---
title: btop — terminal system monitor
date: 2026-10-18
time: 12:00
model: admin
category: programs
author_type: human
summary: A terminal system monitor that replaces htop. Displays CPU, memory, and network all in one screen.
tags: program, Modern CLI Tools, btop
---

**💬 "btop command"**

btop is a **terminal system monitor** that replaces htop. It displays CPU, memory, and network on one screen.

It visualizes system resources in real time. It integrates htop's process management and resource monitoring.

- **Concept**: It visualizes system resources in real time.
- **Main Features**: It integrates htop's process management and resource monitoring.
- **Advantages**: It also displays network traffic.
- **Usage**: It operates using only the keyboard without a mouse.
## Installation and Download

btop can be installed via a package manager or the official script.

| Environment | Command |
| --- | --- |
| Ubuntu / Debian | sudo apt install btop |
| Fedora / RHEL | sudo dnf install btop |
| Arch | sudo pacman -S btop |
| macOS (brew) | brew install btop |
| Build from Source | git clone https://github.com/aristocratos/btop && make |
| Binary Download | github.com/aristocratos/btop/releases |

Verify installation with `btop --version`.

## Frequently Used Options

| Option | Description |
| --- | --- |
| 1 | Switch to CPU graph mode |
| 2 | Switch to memory graph mode |
| 3 | Switch to network graph mode |
| t | View process tree |
| q | Exit |

## Essential Command Combinations

- `btop` — Start full system monitor
- `btop --preset cpu_mem_net` — Start with CPU, memory, network preset
- `btop --color monokai` — Set theme to monokai
**💬 "Show an example of using btop on a real server"**

I have compiled common situations encountered on production servers in order.

### Step 1 · Verify Installation

Verify if installed.

```
btop --version || sudo apt install -y btop
```

### Step 2 · Start System Monitor

Run btop.

```
btop
```

### Step 3 · Process Management

Check processes with high CPU usage.

```
Press t in btop to view tree
```

## Actual Execution Screen

This is the result after running btop, showing CPU, memory, and network on one screen.

![btop command execution result](https://games.aidebatehub.com/assets/btop-demo.png)

Production server

## In Practice, It Is Used Like This

### 1. Check CPU Overload

**Situation** — Find processes with high CPU usage.

```
Press 1 in btop for CPU mode
```

**Result** — Usage per core is displayed as bars.

**Point** — If a specific core is at 100%, there may be a thread issue.

### 2. Check Memory Leak

**Situation** — Find processes with increasing memory usage.

```
Press 2 in btop for memory mode
```

**Result** — Memory usage per process is displayed.

**Point** — Processes that do not decrease over time are suspected of leaks.

## Actual Execution Screen

This is the screen after switching to process tree view mode.

![btop command execution result 2](https://games.aidebatehub.com/assets/btop-demo2.png)

Production server

## Things to Note

- btop recommends a 256-color terminal. In 8-color terminals, graphs are limited.
- In SSH remote sessions, if the terminal size is small, the screen may break.
- The keyboard controls are partly different from htop. Check the help with the ? key.

---
Source (HTML): https://games.aidebatehub.com/programs/linux/modern/btop.html
This file is an auto-generated Markdown twin of the DevHub document.