Summary-Area-defaults
161 l - Load Avg/Uptime On (thus program name)
162 t - Task/Cpu states On (1+1 lines, see `1')
163 m - Mem/Swap usage On (2 lines worth)
164 1 - Single Cpu Off (thus multiple cpus)
165 Task-Area-defaults
166 b - Bold hilite Off (use `reverse')
167 * c - Command line Off (name, not cmdline)
168 * i - Idle tasks On (show all tasks)
169 J - Num align right On (not left justify)
170 j - Str align right Off (not right justify)
171 R - Reverse sort On (pids high-to-low)
172 * S - Cumulative time Off (no, dead children)
173 * u - User filter Off (show euid only)
174 * U - User filter Off (show any uid)
175 V - Forest view On (show as branches)
176 x - Column hilite Off (no, sort field)
177 y - Row hilite On (yes, running tasks)
178 z - color/mono On (show colors)
179
182 The command-line syntax for top consists of:
183 -hv|-bcHiOSs -d secs -n max -u|U user -p pid -o fld -w [cols]
185 The typically mandatory switch ('-') and even whitespace are com‐
187 pletely optional.
188 -h | -v :Help/Version
191 Show library version and the usage prompt, then quit.
192 -b :Batch-mode operation
195 Starts top in Batch mode, which could be useful for sending
196 output from top to other programs or to a file. In this
197 mode, top will not accept input and runs until the iterations
198 limit you've set with the `-n' command-line option or until
199 killed.
200 -c :Command-line/Program-name toggle
203 Starts top with the last remembered `c' state reversed.
204 Thus, if top was displaying command lines, now that field
205 will show program names, and visa versa. See the `c' inter‐
206 active command for additional information.
207 -d :Delay-time interval as: -d ss.t (secs.tenths)
210 Specifies the delay between screen updates, and overrides the
211 corresponding value in one's personal configuration file or
212 the startup default. Later this can be changed with the `d'
213 or `s' interactive commands.
214 Fractional seconds are honored, but a negative number is not
216 allowed. In all cases, however, such changes are prohibited
217 if top is running in Secure mode, except for root (unless the
218 `s' command-line option was used). For additional informa‐
219 tion on Secure mode see topic 6a. SYSTEM Configuration File.
220 -H :Threads-mode operation
223 Instructs top to display individual threads. Without this
224 command-line option a summation of all threads in each
225 process is shown. Later this can be changed with the `H'
226 interactive command.
227 -i :Idle-process toggle
230 Starts top with the last remembered `i' state reversed. When
231 this toggle is Off, tasks that have not used any CPU since
232 the last update will not be displayed. For additional infor‐
233 mation regarding this toggle see topic 4c. TASK AREA Com‐
234 mands, SIZE.
235 -n :Number-of-iterations limit as: -n number
238 Specifies the maximum number of iterations, or frames, top
239 should produce before ending.
240 -o :Override-sort-field as: -o fieldname
243 Specifies the name of the field on which tasks will be
244 sorted, independent of what is reflected in the configuration
245 file. You can prepend a `+' or `-' to the field name to also
246 override the sort direction. A leading `+' will force sort‐
247 ing high to low, whereas a `-' will ensure a low to high
248 ordering.
249 This option exists primarily to support automated/scripted
251 batch mode operation.
252 -O :Output-field-names
255 This option acts as a form of help for the above -o option.
256 It will cause top to print each of the available field names
257 on a separate line, then quit. Such names are subject to nls
258 translation.
259 -p :Monitor-PIDs mode as: -pN1 -pN2 ... or -pN1,N2,N3 ...
262 Monitor only processes with specified process IDs. This
263 option can be given up to 20 times, or you can provide a
264 comma delimited list with up to 20 pids. Co-mingling both
265 approaches is permitted.
266 A pid value of zero will be treated as the process id of the
268 top program itself once it is running.
269 This is a command-line option only and should you wish to
271 return to normal operation, it is not necessary to quit and
272 restart top -- just issue any of these interactive com‐
273 mands: `=', `u' or `U'.
274 The `p', `u' and `U' command-line options are mutually exclu‐
276 sive.
277 -s :Secure-mode operation
280 Starts top with secure mode forced, even for root. This mode
281 is far better controlled through the system configuration
282 file (see topic 6. FILES).
283 -S :Cumulative-time toggle
286 Starts top with the last remembered `S' state reversed. When
287 Cumulative time mode is On, each process is listed with the
288 cpu time that it and its dead children have used. See the
289 `S' interactive command for additional information regarding
290 this mode.
291 -u | -U :User-filter-mode as: -u | -U number or name
294 Display only processes with a user id or user name matching
295 that given. The `-u' option matches on effective user
296 whereas the `-U' option matches on any user (real, effective,
297 saved, or filesystem).
298 Prepending an exclamation point ('!') to the user id or name
300 instructs top to display only processes with users not match‐
301 ing the one provided.
302 The `p', `u' and `U' command-line options are mutually exclu‐
304 sive.
305 -w :Output-width-override as: -w [ number ]
308 In Batch mode, when used without an argument top will format
309 output using the COLUMNS= and LINES= environment variables,
310 if set. Otherwise, width will be fixed at the maximum 512
311 columns. With an argument, output width can be decreased or
312 increased (up to 512) but the number of rows is considered
313 unlimited.
314 In normal display mode, when used without an argument top
316 will attempt to format output using the COLUMNS= and LINES=
317 environment variables, if set. With an argument, output
318 width can only be decreased, not increased. Whether using
319 environment variables or an argument with -w, when not in
320 Batch mode actual terminal dimensions can never be exceeded.
321 Note: Without the use of this command-line option, output
323 width is always based on the terminal at which top was
324 invoked whether or not in Batch mode.
325
328 Each of the following three areas are individually controlled
329 through one or more interactive commands. See topic 4b. SUMMARY
330 AREA Commands for additional information regarding these provi‐
331 sions.
332 2a. UPTIME and LOAD Averages
335 This portion consists of a single line containing:
336 program or window name, depending on display mode
337 current time and length of time since last boot
338 total number of users
339 system load avg over the last 1, 5 and 15 minutes
340 2b. TASK and CPU States
343 This portion consists of a minimum of two lines. In an SMP envi‐
344 ronment, additional lines can reflect individual CPU state per‐
345 centages.
346 Line 1 shows total tasks or threads, depending on the state of the
348 Threads-mode toggle. That total is further classified as:
349 running; sleeping; stopped; zombie
350 Line 2 shows CPU state percentages based on the interval since the
352 last refresh.
353 As a default, percentages for these individual categories are dis‐
355 played. Where two labels are shown below, those for more recent
356 kernel versions are shown first.
357 us, user : time running un-niced user processes
358 sy, system : time running kernel processes
359 ni, nice : time running niced user processes
360 id, idle : time spent in the kernel idle handler
361 wa, IO-wait : time waiting for I/O completion
362 hi : time spent servicing hardware interrupts
363 si : time spent servicing software interrupts
364 st : time stolen from this vm by the hypervisor
365 In the alternate cpu states display modes, beyond the first
367 tasks/threads line, an abbreviated summary is shown consisting of
368 these elements:
369 a b c d
370 %Cpu(s): 75.0/25.0 100[ ...
371 Where: a) is the combined us and ni percentage; b) is the sy per‐
374 centage; c) is the total; and d) is one of two visual graphs of
375 those representations. See topic 4b. SUMMARY AREA Commands and
376 the `t' command for additional information on that special 4-way
377 toggle.
378 2c. MEMORY Usage
381 This portion consists of two lines which may express values in
382 kibibytes (KiB) through exbibytes (EiB) depending on the scaling
383 factor enforced with the `E' interactive command.
384 As a default, Line 1 reflects physical memory, classified as:
386 total, free, used and buff/cache
387 Line 2 reflects mostly virtual memory, classified as:
389 total, free, used and avail (which is physical memory)
390 The avail number on line 2 is an estimation of physical memory
392 available for starting new applications, without swapping. Unlike
393 the free field, it attempts to account for readily reclaimable
394 page cache and memory slabs. It is available on kernels 3.14,
395 emulated on kernels 2.6.27+, otherwise the same as free.
396 In the alternate memory display modes, two abbreviated summary
398 lines are shown consisting of these elements:
399 a b c
400 GiB Mem : 18.7/15.738 [ ...
401 GiB Swap: 0.0/7.999 [ ...
402 Where: a) is the percentage used; b) is the total available; and
404 c) is one of two visual graphs of those representations.
405 In the case of physical memory, the percentage represents the
407 total minus the estimated avail noted above. The `Mem' graph
408 itself is divided between used and any remaining memory not other‐
409 wise accounted for by avail. See topic 4b. SUMMARY AREA Commands
410 and the `m' command for additional information on that special
411 4-way toggle.
