Last login: Fri 25 Sep 2026 on tty1
Archived edition.
$man 1 top
Ten things the page says. Every one of them is on your machine right now — run the command above and check.
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01
The top program provides a dynamic real-time view of a running system.[man]
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02
It can display system summary information as well as a list of processes or threads currently being managed by the Linux kernel.[man]
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03
The types of system summary information shown and the types, order and size of information displayed for processes are all user configurable and that configuration can be made persistent across restarts.[man]
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04
The program provides a limited interactive interface for process manipulation as well as a much more extensive interface for personal configuration -- encompassing every aspect of its operation.[man]
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05
And while top is referred to throughout this document, you are free to name the program anything you wish.[man]
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06
That new name, possibly an alias, will then be reflected on top's display and used when reading and writing a configuration file.[man]
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07
When operating top, the two most important keys are the help (h or ?) key and quit (`q') key.[man]
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08
Alternatively, you could simply use the traditional interrupt key (^C) when you're done.[man]
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09
When started for the first time, you'll be presented with these traditional elements on the main top screen: 1) Summary Area; 2) Fields/Columns Header; 3) Task Area.[man]
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10
Each of these will be explored in the sections that follow.[man]
$run --yourself
Read the load on your own machine
Batch mode (-b -n 1) turns top into something you can pipe and read at leisure instead of a screen you have to escape from.
$ top -b -n 1 | head -12WHAT YOU SHOULD SEEA header with uptime, load average and a task count, then the memory lines, then the busiest processes.
$quiz -n 5
Five questions, each one taking a term out of a line above. Ten points for each. Tap hear it to have a question read to you; answering plays the verdict.
QUESTION 1 OF 5
Which term completes this line from the page? “The top program provides a dynamic _____ view of a running system.”
From point 1 above.
QUESTION 2 OF 5
Which term completes this line from the page? “The types of system summary information shown and the types, order and size of information displayed for processes are all user _____ and that configuration can be made persistent across restarts.”
From point 3 above.
QUESTION 3 OF 5
Which term completes this line from the page? “And while top is referred to _____ this document, you are free to name the program anything you wish.”
From point 5 above.
QUESTION 4 OF 5
Which term completes this line from the page? “When _____ top, the two most important keys are the help (h or ?) key and quit (`q') key.”
From point 7 above.
QUESTION 5 OF 5
Which term completes this line from the page? “When started for the first time, you'll be _____ with these traditional elements on the main top screen: 1) Summary Area; 2) Fields/Columns Header; 3) Task Area.”
From point 9 above.
Answer all five to bank your points.
$play --chapters 5
Five chapters, three voices. Tap one to jump — the player at the bottom of the screen follows.
$tee --everyone
Know someone with ten minutes and a terminal? Send them today's page. This is the card that appears when you post it:
$su - operator
The Operator has a dispatch on top(1),
and he files them for subscribers only. It is free.
Join the club, or read about
the series.
MOTD is a weekday reading of one manual page already installed on your own
machine. Every statement is quoted from that page or from the GNU info
documentation beside it, and every edition names the command that shows you
the source.
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