See below for how to install.
ptop
is what I usually use when Bubblemon shows something unexpected is
going on.
px
I use for figuring out things like "do I still have any Flutter
processes running in the background"?
pxtree
can be used as watch --color pxtree brew
to figure out what
Homebrew is doing.
If you're coming from htop
or some other top
variant, here's what to
expect from ptop
, with explanations below the screenshot:
- Note the core count right next to the system load number, for easy comparison.
- Note the load history graph next to the load numbers. On this system the load
has been high for the last 15 minutes. This is a visualization of the numbers
you get from
uptime
. - Note the bars showing which programs / users are using your memory below the memory numbers
- Note the
IO Load
number, showing which IO device had the highest average throughput sinceptop
launched. - Note how the default sort order of CPUTIME-since-
ptop
-started makes the display mostly stable and enables you to sort by CPU usage. - Note that binaries launched while
ptop
is running are listed at the bottom of the display. - Note how the Python program on the second to last line is shown as
run_adapter.py
(the program) rather thanpython3
(the runtime). This support is available for many VMs like Java, Node, ... - Selecting a process with Enter will offer you to see detailed information
about that process, in
$PAGER
, moar orless
. Or to kill it. - After you press
q
to quit, the display is retained and some lines at the bottom are removed to prevent the information you want from scrolling out of view. - A help text on the bottom hints you how to search / filter (interactively), change sort order or how to pick processes for further inspection or killing.
- Note how search hits are highlighted in bold
- Note how PIDs (process IDs) are printed by default
- Note how multiple processes with the same names are coalesced and printed with the count in parentheses
- Note how the process names make sense (
lsp_server.py
rather thanpython3
)
Running just px
lists all running processes, with the most interesting ones last.
Output truncated for brevity.
PID COMMAND USERNAME CPU CPUTIME RAM COMMANDLINE 0 kernel root -- -- -- kernel PID 0 273 SandboxHelper _coreaudiod 0% 0.01s 0% /System/Library/Frameworks/AudioToolbox.framework/XPCServices/com.apple.audio.SandboxHelper.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.audio.SandboxHelper 596 installerdiagd root 0% 0.01s 0% /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/InstallerDiagnostics.framework/Versions/A/Resources/installerdiagd 983 periodic-wrapper root 0% 0.01s 0% /usr/libexec/periodic-wrapper daily ... 57417 Google Chrome Helper johan 0% 1m03s 2% /Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/Versions/70.0.3538.102/Google Chrome Helper.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome Helper --type=renderer --field-trial-handle=5536258455526146518,14669732848005555331,131072 --service-pipe-token=7224348701576210538 --lang=sv --metrics-client-id=576E1A60-CA59-34F4-6C0C-57F64BD5F01C --enable-offline-auto-reload --enable-offline-auto-reload-visible-only --num-raster-threads=4 --enable-zero-copy --enable-gpu-memory-buffer-compositor-resources --enable-main-frame-before-activation --service-request-channel-token=7224348701576210538 --renderer-client-id=1119 --no-v8-untrusted-code-mitigations --seatbelt-client=418 14983 studio johan 0% 1h22m 14% /Applications/Android Studio.app/Contents/MacOS/studio 57993 kcm root 0% 0.02s 0% /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Heimdal.framework/Helpers/kcm --launchd 57602 