412 This table may help in interpreting the scaled values displayed:
414 KiB = kibibyte = 1024 bytes
415 MiB = mebibyte = 1024 KiB = 1,048,576 bytes
416 GiB = gibibyte = 1024 MiB = 1,073,741,824 bytes
417 TiB = tebibyte = 1024 GiB = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes
418 PiB = pebibyte = 1024 TiB = 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes
419 EiB = exbibyte = 1024 PiB = 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes
420
423 3a. DESCRIPTIONS of Fields
424 Listed below are top's available process fields (columns). They
425 are shown in strict ascii alphabetical order. You may customize
426 their position and whether or not they are displayable with the
427 `f' or `F' (Fields Management) interactive commands.
428 Any field is selectable as the sort field, and you control whether
430 they are sorted high-to-low or low-to-high. For additional infor‐
431 mation on sort provisions see topic 4c. TASK AREA Commands, SORT‐
432 ING.
433 The fields related to physical memory or virtual memory reference
435 `(KiB)' which is the unsuffixed display mode. Such fields may,
436 however, be scaled from KiB through PiB. That scaling is influ‐
437 enced via the `e' interactive command or established for startup
438 through a build option.
439 1. %CPU -- CPU Usage
442 The task's share of the elapsed CPU time since the last screen
443 update, expressed as a percentage of total CPU time.
444 In a true SMP environment, if a process is multi-threaded and
446 top is not operating in Threads mode, amounts greater than
447 100% may be reported. You toggle Threads mode with the `H'
448 interactive command.
449 Also for multi-processor environments, if Irix mode is Off,
451 top will operate in Solaris mode where a task's cpu usage will
452 be divided by the total number of CPUs. You toggle
453 Irix/Solaris modes with the `I' interactive command.
454 2. %MEM -- Memory Usage (RES)
457 A task's currently used share of available physical memory.
458 3. CGROUPS -- Control Groups
461 The names of the control group(s) to which a process belongs,
462 or `-' if not applicable for that process.
463 Control Groups provide for allocating resources (cpu, memory,
465 network bandwidth, etc.) among installation-defined groups of
466 processes. They enable fine-grained control over allocating,
467 denying, prioritizing, managing and monitoring those
468 resources.
469 Many different hierarchies of cgroups can exist simultaneously
471 on a system and each hierarchy is attached to one or more sub‐
472 systems. A subsystem represents a single resource.
473 Note: The CGROUPS field, unlike most columns, is not fixed-
475 width. When displayed, it plus any other variable width col‐
476 umns will be allocated all remaining screen width (up to the
477 maximum 512 characters). Even so, such variable width fields
478 could still suffer truncation. See topic 5c. SCROLLING a Win‐
479 dow for additional information on accessing any truncated
480 data.
481 4. CODE -- Code Size (KiB)
484 The amount of physical memory devoted to executable code, also
485 known as the Text Resident Set size or TRS.
486 5. COMMAND -- Command Name or Command Line
489 Display the command line used to start a task or the name of
490 the associated program. You toggle between command line and
491 name with `c', which is both a command-line option and an
492 interactive command.
493 When you've chosen to display command lines, processes without
495 a command line (like kernel threads) will be shown with only
496 the program name in brackets, as in this example:
497 [kthreadd]
498 This field may also be impacted by the forest view display
500 mode. See the `V' interactive command for additional informa‐
501 tion regarding that mode.
502 Note: The COMMAND field, unlike most columns, is not fixed-
504 width. When displayed, it plus any other variable width col‐
505 umns will be allocated all remaining screen width (up to the
506 maximum 512 characters). Even so, such variable width fields
507 could still suffer truncation. This is especially true for
508 this field when command lines are being displayed (the `c'
509 interactive command.) See topic 5c. SCROLLING a Window for
510 additional information on accessing any truncated data.
511 6. DATA -- Data + Stack Size (KiB)
514 The amount of physical memory devoted to other than executable
515 code, also known as the Data Resident Set size or DRS.
516 7. ENVIRON -- Environment variables
519 Display all of the environment variables, if any, as seen by
520 the respective processes. These variables will be displayed
521 in their raw native order, not the sorted order you are accus‐
522 tomed to seeing with an unqualified `set'.
523 Note: The ENVIRON field, unlike most columns, is not fixed-
525 width. When displayed, it plus any other variable width col‐
526 umns will be allocated all remaining screen width (up to the
527 maximum 512 characters). Even so, such variable width fields
528 could still suffer truncation. This is especially true for
529 this field. See topic 5c. SCROLLING a Window for additional
530 information on accessing any truncated data.
531 8. Flags -- Task Flags
534 This column represents the task's current scheduling flags
535 which are expressed in hexadecimal notation and with zeros
536 suppressed. These flags are officially documented in
537 <linux/sched.h>.
538 9. GID -- Group Id
541 The effective group ID.
542 10. GROUP -- Group Name
545 The effective group name.
546 11. NI -- Nice Value
549 The nice value of the task. A negative nice value means
550 higher priority, whereas a positive nice value means lower
551 priority. Zero in this field simply means priority will not
552 be adjusted in determining a task's dispatch-ability.
553 12. P -- Last used CPU (SMP)
556 A number representing the last used processor. In a true SMP
557 environment this will likely change frequently since the ker‐
558 nel intentionally uses weak affinity. Also, the very act of
559 running top may break this weak affinity and cause more pro‐
560 cesses to change CPUs more often (because of the extra demand
561 for cpu time).
562 13. PGRP -- Process Group Id
565 Every process is member of a unique process group which is
566 used for distribution of signals and by terminals to arbitrate
567 requests for their input and output. When a process is cre‐
568 ated (forked), it becomes a member of the process group of its
569 parent. By convention, this value equals the process ID (see
570 PID) of the first member of a process group, called the
571 process group leader.
572 14. PID -- Process Id
575 The task's unique process ID, which periodically wraps, though
576 never restarting at zero. In kernel terms, it is a dispatch‐
577 able entity defined by a task_struct.
578 This value may also be used as: a process group ID (see PGRP);
580 a session ID for the session leader (see SID); a thread group
581 ID for the thread group leader (see TGID); and a TTY process
582 group ID for the process group leader (see TPGID).
583 15. PPID -- Parent Process Id
586 The process ID (pid) of a task's parent.
587 16. PR -- Priority
590 The scheduling priority of the task. If you see `rt' in this
591 field, it means the task is running under real time scheduling
592 priority.
593 Under linux, real time priority is somewhat misleading since
595 traditionally the operating itself was not preemptible. And
596 while the 2.6 kernel can be made mostly preemptible, it is not
597 always so.
598 17. RES -- Resident Memory Size (KiB)
601 The non-swapped physical memory a task is using.
602 18. RUID -- Real User Id
605 The real user ID.
606 19. RUSER -- Real User Name
609 The real user name.
610 20. S -- Process Status
613 The status of the task which can be one of:
614 D = uninterruptible sleep
615 R = running
616 S = sleeping
617 T = stopped by job control signal
618 t = stopped by debugger during trace
619 Z = zombie
620 Tasks shown as running should be more properly thought of as
622 ready to run -- their task_struct is simply represented on
623 the Linux run-queue. Even without a true SMP machine, you may
624 see numerous tasks in this state depending on top's delay
625 interval and nice value.
626 21. SHR -- Shared Memory Size (KiB)
629 The amount of shared memory available to a task, not all of
630 which is typically resident. It simply reflects memory that
631 could be potentially shared with other processes.
632 22. SID -- Session Id
635 A session is a collection of process groups (see PGRP), usu‐
636 ally established by the login shell. A newly forked process
637 joins the session of its creator. By convention, this value
638 equals the process ID (see PID) of the first member of the
639 session, called the session leader, which is usually the login
640 shell.
641 23. SUID -- Saved User Id
644 The saved user ID.
645 24. SUPGIDS -- Supplementary Group IDs
648 The IDs of any supplementary group(s) established at login or
649 inherited from a task's parent. They are displayed in a comma
650 delimited list.
651 Note: The SUPGIDS field, unlike most columns, is not fixed-
653 width. When displayed, it plus any other variable width col‐
654 umns will be allocated all remaining screen width (up to the
655 maximum 512 characters). Even so, such variable width fields
656 could still suffer truncation. See topic 5c. SCROLLING a Win‐
657 dow for additional information on accessing any truncated
658 data.
659 25. SUPGRPS -- Supplementary Group Names
662 The names of any supplementary group(s) established at login
663 or inherited from a task's parent. They are displayed in a
664 comma delimited list.
665 Note: The SUPGRPS field, unlike most columns, is not fixed-
667 width. When displayed, it plus any other variable width col‐
668 umns will be allocated all remaining screen width (up to the
669 maximum 512 characters). Even so, such variable width fields
670 could still suffer truncation. See topic 5c. SCROLLING a Win‐
671 dow for additional information on accessing any truncated
672 data.
673 26. SUSER -- Saved User Name
676 The saved user name.
677 27. SWAP -- Swapped Size (KiB)
680 The non-resident portion of a task's address space.
681 28. TGID -- Thread Group Id
684 The ID of the thread group to which a task belongs. It is the
685 PID of the thread group leader. In kernel terms, it repre‐
686 sents those tasks that share an mm_struct.
