-
-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 2
Arch Linux Process Management
Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025
·
2 revisions
Complete beginner-friendly guide to process management on Arch Linux, including viewing processes, managing processes, process priorities, and resource monitoring.
List processes:
# All processes
ps aux
# Tree view
ps auxf
# Specific user
ps -u username
# By command
ps aux | grep firefoxInteractive process viewer:
# Launch top
top
# Sort by CPU: Press P
# Sort by memory: Press M
# Kill process: Press kBetter top:
# Install htop
sudo pacman -S htop
# Launch
htopKill by PID:
# Kill process
kill PID
# Force kill
kill -9 PID
# Kill by name
pkill process-name
# Force kill by name
pkill -9 process-nameKill all instances:
# Kill all instances
killall process-name
# Force kill
killall -9 process-nameSet priority:
# Lower priority (higher nice value)
nice -n 10 command
# Higher priority (lower nice value)
sudo nice -n -10 commandChange priority:
# Change priority
renice -n 10 PID
# For user
sudo renice -n 10 -u usernameCheck usage:
# CPU and memory
top
# Detailed
htop
# System resources
free -h
df -hI/O monitoring:
# Install iotop
sudo pacman -S iotop
# Monitor I/O
sudo iotopFind process:
# Sort by CPU
top
# Press P
# Or
ps aux --sort=-%cpu | headFind process:
# Sort by memory
top
# Press M
# Or
ps aux --sort=-%mem | headFind zombies:
# List zombies
ps aux | grep defunct
# Usually safe to ignore
# Parent process will clean upThis guide covered viewing processes, managing processes, priorities, resource monitoring, and troubleshooting.
- PS Process Management - More on ps
- Free & Top Resource Monitoring - Resource monitoring
- ArchWiki Process Management: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Process_management
This guide is based on the ArchWiki. For the most up-to-date information, always refer to the official ArchWiki.