Code Helper johan 0% 12.73s 2% /private/var/folders/cg/d7qzk4s13s9c8t49t3txdjpr0000gn/T/AppTranslocation/B5DDDD81-5A91-4961-B18B-20DAB3925EB0/d/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Frameworks/Code Helper.app/Contents/MacOS/Code Helper --type=renderer --js-flags=--nolazy --no-sandbox --primordial-pipe-token=570B948A976AACDA8EBB532E5680C83E --lang=sv --app-path=/private/var/folders/cg/d7qzk4s13s9c8t49t3txdjpr0000gn/T/AppTranslocation/B5DDDD81-5A91-4961-B18B-20DAB3925EB0/d/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app --node-integration=true --webview-tag=true --no-sandbox --background-color=#171717 --disable-blink-features=Auxclick --enable-pinch --num-raster-threads=4 --enable-zero-copy --enable-gpu-memory-buffer-compositor-resources --enable-main-frame-before-activation --content-image-texture-target=0,0,3553;0,1,3553;0,2,3553;0,3,3553;0,4,3553;0,5,3553;0,6,3553;0,7,3553;0,8,3553;0,9,3553;0,10,34037;0,11,34037;0,12,34037;0,13,3553;0,14,3553;0,15,3553;1,0,3553;1,1,3553;1,2,3553;1,3,3553;1,4,3553;1,5,3553;1,6,3553;1,7,3553;1,8,3553;1,9,3553;1,10,34037;1,11,34037;1,12,34037;1,13,3553;1,14,3553;1,15,3553;2,0,3553;2,1,3553;2,2,3553;2,3,3553;2,4,3553;2,5,3553;2,6,3553;2,7,3553;2,8,3553;2,9,3553;2,10,34037;2,11,34037;2,12,34037;2,13,3553;2,14,3553;2,15,3553;3,0,3553;3,1,3553;3,2,3553;3,3,3553;3,4,3553;3,5,34037;3,6,3553;3,7,3553;3,8,3553;3,9,3553;3,10,3553;3,11,3553;3,12,34037;3,13,3553;3,14,34037;3,15,34037;4,0,3553;4,1,3553;4,2,3553;4,3,3553;4,4,3553;4,5,34037;4,6,3553;4,7,3553;4,8,3553;4,9,3553;4,10,3553;4,11,3553;4,12,34037;4,13,3553;4,14,34037;4,15,34037 --service-request-channel-token=570B948A976AACDA8EBB532E5680C83E --renderer-client-id=110 57996 cat johan 0% 0.0s 0% cat 57745 GradleDaemon johan 0% 32.75s 3% /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_60.jdk/Contents/Home/bin/java -Xmx1536m -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -Duser.country=SE -Duser.language=sv -Duser.variant -cp /Users/johan/.gradle/wrapper/dists/gradle-4.6-all/bcst21l2brirad8k2ben1letg/gradle-4.6/lib/gradle-launcher-4.6.jar org.gradle.launcher.daemon.bootstrap.GradleDaemon 4.6
- To give you the most interesting processes close to your next prompt,
px
puts last in its output processes that:- Have been started recently (can be seen in the list as high PIDs)
- Are using lots of memory
- Have used lots of CPU time
- Java processes are presented as their main class (
GradleDaemon
) rather than as their executable (java
). This support is available for many VMs.
This lists all Java processes. Note how they are presented as their main class
(GradleDaemon
) rather than as their executable (java
). This support is available for many VMs.
PID COMMAND USERNAME CPU CPUTIME RAM COMMANDLINE 57745 GradleDaemon johan 0% 35.09s 3% /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_60.jdk/Contents/Home/bin/java -Xmx1536m -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -Duser.country=SE -Dus
This lists all processes owned by the _coreaudiod
user.
PID COMMAND USERNAME CPU CPUTIME RAM COMMANDLINE 273 SandboxHelper _coreaudiod 0% 0.01s 0% /System/Library/Frameworks/AudioToolbox.framework/XPCServices/com.apple.audio.SandboxHelper.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.audio.SandboxHelper 190 DriverHelper _coreaudiod 0% 0.3s 0% /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreAudio.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/com.apple.audio.DriverHelper.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.audio.DriverHelper 182 coreaudiod _coreaudiod 0% 11m28s 0% /usr/sbin/coreaudiod
This shows detailed info about PID 80727.