687 29. TIME -- CPU Time
690 Total CPU time the task has used since it started. When Cumu‐
691 lative mode is On, each process is listed with the cpu time
692 that it and its dead children have used. You toggle Cumula‐
693 tive mode with `S', which is both a command-line option and an
694 interactive command. See the `S' interactive command for
695 additional information regarding this mode.
696 30. TIME+ -- CPU Time, hundredths
699 The same as TIME, but reflecting more granularity through hun‐
700 dredths of a second.
701 31. TPGID -- Tty Process Group Id
704 The process group ID of the foreground process for the con‐
705 nected tty, or -1 if a process is not connected to a terminal.
706 By convention, this value equals the process ID (see PID) of
707 the process group leader (see PGRP).
708 32. TTY -- Controlling Tty
711 The name of the controlling terminal. This is usually the
712 device (serial port, pty, etc.) from which the process was
713 started, and which it uses for input or output. However, a
714 task need not be associated with a terminal, in which case
715 you'll see `?' displayed.
716 33. UID -- User Id
719 The effective user ID of the task's owner.
720 34. USED -- Memory in Use (KiB)
723 This field represents the non-swapped physical memory a task
724 has used (RES) plus the non-resident portion of its address
725 space (SWAP).
726 35. USER -- User Name
729 The effective user name of the task's owner.
730 36. VIRT -- Virtual Memory Size (KiB)
733 The total amount of virtual memory used by the task. It
734 includes all code, data and shared libraries plus pages that
735 have been swapped out and pages that have been mapped but not
736 used.
737 37. WCHAN -- Sleeping in Function
740 Depending on the availability of the kernel link map (Sys‐
741 tem.map), this field will show the name or the address of the
742 kernel function in which the task is currently sleeping. Run‐
743 ning tasks will display a dash ('-') in this column.
744 By displaying this field, top's own working set could be
746 increased by over 700Kb, depending on the kernel version.
747 Should that occur, your only means of reducing that overhead
748 will be to stop and restart top.
749 38. nDRT -- Dirty Pages Count
752 The number of pages that have been modified since they were
753 last written to auxiliary storage. Dirty pages must be writ‐
754 ten to auxiliary storage before the corresponding physical
755 memory location can be used for some other virtual page.
756 39. nMaj -- Major Page Fault Count
759 The number of major page faults that have occurred for a task.
760 A page fault occurs when a process attempts to read from or
761 write to a virtual page that is not currently present in its
762 address space. A major page fault is when auxiliary storage
763 access is involved in making that page available.
764 40. nMin -- Minor Page Fault count
767 The number of minor page faults that have occurred for a task.
768 A page fault occurs when a process attempts to read from or
769 write to a virtual page that is not currently present in its
770 address space. A minor page fault does not involve auxiliary
771 storage access in making that page available.
772 41. nTH -- Number of Threads
775 The number of threads associated with a process.
776 42. nsIPC -- IPC namespace
779 The Inode of the namespace used to isolate interprocess commu‐
780 nication (IPC) resources such as System V IPC objects and
781 POSIX message queues.
782 43. nsMNT -- MNT namespace
785 The Inode of the namespace used to isolate filesystem mount
786 points thus offering different views of the filesystem hierar‐
787 chy.
788 44. nsNET -- NET namespace
791 The Inode of the namespace used to isolate resources such as
792 network devices, IP addresses, IP routing, port numbers, etc.
793 45. nsPID -- PID namespace
796 The Inode of the namespace used to isolate process ID numbers
797 meaning they need not remain unique. Thus, each such names‐
798 pace could have its own `init' (PID #1) to manage various ini‐
799 tialization tasks and reap orphaned child processes.
800 46. nsUSER -- USER namespace
803 The Inode of the namespace used to isolate the user and group
804 ID numbers. Thus, a process could have a normal unprivileged
805 user ID outside a user namespace while having a user ID of 0,
806 with full root privileges, inside that namespace.
807 47. nsUTS -- UTS namespace
810 The Inode of the namespace used to isolate hostname and NIS
811 domain name. UTS simply means "UNIX Time-sharing System".
812 48. vMj -- Major Page Fault Count Delta
815 The number of major page faults that have occurred since the
816 last update (see nMaj).
817 49. vMn -- Minor Page Fault Count Delta
820 The number of minor page faults that have occurred since the
821 last update (see nMin).
822 3b. MANAGING Fields
826 After pressing the interactive command `f' or `F' (Fields Manage‐
827 ment) you will be presented with a screen showing: 1) the `cur‐
828 rent' window name; 2) the designated sort field; 3) all fields in
829 their current order along with descriptions. Entries marked with
830 an asterisk are the currently displayed fields, screen width per‐
831 mitting.
832 · As the on screen instructions indicate, you navigate among
835 the fields with the Up and Down arrow keys. The PgUp,
836 PgDn, Home and End keys can also be used to quickly reach
837 the first or last available field.
838 · The Right arrow key selects a field for repositioning and
841 the Left arrow key or the <Enter> key commits that field's
842 placement.
843 · The `d' key or the <Space> bar toggles a field's display
846 status, and thus the presence or absence of the asterisk.
847 · The `s' key designates a field as the sort field. See
850 topic 4c. TASK AREA Commands, SORTING for additional infor‐
851 mation regarding your selection of a sort field.
852 · The `a' and `w' keys can be used to cycle through all
855 available windows and the `q' or <Esc> keys exit Fields
856 Management.
857 The Fields Management screen can also be used to change the `cur‐
860 rent' window/field group in either full-screen mode or alter‐
861 nate-display mode. Whatever was targeted when `q' or <Esc> was
862 pressed will be made current as you return to the top display.
863 See topic 5. ALTERNATE-DISPLAY Provisions and the `g' interactive
864 command for insight into `current' windows and field groups.
865 Note: Any window that has been scrolled horizontally will be reset
868 if any field changes are made via the Fields Management screen.
869 Any vertical scrolled position, however, will not be affected.
870 See topic 5c. SCROLLING a Window for additional information
871 regarding vertical and horizontal scrolling.
872
875 Listed below is a brief index of commands within categories. Some
876 commands appear more than once -- their meaning or scope may
877 vary depending on the context in which they are issued.
878 4a. Global-Commands
880 <Ent/Sp> ?, =, 0,
881 A, B, d, E, e, g, h, H, I, k, q, r, s, W, X, Y, Z
882 4b. Summary-Area-Commands
883 C, l, t, m, 1, 2, 3
884 4c. Task-Area-Commands
885 Appearance: b, J, j, x, y, z
886 Content: c, f, F, o, O, S, u, U, V
887 Size: #, i, n
888 Sorting: <, >, f, F, R
889 4d. Color-Mapping
890 <Ret>, a, B, b, H, M, q, S, T, w, z, 0 - 7
891 5b. Commands-for-Windows
892 -, _, =, +, A, a, g, G, w
893 5c. Scrolling-a-Window
894 C, Up, Dn, Left, Right, PgUp, PgDn, Home, End
895 5d. Searching-in-a-Window
896 L, &
897 4a. GLOBAL Commands
900 The global interactive commands are always available in both
901 full-screen mode and alternate-display mode. However, some of
902 these interactive commands are not available when running in
903 Secure mode.
904 If you wish to know in advance whether or not your top has been
906 secured, simply ask for help and view the system summary on the
907 second line.
908 <Enter> or <Space> :Refresh-Display
911 These commands awaken top and following receipt of any
912 input the entire display will be repainted. They also
913 force an update of any hotplugged cpu or physical memory
914 changes.
915 Use either of these keys if you have a large delay interval
917 and wish to see current status,
918 ? | h :Help
921 There are two help levels available. The first will pro‐
922 vide a reminder of all the basic interactive commands. If
923 top is secured, that screen will be abbreviated.
924 Typing `h' or `?' on that help screen will take you to help
926 for those interactive commands applicable to alternate-dis‐
927 play mode.
928 = :Exit-Task-Limits
931 Removes restrictions on which tasks are shown. This com‐
932 mand will reverse any `i' (idle tasks) and `n' (max tasks)
933 commands that might be active. It also provides for an
934 exit from PID monitoring, User filtering and Other filter‐
935 ing. See the `-p' command-line option for a discussion of
936 PID monitoring, the `U' or `u' interactive commands for
937 User filtering and the `O' or `o' interactive commands for
938 Other filtering.
939 Additionally, any window that has been scrolled will be
941 reset with this command. See topic 5c. SCROLLING a Window
942 for additional information regarding vertical and horizon‐
943 tal scrolling.
944 When operating in alternate-display mode this command has a
946 broader meaning.
947 0 :Zero-Suppress toggle
950 This command determines whether zeros are shown or sup‐
951 pressed for many of the fields in a task window. Fields
952 like UID, GID, NI, PR or P are not affected by this toggle.
953 A :Alternate-Display-Mode toggle
956 This command will switch between full-screen mode and
957 alternate-display mode. See topic 5. ALTERNATE-DISPLAY
958 Provisions and the `g' interactive command for insight into
959 `current' windows and field groups.
