The POSIX top utility provides interactive real-time monitoring of Linux system resource utilization, CPU load averages, and memory allocation across process tasks.

top Command Shortcuts & Batch Execution

Terminal Commandsbash
# Run top in batch mode to capture single snapshot output
top -b -n 1
 
# Interactive key controls inside top:
# P -> Sort processes by %CPU usage
# M -> Sort processes by %MEM memory usage
# k -> Kill process PID