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_60.jdk/Contents/Home/bin/java -Xmx1536M -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -Duser.country=SE -Duser.language=sv -Duser.variant -cp /Users/johan/.gradle/wrapper/dists/gradle-3.5-all/7s64ktr9gh78lhv83n6m1hq9u6/gradle-3.5/lib/gradle-launcher-3.5.jar org.gradle.launcher.daemon.bootstrap.GradleDaemon 3.5 kernel(0) root launchd(1) root --> GradleDaemon(80727) johan 31m33s ago GradleDaemon was started, at 2017-06-18T13:47:53+02:00. 7.6% has been its average CPU usage since then, or 2m22s/31m33s Other processes started close to GradleDaemon(80727): -fish(80678) was started 9.0s before GradleDaemon(80727) iTerm2(80676) was started 9.0s before GradleDaemon(80727) login(80677) was started 9.0s before GradleDaemon(80727) mdworker(80729) was started just after GradleDaemon(80727) mdworker(80776) was started 21.0s after GradleDaemon(80727) Users logged in when GradleDaemon(80727) started: _mbsetupuser johan 2017-06-18T14:19:26.521988: Now invoking lsof, this can take over a minute on a big system... 2017-06-18T14:19:27.070396: lsof done, proceeding. Others sharing this process' working directory (/) Working directory too common, never mind. File descriptors: stdin : [PIPE] <not connected> (0x17d7619d3ae04819) stdout: [CHR] /dev/null stderr: [CHR] /dev/null Network connections: [IPv6] *:56789 (LISTEN) [IPv6] *:62498 (LISTEN) Inter Process Communication: mDNSResponder(201): [unix] ->0xe32cbd7be6021f1f For a list of all open files, do "sudo lsof -p 80727", or "sudo watch lsof -p 80727" for a live view.
- The command line has been split with one argument per line. This makes long command lines readable.
- The process tree shows how the Gradle Daemon relates to other processes.
- Details on how long ago Gradle Daemon was started, and how much CPU it has been using since.
- A list of other processes started around the same time as Gradle Daemon.
- A section describing where the standard file descriptors of the process go.
- A list of users logged in when the Gradle Daemon was started.
- A list of other processes with the same working directory as this one.
- A list of network connections the process has open.
- The IPC section shows that the Gradle Daemon is talking to
mDNSResponder
using Unix domain sockets.
The IPC data comes from lsof
. sudo
helps lsof
get more detailed
information; the command will work without it but might miss some information.
If you want an interactive process killer using px
and fzf, you can make
a shell alias out of this:
px --sort=cpupercent | fzf --bind 'ctrl-r:reload(px --sort=cpupercent)' --height=20 --no-hscroll --tac --no-sort --header-lines=1 | awk '{print $1}' | xargs kill -9
Type for fuzzy process search, use arrow keys to pick a process, Enter to kill, CTRL-R to refresh the process list.
Or with previews for the currently selected process:
px --sort=cpupercent --no-username | fzf --preview='px --color {1}' --bind 'ctrl-r:reload(px --sort=cpupercent --no-username)' --height=20 --no-hscroll --tac --no-sort --header-lines=1 | awk '{print $1}' | xargs kill -9
On Debian 10 Buster or later, and on Ubuntu 19.04 Disco and later, install using:
sudo apt install px
If you have Homebrew on your system (likely on macOS):
brew install px
On Arch Linux:
paru -S px_ptop
On other systems, install into /usr/local/bin
by copy / pasting this command
into a terminal:
curl -Ls https://github.com/walles/px/raw/python/install.sh | bash
Or you can install from Pypi. At least on macOS this can be problematic however,
so brew
or the above install script is still preferred:
sudo pip install --upgrade pxpx
After installing you should be able to run px
, px --help
or ptop
from the command line. Otherwise please verify that /usr/local/bin
is in
your $PATH
.
To try px
without installing it, just download the latest px.pex,
chmod a+x px.pex
, then run ./px.pex
.