960 B :Bold-Disable/Enable toggle
963 This command will influence use of the bold terminfo capa‐
964 bility and alters both the summary area and task area for
965 the `current' window. While it is intended primarily for
966 use with dumb terminals, it can be applied anytime.
967 Note: When this toggle is On and top is operating in mono‐
969 chrome mode, the entire display will appear as normal text.
970 Thus, unless the `x' and/or `y' toggles are using reverse
971 for emphasis, there will be no visual confirmation that
972 they are even on.
973 * d | s :Change-Delay-Time-interval
976 You will be prompted to enter the delay time, in seconds,
977 between display updates.
978 Fractional seconds are honored, but a negative number is
980 not allowed. Entering 0 causes (nearly) continuous
981 updates, with an unsatisfactory display as the system and
982 tty driver try to keep up with top's demands. The delay
983 value is inversely proportional to system loading, so set
984 it with care.
985 If at any time you wish to know the current delay time,
987 simply ask for help and view the system summary on the sec‐
988 ond line.
989 E :Extend-Memory-Scale in Summary Area
992 With this command you can cycle through the available sum‐
993 mary area memory scaling which ranges from KiB (kibibytes
994 or 1,024 bytes) through EiB (exbibytes or
995 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes).
996 If you see a `+' between a displayed number and the follow‐
998 ing label, it means that top was forced to truncate some
999 portion of that number. By raising the scaling factor,
1000 such truncation can be avoided.
1001 e :Extend-Memory-Scale in Task Windows
1004 With this command you can cycle through the available task
1005 window memory scaling which ranges from KiB (kibibytes or
1006 1,024 bytes) through PiB (pebibytes or
1007 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes).
1008 While top will try to honor the selected target range,
1010 additional scaling might still be necessary in order to
1011 accommodate current values. If you wish to see a more
1012 homogeneous result in the memory columns, raising the scal‐
1013 ing range will usually accomplish that goal. Raising it
1014 too high, however, is likely to produce an all zero result
1015 which cannot be suppressed with the `0' interactive com‐
1016 mand.
1017 g :Choose-Another-Window/Field-Group
1020 You will be prompted to enter a number between 1 and 4 des‐
1021 ignating the field group which should be made the `current'
1022 window. You will soon grow comfortable with these 4 win‐
1023 dows, especially after experimenting with alternate-display
1024 mode.
1025 H :Threads-mode toggle
1028 When this toggle is On, individual threads will be dis‐
1029 played for all processes in all visible task windows. Oth‐
1030 erwise, top displays a summation of all threads in each
1031 process.
1032 I :Irix/Solaris-Mode toggle
1035 When operating in Solaris mode (`I' toggled Off), a task's
1036 cpu usage will be divided by the total number of CPUs.
1037 After issuing this command, you'll be told the new state of
1038 this toggle.
1039 * k :Kill-a-task
1042 You will be prompted for a PID and then the signal to send.
1043 Entering no PID or a negative number will be interpreted as
1045 the default shown in the prompt (the first task displayed).
1046 A PID value of zero means the top program itself.
1047 The default signal, as reflected in the prompt, is SIGTERM.
1049 However, you can send any signal, via number or name.
1050 If you wish to abort the kill process, do one of the fol‐
1052 lowing depending on your progress:
1053 1) at the pid prompt, type an invalid number
1054 2) at the signal prompt, type 0 (or any invalid signal)
1055 3) at any prompt, type <Esc>
1056 q :Quit
1059 * r :Renice-a-Task
1062 You will be prompted for a PID and then the value to nice
1063 it to.
1064 Entering no PID or a negative number will be interpreted as
1066 the default shown in the prompt (the first task displayed).
1067 A PID value of zero means the top program itself.
1068 A positive nice value will cause a process to lose prior‐
1070 ity. Conversely, a negative nice value will cause a
1071 process to be viewed more favorably by the kernel. As a
1072 general rule, ordinary users can only increase the nice
1073 value and are prevented from lowering it.
1074 If you wish to abort the renice process, do one of the fol‐
1076 lowing depending on your progress:
1077 1) at the pid prompt, type an invalid number
1078 2) at the nice prompt, type <Enter> with no input
1079 3) at any prompt, type <Esc>
1080 W :Write-the-Configuration-File
1083 This will save all of your options and toggles plus the
1084 current display mode and delay time. By issuing this com‐
1085 mand just before quitting top, you will be able restart
1086 later in exactly that same state.
1087 X :Extra-Fixed-Width
1090 Some fields are fixed width and not scalable. As such,
1091 they are subject to truncation which would be indicated by
1092 a `+' in the last position.
1093 This interactive command can be used to alter the widths of
1095 the following fields:
1096 field default field default field default
1098 GID 5 GROUP 8 WCHAN 10
1099 RUID 5 RUSER 8 nsIPC 10
1100 SUID 5 SUSER 8 nsMNT 10
1101 UID 5 USER 8 nsNET 10
1102 TTY 8 nsPID 10
1103 nsUSER 10
1104 nsUTS 10
1105 You will be prompted for the amount to be added to the
1107 default widths shown above. Entering zero forces a return
1108 to those defaults.
1109 If you enter a negative number, top will automatically
1111 increase the column size as needed until there is no more
1112 truncated data. You can accelerate this process by reduc‐
1113 ing the delay interval or holding down the <Space> bar.
1114 Note: Whether explicitly or automatically increased, the
1116 widths for these fields are never decreased by top. To
1117 narrow them you must specify a smaller number or restore
1118 the defaults.
1119 Y :Inspect-Other-Output
1122 After issuing the `Y' interactive command, you will be
1123 prompted for a target PID. Typing a value or accepting the
1124 default results in a separate screen. That screen can be
1125 used to view a variety of files or piped command output
1126 while the normal top iterative display is paused.
1127 Note: This interactive command is only fully realized when
1129 supporting entries have been manually added to the end of
1130 the top configuration file. For details on creating those
1131 entries, see topic 6c. ADDING INSPECT Entries.
1132 Most of the keys used to navigate the Inspect feature are
1134 reflected in its header prologue. There are, however,
1135 additional keys available once you have selected a particu‐
1136 lar file or command. They are familiar to anyone who has
1137 used the pager `less' and are summarized here for future
1138 reference.
1139 key function
1141 = alternate status-line, file or pipeline
1142 / find, equivalent to `L' locate
1143 n find next, equivalent to `&' locate next
1144 <Space> scroll down, equivalent to <PgDn>
1145 b scroll up, equivalent to <PgUp>
1146 g first line, equivalent to <Home>
1147 G last line, equivalent to <End>
1148 Z :Change-Color-Mapping
1151 This key will take you to a separate screen where you can
1152 change the colors for the `current' window, or for all win‐
1153 dows. For details regarding this interactive command see
1154 topic 4d. COLOR Mapping.
1155 * The commands shown with an asterisk (`*') are not available in
1158 Secure mode, nor will they be shown on the level-1 help screen.
1159 4b. SUMMARY AREA Commands
1162 The summary area interactive commands are always available in both
1163 full-screen mode and alternate-display mode. They affect the
1164 beginning lines of your display and will determine the position of
1165 messages and prompts.
1166 These commands always impact just the `current' window/field
1168 group. See topic 5. ALTERNATE-DISPLAY Provisions and the `g'
1169 interactive command for insight into `current' windows and field
1170 groups.
1171 C :Show-scroll-coordinates toggle
1174 Toggle an informational message which is displayed whenever
1175 the message line is not otherwise being used. For addi‐
1176 tional information see topic 5c. SCROLLING a Window.
1177 l :Load-Average/Uptime toggle
1180 This is also the line containing the program name (possibly
1181 an alias) when operating in full-screen mode or the `cur‐
1182 rent' window name when operating in alternate-display mode.
1183 t :Task/Cpu-States toggle
1186 This command affects from 2 to many summary area lines,
1187 depending on the state of the `1', `2' or `3' command tog‐
1188 gles and whether or not top is running under true SMP.
1189 This portion of the summary area is also influenced by the
1191 `H' interactive command toggle, as reflected in the total
1192 label which shows either Tasks or Threads.
1193 This command serves as a 4-way toggle, cycling through
1195 these modes:
1196 1. detailed percentages by category (default)
1197 2. abbreviated user/system and total % + bar graph
1198 3. abbreviated user/system and total % + block graph
1199 4. turn off task and cpu states display
1200 When operating in either of the graphic modes, the display
1202 becomes much more meaningful when individual CPUs or NUMA
1203 nodes are also displayed. See the the `1', `2' and `3'
1204 commands below for additional information.
1205 m :Memory/Swap-Usage toggle
1208 This command affects the two summary area lines dealing
1209 with physical and virtual memory.
1210 This command serves as a 4-way toggle, cycling through
1212 these modes:
1213 1. detailed percentages by memory type (default)
1214 2. abbreviated % used/total available + bar graph
1215 3. abbreviated % used/total available + block graph
1216 4. turn off memory display
1217 1 :Single/Separate-Cpu-States toggle
1220 This command affects how the `t' command's Cpu States por‐
1221 tion is shown. Although this toggle exists primarily to
1222 serve massively-parallel SMP machines, it is not restricted
1223 to solely SMP environments.
