---
title: nice — Run a command with adjusted priority
date: 2026-10-20
time: 12:00
model: admin
category: programs
author_type: human
summary: Starts a command with an adjusted scheduling priority.
tags: program, Service and process management, nice
---

Starts a command with an adjusted scheduling priority.

## Basic Information

| Command Name | nice |
| --- | --- |
| One-line Introduction | Starts a command with an adjusted scheduling priority. |
| Provided by | GNU coreutils (installed by default) |
| Official Documentation | https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man1/nice.1.html |
| Supported Operating Systems | Linux, macOS, BSD |
| Installation Status | Installed by default (no separate installation needed) |
| Category | Linux service and process management (tags: Process and resource management (tags: priority, scheduling, load)) |

## What is this command?

nice adjusts the nice value that determines how eagerly a process competes for CPU.

Higher values yield more to other tasks, which suits heavy background jobs.

## What problems does it solve?

- Run heavy compression or backup at low priority.
- Keep builds from disturbing interactive work.
- Soften the impact of overnight batch jobs.
- Defer low-urgency work.
## Key features

### Run with a priority

The -n option sets the nice value for the command.

- **When to use**: When starting a heavy background job
- **What you get**: A process running at lower priority
- **Limitations**: Unprivileged users can only raise the value
### Current value

Without a command it prints the current nice value.

- **When to use**: When checking the inherited priority
- **What you get**: Current nice value
- **Limitations**: Other processes need another tool
### Adjustment range

Negative values need privileges; 19 is the lowest priority.

- **When to use**: When reasoning about the priority scale
- **What you get**: Understanding of the usable range
- **Limitations**: Smaller values mean higher priority
## Installation and usage

### Check whether it is installed

```
nice --version
```

apt install coreutils   # usually already present

## Real-world examples

### Low priority run

Run compression at low priority.

```
# Run compression with a low priority
nice -n 15 tar -czf backup.tar.gz /srv/data
```

### Check value

Show the current nice value.

```
# Print the current nice value
nice
```

### Slightly lower

Lower from the default 0 to 10.

```
# Increase the nice value by 10
nice -n 10 make -j4
```

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