Just type px
or ptop
, that's a good start!
To exit ptop
, press "q
".
Also try px --help
to see what else px
can do except for just listing all
processes.
If you run into problems, try running with the --debug
switch, it will print
debug logging output after px
/ptop
is done.
- A Python 3.6+ version
- tox
Note that before editing any code, you need to run tox.sh
once to create
the px/version.py
file.
Note that the build infrastructure here is designed to create a px.pex
file
that works on "all" machines with Python 3 interpreters (tested on Linux and
macOS).
- Clone:
git clone [email protected]:walles/px.git ; cd px
- Build and test:
./tox.sh
- Run:
./px.pex
- To add dependencies, edit
requirements.txt
You can also run ./devbin/tox-in-docker.sh
, which can be used to run Linux
tests on a Mac.
To release a new version, run ./devbin/release.sh
and follow instructions.
- Store the output of
lsof -F fnaptd0i
from a big system in lsof.txt. ./devbin/benchmark_ipcmap.py lsof.txt
Keeping this benchmark performant is important to be able to use px
on big
systems.
To run it in a profiler, install pyinstrument and:
python3 -m pyinstrument ./devbin/benchmark_ipcmap.py lsof.txt
Or, to benchmark process listing:
pyinstrument -r html ./devbin/benchmark_proc_get_all.py
- Disable terminal line wrapping for smoother handling of terminal window resizes.
- When given the
--top
flag and enough permissions, record per process IO usage and present that in one or more columns.
- Details: When no users were found to be logged in at process start, automatically detect whether it's because we don't have history that far back or whether it seems to be that nobody was actually logged in. Inform the user about the outcome.
- In the px / top views, in the process owner column, maybe print other non-root process owners of parent processes inside parentheses?
- Ignore -E switch on Python command lines
- Make
px
list all processes with PID, owner, memory usage (in % of available RAM), used CPU time, full command line - Output should be in table format just like
top
orps
. - Output should be truncated at the rightmost column of the terminal window
- Output should be sorted by
score
, withscore
being(used CPU time) * (memory usage)
. The intention here is to put the most interesting processes on top. - Each column should be wide enough to fit its widest value
- Add a section about installation instructions to this document.
- Add making-a-release instructions to this document
- Add a
.travis.yml
config to the project that:- OK: Runs
flake8
on the code - OK: Tests the code on OS X
- OK: Tests the code on Linux
- OK: Runs
- When piping to some other command, don't truncate lines to terminal width
- If we get one command line argument, only show processes matching that string as either a user or the name of an executable.
- If we get something looking like a PID as a command line argument, show that
PID process in a tree with all parents up to the top and all children down. This
would replace
pstree
. - If we get something looking like a PID as a command line argument, for that
PID show:
- A list of all open files, pipes and sockets
- For each pipe / domain socket, print the process at the other end
- For each socket, print where it's going
- Doing
px --version
prints agit describe
version string. - Add a column with the name of each running process
- Put column headings at the top of each column
- In the details view, list processes as
Name(PID)
rather thanPID:Name
. To humans the name is more important than the PID, so it should be first. - In the details view, list a number of processes that were created around the same time as the one we're currently looking at.
- Implement support for
px --top
- If the user launches
px
through a symlink that's called something ending intop
, entertop
mode. - top: On pressing "q" to exit, redraw the screen one last time with a few less rows than usual before exiting.
- top: Print system load before the process listing.
- Parse Java and Python command lines and print the name of the program being executed rather than the VM.
- In the details view, list users that were logged in when the process was started.
- In the details tree view, print process owners for each line
- Print
$SUDO_USER
value with process details, if set - Run CI on both Python 2 and Python 3
- In the details report, if the current process has a working directory that
isn't
/
, list all other processes that have the same working directory. - ptop: Load bar: Set foreground color in green section to black, white on green is hard to read.
- ptop: Let user switch between CPU time sort and memory sort