1224 When you see `%Cpu(s):' in the summary area, the `1' toggle
1226 is On and all cpu information is gathered in a single line.
1227 Otherwise, each cpu is displayed separately as: `%Cpu0,
1228 %Cpu1, ...' up to available screen height.
1229 2 :NUMA-Nodes/Cpu-Summary toggle
1232 This command toggles between the `1' command cpu summary
1233 display (only) or a summary display plus the cpu usage sta‐
1234 tistics for each NUMA Node. It is only available if a sys‐
1235 tem has the requisite NUMA support.
1236 3 :Expand-NUMA-Node
1239 You will be invited to enter a number representing a NUMA
1240 Node. Thereafter, a node summary plus the statistics for
1241 each cpu in that node will be shown until either the `1' or
1242 `2' command toggle is pressed. This interactive command is
1243 only available if a system has the requisite NUMA support.
1244 Note: If the entire summary area has been toggled Off for any win‐
1247 dow, you would be left with just the message line. In that way,
1248 you will have maximized available task rows but (temporarily) sac‐
1249 rificed the program name in full-screen mode or the `current' win‐
1250 dow name when in alternate-display mode.
1251 4c. TASK AREA Commands
1254 The task area interactive commands are always available in
1255 full-screen mode.
1256 The task area interactive commands are never available in alter‐
1258 nate-display mode if the `current' window's task display has been
1259 toggled Off (see topic 5. ALTERNATE-DISPLAY Provisions).
1260 APPEARANCE of task window
1263 J :Justify-Numeric-Columns toggle
1266 Alternates between right-justified (the default) and left-
1267 justified numeric data. If the numeric data completely
1268 fills the available column, this command toggle may impact
1269 the column header only.
1270 j :Justify-Character-Columns toggle
1273 Alternates between left-justified (the default) and right-
1274 justified character data. If the character data completely
1275 fills the available column, this command toggle may impact
1276 the column header only.
1277 The following commands will also be influenced by the state of
1280 the global `B' (bold enable) toggle.
1281 b :Bold/Reverse toggle
1284 This command will impact how the `x' and `y' toggles are
1285 displayed. It may also impact the summary area when a bar
1286 graph has been selected for cpu states or memory usage via
1287 the 't' or 'm' toggles.
1288 x :Column-Highlight toggle
1291 Changes highlighting for the current sort field. If you
1292 forget which field is being sorted this command can serve
1293 as a quick visual reminder, providing the sort field is
1294 being displayed. The sort field might not be visible
1295 because:
1296 1) there is insufficient Screen Width
1297 2) the `f' interactive command turned it Off
1298 Note: Whenever Searching and/or Other Filtering is active
1300 in a window, column highlighting is temporarily disabled.
1301 See the notes at the end of topics 5d. SEARCHING and 5e.
1302 FILTERING for an explanation why.
1303 y :Row-Highlight toggle
1306 Changes highlighting for "running" tasks. For additional
1307 insight into this task state, see topic 3a. DESCRIPTIONS of
1308 Fields, the `S' field (Process Status).
1309 Use of this provision provides important insight into your
1311 system's health. The only costs will be a few additional
1312 tty escape sequences.
1313 z :Color/Monochrome toggle
1316 Switches the `current' window between your last used color
1317 scheme and the older form of black-on-white or white-on-
1318 black. This command will alter both the summary area and
1319 task area but does not affect the state of the `x', `y' or
1320 `b' toggles.
1321 CONTENT of task window
1324 c :Command-Line/Program-Name toggle
1327 This command will be honored whether or not the COMMAND
1328 column is currently visible. Later, should that field come
1329 into view, the change you applied will be seen.
1330 f | F :Fields-Management
1333 These keys display a separate screen where you can change
1334 which fields are displayed, their order and also designate
1335 the sort field. For additional information on these inter‐
1336 active commands see topic 3b. MANAGING Fields.
1337 o | O :Other-Filtering
1340 You will be prompted for the selection criteria which then
1341 determines which tasks will be shown in the `current' win‐
1342 dow. Your criteria can be made case sensitive or case can
1343 be ignored. And you determine if top should include or
1344 exclude matching tasks.
1345 See topic 5e. FILTERING in a window for details on these
1347 and additional related interactive commands.
1348 S :Cumulative-Time-Mode toggle
1351 When Cumulative mode is On, each process is listed with the
1352 cpu time that it and its dead children have used.
1353 When Off, programs that fork into many separate tasks will
1355 appear less demanding. For programs like `init' or a shell
1356 this is appropriate but for others, like compilers, perhaps
1357 not. Experiment with two task windows sharing the same
1358 sort field but with different `S' states and see which rep‐
1359 resentation you prefer.
1360 After issuing this command, you'll be informed of the new
1362 state of this toggle. If you wish to know in advance
1363 whether or not Cumulative mode is in effect, simply ask for
1364 help and view the window summary on the second line.
1365 u | U :Show-Specific-User-Only
1368 You will be prompted for the uid or name of the user to
1369 display. The -u option matches on effective user whereas
1370 the -U option matches on any user (real, effective, saved,
1371 or filesystem).
1372 Thereafter, in that task window only matching users will be
1374 shown, or possibly no processes will be shown. Prepending
1375 an exclamation point ('!') to the user id or name instructs
1376 top to display only processes with users not matching the
1377 one provided.
1378 Different task windows can be used to filter different
1380 users. Later, if you wish to monitor all users again in
1381 the `current' window, re-issue this command but just press
1382 <Enter> at the prompt.
1383 V :Forest-View-Mode toggle
1386 In this mode, processes are reordered according to their
1387 parents and the layout of the COMMAND column resembles that
1388 of a tree. In forest view mode it is still possible to
1389 toggle between program name and command line (see the `c'
1390 interactive command) or between processes and threads (see
1391 the `H' interactive command).
1392 Note: Typing any key affecting the sort order will exit
1394 forest view mode in the `current' window. See topic 4c.
1395 TASK AREA Commands, SORTING for information on those keys.
1396 SIZE of task window
1399 i :Idle-Process toggle
1402 Displays all tasks or just active tasks. When this toggle
1403 is Off, tasks that have not used any CPU since the last
1404 update will not be displayed. However, due to the granu‐
1405 larity of the %CPU and TIME+ fields, some processes may
1406 still be displayed that appear to have used no CPU.
1407 If this command is applied to the last task display when in
1409 alternate-display mode, then it will not affect the win‐
1410 dow's size, as all prior task displays will have already
1411 been painted.
1412 n | # :Set-Maximum-Tasks
1415 You will be prompted to enter the number of tasks to dis‐
1416 play. The lessor of your number and available screen rows
1417 will be used.
1418 When used in alternate-display mode, this is the command
1420 that gives you precise control over the size of each cur‐
1421 rently visible task display, except for the very last. It
1422 will not affect the last window's size, as all prior task
1423 displays will have already been painted.
1424 Note: If you wish to increase the size of the last visible
1426 task display when in alternate-display mode, simply
1427 decrease the size of the task display(s) above it.
1428 SORTING of task window
1430 For compatibility, this top supports most of the former top
1432 sort keys. Since this is primarily a service to former top
1433 users, these commands do not appear on any help screen.
1434 command sorted-field supported
1435 A start time (non-display) No
1436 M %MEM Yes
1437 N PID Yes
1438 P %CPU Yes
1439 T TIME+ Yes
1440 Before using any of the following sort provisions, top suggests
1442 that you temporarily turn on column highlighting using the `x'
1443 interactive command. That will help ensure that the actual
1444 sort environment matches your intent.
1445 The following interactive commands will only be honored when
1447 the current sort field is visible. The sort field might not be
1448 visible because:
1449 1) there is insufficient Screen Width
1450 2) the `f' interactive command turned it Off
1451 < :Move-Sort-Field-Left
1454 Moves the sort column to the left unless the current
1455 sort field is the first field being displayed.
1456 > :Move-Sort-Field-Right
1459 Moves the sort column to the right unless the current
1460 sort field is the last field being displayed.
1461 The following interactive commands will always be honored
1464 whether or not the current sort field is visible.
1465 f | F :Fields-Management
1468 These keys display a separate screen where you can
1469 change which field is used as the sort column, among
1470 other functions. This can be a convenient way to simply
1471 verify the current sort field, when running top with
1472 column highlighting turned Off.
1473 R :Reverse/Normal-Sort-Field toggle
1476 Using this interactive command you can alternate between
1477 high-to-low and low-to-high sorts.
1478 Note: Field sorting uses internal values, not those in column
1481 display. Thus, the TTY and WCHAN fields will violate strict
1482 ASCII collating sequence.
1483 4d. COLOR Mapping
1486 When you issue the `Z' interactive command, you will be presented
1487 with a separate screen. That screen can be used to change the
1488 colors in just the `current' window or in all four windows before
1489 returning to the top display.
1490 The following interactive commands are available.
1493 4 upper case letters to select a target
1494 8 numbers to select a color
1495 normal toggles available
1496 B :bold disable/enable
1497 b :running tasks "bold"/reverse
1498 z :color/mono
1499 other commands available
1500 a/w :apply, then go to next/prior
1501 <Enter> :apply and exit
1502 q :abandon current changes and exit
1503 If you use `a' or `w' to cycle the targeted window, you will have
1505 applied the color scheme that was displayed when you left that
1506 window. You can, of course, easily return to any window and reap‐
1507 ply different colors or turn colors Off completely with the `z'
1508 toggle.
1509 The Color Mapping screen can also be used to change the `current'
1511 window/field group in either full-screen mode or alternate-display
1512 mode. Whatever was targeted when `q' or <Enter> was pressed will
1513 be made current as you return to the top display.
1514
1516 5a. WINDOWS Overview
1517 Field Groups/Windows:
1518 In full-screen mode there is a single window represented by the
1519 entire screen. That single window can still be changed to dis‐
1520 play 1 of 4 different field groups (see the `g' interactive
1521 command, repeated below). Each of the 4 field groups has a
1522 unique separately configurable summary area and its own config‐
1523 urable task area.
1524 In alternate-display mode, those 4 underlying field groups can
1526 now be made visible simultaneously, or can be turned Off indi‐
1527 vidually at your command.
1528 The summary area will always exist, even if it's only the mes‐
1530 sage line. At any given time only one summary area can be dis‐
1531 played. However, depending on your commands, there could be
1532 from zero to four separate task displays currently showing on
1533 the screen.
1534 Current Window:
1536 The `current' window is the window associated with the summary
1537 area and the window to which task related commands are always
1538 directed. Since in alternate-display mode you can toggle the
1539 task display Off, some commands might be restricted for the
1540 `current' window.
1541 A further complication arises when you have toggled the first
1543 summary area line Off. With the loss of the window name (the
1544 `l' toggled line), you'll not easily know what window is the
1545 `current' window.
1546 5b. COMMANDS for Windows
1549 - | _ :Show/Hide-Window(s) toggles
1550 The `-' key turns the `current' window's task display On
1551 and Off. When On, that task area will show a minimum of
1552 the columns header you've established with the `f' interac‐
1553 tive command. It will also reflect any other task area
1554 options/toggles you've applied yielding zero or more tasks.
1555 The `_' key does the same for all task displays. In other
1557 words, it switches between the currently visible task dis‐
1558 play(s) and any task display(s) you had toggled Off. If
1559 all 4 task displays are currently visible, this interactive
1560 command will leave the summary area as the only display
1561 element.
1562 * = | + :Equalize-(reinitialize)-Window(s)
1565 The `=' key forces the `current' window's task display to
1566 be visible. It also reverses any `i' (idle tasks), `n'
1567 (max tasks), `u/U' (user filter) and `o/O' (other filter)
1568 commands that might be active. Also, if the window had
1569 been scrolled, it will be reset with this command. See
1570 topic 5c. SCROLLING a Window for additional information
1571 regarding vertical and horizontal scrolling.
1572 The `+' key does the same for all windows. The four task
1574 displays will reappear, evenly balanced. They will also
1575 have retained any customizations you had previously
1576 applied, except for the `i' (idle tasks), `n' (max tasks),
1577 `u/U' (user filter), `o/O' (other filter) and scrolling
1578 interactive commands.
1579 * A :Alternate-Display-Mode toggle
1582 This command will switch between full-screen mode and
1583 alternate-display mode.
1584 The first time you issue this command, all four task dis‐
1586 plays will be shown. Thereafter when you switch modes, you
1587 will see only the task display(s) you've chosen to make
1588 visible.
1589 * a | w :Next-Window-Forward/Backward
1592 This will change the `current' window, which in turn
1593 changes the window to which commands are directed. These
1594 keys act in a circular fashion so you can reach any desired
1595 window using either key.
1596 Assuming the window name is visible (you have not toggled
1598 `l' Off), whenever the `current' window name loses its
1599 emphasis/color, that's a reminder the task display is Off
1600 and many commands will be restricted.
1601 * g :Choose-Another-Window/Field-Group
1604 You will be prompted to enter a number between 1 and 4 des‐
1605 ignating the field group which should be made the `current'
1606 window.
1607 In full-screen mode, this command is necessary to alter the
1609 `current' window. In alternate-display mode, it is simply
1610 a less convenient alternative to the `a' and `w' commands.
1611 G :Change-Window/Field-Group-Name
1614 You will be prompted for a new name to be applied to the
1615 `current' window. It does not require that the window name
1616 be visible (the `l' toggle to be On).
1617 * The interactive commands shown with an asterisk (`*') have use
1620 beyond alternate-display mode.
1621 =, A, g are always available
1622 a, w act the same with color mapping
1623 and fields management
1624 5c. SCROLLING a Window
1627 Typically a task window is a partial view into a systems's total
1628 tasks/threads which shows only some of the available fields/col‐
1629 umns. With these scrolling keys, you can move that view verti‐
1630 cally or horizontally to reveal any desired task or column.
1631 Up,PgUp :Scroll-Tasks
1634 Move the view up toward the first task row, until the first
1635 task is displayed at the top of the `current' window. The Up
1636 arrow key moves a single line while PgUp scrolls the entire
1637 window.
1638 Down,PgDn :Scroll-Tasks
1641 Move the view down toward the last task row, until the last
1642 task is the only task displayed at the top of the `current'
1643 window. The Down arrow key moves a single line while PgDn
1644 scrolls the entire window.
1645 Left,Right :Scroll-Columns
1648 Move the view of displayable fields horizontally one column at
1649 a time.
1650 Note: As a reminder, some fields/columns are not fixed-width
1652 but allocated all remaining screen width when visible. When
1653 scrolling right or left, that feature may produce some unex‐
1654 pected results initially.
1655 Additionally, there are special provisions for any variable
1657 width field when positioned as the last displayed field. Once
1658 that field is reached via the right arrow key, and is thus the
1659 only column shown, you can continue scrolling horizontally
1660 within such a field. See the `C' interactive command below
1661 for additional information.
1662 Home :Jump-to-Home-Position
1665 Reposition the display to the un-scrolled coordinates.
1666 End :Jump-to-End-Position
1669 Reposition the display so that the rightmost column reflects
1670 the last displayable field and the bottom task row represents
1671 the last task.
1672 Note: From this position it is still possible to scroll down
1674 and right using the arrow keys. This is true until a single
1675 column and a single task is left as the only display element.
1676 C :Show-scroll-coordinates toggle
1679 Toggle an informational message which is displayed whenever
1680 the message line is not otherwise being used. That message
1681 will take one of two forms depending on whether or not a vari‐
1682 able width column has also been scrolled.
1683 scroll coordinates: y = n/n (tasks), x = n/n (fields)
1685 scroll coordinates: y = n/n (tasks), x = n/n (fields) + nn
1686 The coordinates shown as n/n are relative to the upper left
1688 corner of the `current' window. The additional `+ nn' repre‐
1689 sents the displacement into a variable width column when it
1690 has been scrolled horizontally. Such displacement occurs in
1691 normal 8 character tab stop amounts via the right and left
1692 arrow keys.
1693 y = n/n (tasks)
1696 The first n represents the topmost visible task and is
1697 controlled by scrolling keys. The second n is updated
1698 automatically to reflect total tasks.
1699 x = n/n (fields)
1702 The first n represents the leftmost displayed column and
1703 is controlled by scrolling keys. The second n is the
1704 total number of displayable fields and is established with
1705 the `f' interactive command.
1706 The above interactive commands are always available in full-screen
1709 mode but never available in alternate-display mode if the `cur‐
1710 rent' window's task display has been toggled Off.
1711 Note: When any form of filtering is active, you can expect some
1713 slight aberrations when scrolling since not all tasks will be vis‐
1714 ible. This is particularly apparent when using the Up/Down arrow
1715 keys.
1716 5d. SEARCHING in a Window
1719 You can use these interactive commands to locate a task row con‐
1720 taining a particular value.
1721 L :Locate-a-string
1724 You will be prompted for the case-sensitive string to locate
1725 starting from the current window coordinates. There are no
1726 restrictions on search string content.
1727 Searches are not limited to values from a single field or col‐
1729 umn. All of the values displayed in a task row are allowed in
1730 a search string. You may include spaces, numbers, symbols and
1731 even forest view artwork.
1732 Keying <Enter> with no input will effectively disable the `&'
1734 key until a new search string is entered.
1735 & :Locate-next
1738 Assuming a search string has been established, top will
1739 attempt to locate the next occurrence.
1740 When a match is found, the current window is repositioned verti‐
1743 cally so the task row containing that string is first. The scroll
1744 coordinates message can provide confirmation of such vertical
1745 repositioning (see the `C' interactive command). Horizontal
1746 scrolling, however, is never altered via searching.
1747 The availability of a matching string will be influenced by the
1749 following factors.
1750 a. Which fields are displayable from the total available,
1752 see topic 3b. MANAGING Fields.
1753 b. Scrolling a window vertically and/or horizontally,
1755 see topic 5c. SCROLLING a Window.
1756 c. The state of the command/command-line toggle,
1758 see the `c' interactive command.
1759 d. The stability of the chosen sort column,
1761 for example PID is good but %CPU bad.
1762 If a search fails, restoring the `current' window home
1765 (unscrolled) position, scrolling horizontally, displaying command-
1766 lines or choosing a more stable sort field could yet produce a
1767 successful `&' search.
1768 The above interactive commands are always available in full-screen
1770 mode but never available in alternate-display mode if the `cur‐
1771 rent' window's task display has been toggled Off.
1772 Note: Whenever a Search is active in a window, top will turn col‐
1774 umn highlighting Off to prevent false matches on internal non-dis‐
1775 play escape sequences. Such highlighting will be restored when a
1776 window's search string is empty. See the `x' interactive command
1777 for additional information on sort column highlighting.
1778 5e. FILTERING in a Window
1781 You can use this Other Filter feature to establish selection cri‐
1782 teria which will then determine which tasks are shown in the `cur‐
1783 rent' window.
1784 Establishing a filter requires: 1) a field name; 2) an operator;
1786 and 3) a selection value, as a minimum. This is the most complex
1787 of top's user input requirements so, when you make a mistake, com‐
1788 mand recall will be your friend. Remember the Up/Down arrow keys
1789 or their aliases when prompted for input.
1790 Filter Basics
1792 1. field names are case sensitive and spelled as in the header
1794 2. selection values need not comprise the full displayed field
1796 3. a selection is either case insensitive or sensitive to case
1798 4. the default is inclusion, prepending `!' denotes exclusions
1800 5. multiple selection criteria can be applied to a task window
1802 6. inclusion and exclusion criteria can be used simultaneously
1804 7. the 1 equality and 2 relational filters can be freely mixed
1806 8. separate unique filters are maintained for each task window
1808 If a field is not turned on or is not currently in view, then
1810 your selection criteria will not affect the display. Later,
1811 should a filtered field become visible, the selection criteria
1812 will then be applied.
1813 Keyboard Summary
1815 o :Other-Filter (lower case)
1817 You will be prompted to establish a filter that ignores case
1818 when matching.
1819 O :Other-Filter (upper case)
1822 You will be prompted to establish a case sensitive filter.
1823 ^O :Show-Active-Filters (Ctrl key + `o')
1826 This can serve as a reminder of which filters are active in
1827 the `current' window. A summary will be shown on the mes‐
1828 sage line until you press the <Enter> key.
1829 = :Reset-Filtering in current window
1832 This clears all of your selection criteria in the `current'
1833 window. It also has additional impact so please see topic
1834 4a. GLOBAL Commands.
1835 + :Reset-Filtering in all windows
1838 This clears the selection criteria in all windows, assuming
1839 you are in alternate-display mode. As with the `=' interac‐
1840 tive command, it too has additional consequences so you
1841 might wish to see topic 5b. COMMANDS for Windows.
1842 Input Requirements
1844 When prompted for selection criteria, the data you provide must
1846 take one of two forms. There are 3 required pieces of informa‐
1847 tion, with a 4th as optional. These examples use spaces for
1848 clarity but your input generally would not.
1849 #1 #2 #3 ( required )
1850 Field-Name ? include-if-value
1851 ! Field-Name ? exclude-if-value
1852 #4 ( optional )
1853 Items #1, #3 and #4 should be self-explanatory. Item #2 repre‐
1855 sents both a required delimiter and the operator which must be
1856 one of either equality (`=') or relation (`<' or `>').
1857 The `=' equality operator requires only a partial match and
1859 that can reduce your `if-value' input requirements. The `>' or
1860 `<' relational operators always employ string comparisons, even
1861 with numeric fields. They are designed to work with a field's
1862 default justification and with homogeneous data. When some
1863 field's numeric amounts have been subjected to scaling while
1864 others have not, that data is no longer homogeneous.
1865 If you establish a relational filter and you have changed the
1867 default Numeric or Character justification, that filter is
1868 likely to fail. When a relational filter is applied to a mem‐
1869 ory field and you have not changed the scaling, it may produce
1870 misleading results. This happens, for example, because
1871 `100.0m' (MiB) would appear greater than `1.000g' (GiB) when
1872 compared as strings.
1873 If your filtered results appear suspect, simply altering justi‐
1875 fication or scaling may yet achieve the desired objective. See
1876 the `j', `J' and `e' interactive commands for additional infor‐
1877 mation.
1878 Potential Problems
1880 These GROUP filters could produce the exact same results or the
1882 second one might not display anything at all, just a blank task
1883 window.
1884 GROUP=root ( only the same results when )
1885 GROUP=ROOT ( invoked via lower case `o' )
1886 Either of these RES filters might yield inconsistent and/or
1888 misleading results, depending on the current memory scaling
1889 factor. Or both filters could produce the exact same results.
1890 RES>9999 ( only the same results when )
1891 !RES<10000 ( memory scaling is at `KiB' )
1892 This nMin filter illustrates a problem unique to scalable
1894 fields. This particular field can display a maximum of 4 dig‐
1895 its, beyond which values are automatically scaled to KiB or
1896 above. So while amounts greater than 9999 exist, they will
1897 appear as 2.6m, 197k, etc.
1898 nMin>9999 ( always a blank task window )
1899 Potential Solutions
1901 These examples illustrate how Other Filtering can be creatively
1903 applied to achieve almost any desired result. Single quotes
1904 are sometimes shown to delimit the spaces which are part of a
1905 filter or to represent a request for status (^O) accurately.
1906 But if you used them with if-values in real life, no matches
1907 would be found.
1908 Assuming field nTH is displayed, the first filter will result
1910 in only multi-threaded processes being shown. It also reminds
1911 us that a trailing space is part of every displayed field. The
1912 second filter achieves the exact same results with less typing.
1913 !nTH=` 1 ' ( ' for clarity only )
1914 nTH>1 ( same with less i/p )
1915 With Forest View mode active and the COMMAND column in view,
1917 this filter effectively collapses child processes so that just
1918 3 levels are shown.
1919 !COMMAND=` `- ' ( ' for clarity only )
1920 The final two filters appear as in response to the status
1922 request key (^O). In reality, each filter would have required
1923 separate input. The PR example shows the two concurrent fil‐
1924 ters necessary to display tasks with priorities of 20 or more,
1925 since some might be negative. Then by exploiting trailing spa‐
1926 ces, the nMin series of filters could achieve the failed `9999'
1927 objective discussed above.
1928 `PR>20' + `!PR=-' ( 2 for right result )
1929 `!nMin=0 ' + `!nMin=1 ' + `!nMin=2 ' + `!nMin=3 ' ...
1930 Note: Whenever Other Filtering is active in a window, top will
1932 turn column highlighting Off to prevent false matches on internal
1933 non-display escape sequences. Such highlighting will be restored
1934 when a window is no longer subject to filtering. See the `x'
1935 interactive command for additional information on sort column
1936 highlighting.
1937
1940 6a. SYSTEM Configuration File
1941 The presence of this file will influence which version of the help
1942 screen is shown to an ordinary user. More importantly, it will
1943 limit what ordinary users are allowed to do when top is running.
1944 They will not be able to issue the following commands.
1945 k Kill a task
1946 r Renice a task
1947 d or s Change delay/sleep interval
1948 The system configuration file is not created by top. Rather, you
1950 create this file manually and place it in the /etc directory. Its
1951 name must be `toprc' and must have no leading `.' (period). It
1952 must have only two lines.
1953 Here is an example of the contents of /etc/toprc:
1955 s # line 1: secure mode switch
1956 5.0 # line 2: delay interval in seconds
1957 6b. PERSONAL Configuration File
1960 This file is written as `$HOME/.your-name-4-top' + `rc'. Use the
1961 `W' interactive command to create it or update it.
1962 Here is the general layout:
1964 global # line 1: the program name/alias notation
1965 " # line 2: id,altscr,irixps,delay,curwin
1966 per ea # line a: winname,fieldscur
1967 window # line b: winflags,sortindx,maxtasks,graph modes
1968 " # line c: summclr,msgsclr,headclr,taskclr
1969 global # line 15: additional miscellaneous settings
1970 " # any remaining lines are devoted to the
1971 " # generalized inspect provisions
1972 " # discussed below
1973 If the $HOME variable is not present, top will try to write the
1975 personal configuration file to the current directory, subject to
1976 permissions.
1977 6c. ADDING INSPECT Entries
1980 To exploit the `Y' interactive command, you must add entries at
1981 the end of the top personal configuration file. Such entries sim‐
1982 ply reflect a file to be read or command/pipeline to be executed
1983 whose results will then be displayed in a separate scrollable,
1984 searchable window.
1985 If you don't know the location or name of your top rcfile, use the
1987 `W' interactive command to rewrite it and note those details.
1988 Inspect entries can be added with a redirected echo or by editing
1990 the configuration file. Redirecting an echo risks overwriting the
1991 rcfile should it replace (>) rather than append (>>) to that file.
1992 Conversely, when using an editor care must be taken not to corrupt
1993 existing lines, some of which will contain unprintable data or
1994 unusual characters.
1995 Those Inspect entries beginning with a `#' character are ignored,
1997 regardless of content. Otherwise they consist of the following 3
1998 elements, each of which must be separated by a tab character (thus
1999 2 `\t' total):
2000 .type: literal `file' or `pipe'
2002 .name: selection shown on the Inspect screen
2003 .fmts: string representing a path or command
2004 The two types of Inspect entries are not interchangeable. Those
2006 designated `file' will be accessed using fopen and must reference
2007 a single file in the `.fmts' element. Entries specifying `pipe'
2008 will employ popen, their `.fmts' element could contain many
2009 pipelined commands and, none can be interactive.
2010 If the file or pipeline represented in your `.fmts' deals with the
2012 specific PID input or accepted when prompted, then the format
2013 string must also contain the `%d' specifier, as these examples
2014 illustrate.
2015 .fmts= /proc/%d/numa_maps
2017 .fmts= lsof -P -p %d
2018 For `pipe' type entries only, you may also wish to redirect stderr
2020 to stdout for a more comprehensive result. Thus the format string
2021 becomes:
2022 .fmts= pmap -x %d 2>&1
2024 Here are examples of both types of Inspect entries as they might
2026 appear in the rcfile. The first entry will be ignored due to the
2027 initial `#' character. For clarity, the pseudo tab depictions
2028 (^I) are surrounded by an extra space but the actual tabs would
2029 not be.
2030 # pipe ^I Sockets ^I lsof -n -P -i 2>&1
2032 pipe ^I Open Files ^I lsof -P -p %d 2>&1
2033 file ^I NUMA Info ^I /proc/%d/numa_maps
2034 pipe ^I Log ^I tail -n100 /var/log/syslog | sort -Mr
2035 Except for the commented entry above, these next examples show
2037 what could be echoed to achieve similar results, assuming the
2038 rcfile name was `.toprc'. However, due to the embedded tab char‐
2039 acters, each of these lines should be preceded by `/bin/echo -e',
2040 not just a simple an `echo', to enable backslash interpretation
2041 regardless of which shell you use.
2042 "pipe\tOpen Files\tlsof -P -p %d 2>&1" >> ~/.toprc
2044 "file\tNUMA Info\t/proc/%d/numa_maps" >> ~/.toprc
2045 "pipe\tLog\ttail -n200 /var/log/syslog | sort -Mr" >> ~/.toprc
2046 Caution: If any inspect entry you create produces output with
2048 unprintable characters they will be displayed in either the ^C
2049 notation or hexadecimal <FF> form, depending on their value. This
2050 applies to tab characters as well, which will show as `^I'. If
2051 you want a truer representation, any embedded tabs should be
2052 expanded.
2053 # next would have contained `\t' ...
2055 # file ^I <your_name> ^I /proc/%d/status
2056 # but this will eliminate embedded `\t' ...
2057 pipe ^I <your_name> ^I cat /proc/%d/status | expand -
2058 The above example takes what could have been a `file' entry but
2060 employs a `pipe' instead so as to expand the embedded tabs.
2061 Note: While `pipe' type entries have been discussed in terms of
2063 pipelines and commands, there is nothing to prevent you from
2064 including shell scripts as well. Perhaps even newly created
2065 scripts designed specifically for the `Y' interactive command.
2066 Lastly, as the number of your Inspect entries grows over time, the
2068 `Options:' row will be truncated when screen width is exceeded.
2069 That does not affect operation other than to make some selections
2070 invisible.
2071 However, if some choices are lost to truncation but you want to
2073 see more options, there is an easy solution hinted at below.
2074 Inspection Pause at pid ...
2076 Use: left/right then <Enter> ...
2077 Options: help 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ...
2078 The entries in the top rcfile would have a number for the `.name'
2080 element and the `help' entry would identify a shell script you've
2081 written explaining what those numbered selections actually mean.
2082 In that way, many more choices can be made visible.
2083
2086 Many of these tricks work best when you give top a scheduling
2087 boost. So plan on starting him with a nice value of -10, assuming
2088 you've got the authority.
2089 7a. Kernel Magic
2092 For these stupid tricks, top needs full-screen mode.
2093 · The user interface, through prompts and help, intentionally
2096 implies that the delay interval is limited to tenths of a sec‐
2097 ond. However, you're free to set any desired delay. If you
2098 want to see Linux at his scheduling best, try a delay of .09
2099 seconds or less.
2100 For this experiment, under x-windows open an xterm and maximize
2102 it. Then do the following:
2103 . provide a scheduling boost and tiny delay via:
2104 nice -n -10 top -d.09
2105 . keep sorted column highlighting Off so as to
2106 minimize path length
2107 . turn On reverse row highlighting for emphasis
2108 . try various sort columns (TIME/MEM work well),
2109 and normal or reverse sorts to bring the most
2110 active processes into view
2111 What you'll see is a very busy Linux doing what he's always
2113 done for you, but there was no program available to illustrate
2114 this.
2115 · Under an xterm using `white-on-black' colors, on top's Color
2118 Mapping screen set the task color to black and be sure that
2119 task highlighting is set to bold, not reverse. Then set the
2120 delay interval to around .3 seconds.
2121 After bringing the most active processes into view, what you'll
2123 see are the ghostly images of just the currently running tasks.
2124 · Delete the existing rcfile, or create a new symlink. Start
2127 this new version then type `T' (a secret key, see topic 4c.
2128 Task Area Commands, SORTING) followed by `W' and `q'. Finally,
2129 restart the program with -d0 (zero delay).
2130 Your display will be refreshed at three times the rate of the
2132 former top, a 300% speed advantage. As top climbs the TIME
2133 ladder, be as patient as you can while speculating on whether
2134 or not top will ever reach the top.
2135 7b. Bouncing Windows
2138 For these stupid tricks, top needs alternate-display mode.
2139 · With 3 or 4 task displays visible, pick any window other than
2142 the last and turn idle processes Off using the `i' command tog‐
2143 gle. Depending on where you applied `i', sometimes several
2144 task displays are bouncing and sometimes it's like an accor‐
2145 dion, as top tries his best to allocate space.
2146 · Set each window's summary lines differently: one with no memory
2149 ('m'); another with no states ('t'); maybe one with nothing at
2150 all, just the message line. Then hold down `a' or `w' and
2151 watch a variation on bouncing windows -- hopping windows.
2152 · Display all 4 windows and for each, in turn, set idle processes
2155 to Off using the `i' command toggle. You've just entered the
2156 "extreme bounce" zone.
2157 7c. The Big Bird Window
2160 This stupid trick also requires alternate-display mode.
2161 · Display all 4 windows and make sure that 1:Def is the `current'
2164 window. Then, keep increasing window size with the `n' inter‐
2165 active command until all the other task displays are "pushed
2166 out of the nest".
2167 When they've all been displaced, toggle between all visi‐
2169 ble/invisible windows using the `_' command toggle. Then pon‐
2170 der this:
2171 is top fibbing or telling honestly your imposed truth?
2172 7d. The Ol' Switcheroo
2175 This stupid trick works best without alternate-display mode, since
2176 justification is active on a per window basis.
2177 · Start top and make COMMAND the last (rightmost) column dis‐
2180 played. If necessary, use the `c' command toggle to display
2181 command lines and ensure that forest view mode is active with
2182 the `V' command toggle.
2183 Then use the up/down arrow keys to position the display so that
2185 some truncated command lines are shown (`+' in last position).
2186 You may have to resize your xterm to produce truncation.
2187 Lastly, use the `j' command toggle to make the COMMAND column
2189 right justified.
2190 Now use the right arrow key to reach the COMMAND column. Con‐
2192 tinuing with the right arrow key, watch closely the direction
2193 of travel for the command lines being shown.
2194 some lines travel left, while others travel right
2196 eventually all lines will Switcheroo, and move right
2198
2201 To report bugs, follow the instructions at:
2202 http://www.debian.org/Bugs/Reporting
2203
2206 The original top was written by Roger Binns, based on Branko
2207 Lankester's <lankeste@fwi.uva.nl> ps program.
2208 Robert Nation <nation@rocket.sanders.lockheed.com> adapted it for
2210 the proc file system.
2211 Helmut Geyer <Helmut.Geyer@iwr.uni-heidelberg.de> added support
2213 for configurable fields.
2214 Plus many other individuals contributed over the years.
2216
2219 This entirely new and enhanced replacement was written by:
2220 Jim Warner, <james.warner@comcast.net>
2221 With invaluable help from:
2223 Craig Small, <csmall@enc.com.au>
2224 Albert Cahalan, <albert@users.sf.net>
2225
2229 free(1), ps(1), uptime(1), atop(1), slabtop(1), vmstat(8), w(1).
2230procps-ng July 2014 TOP(1)