$ top
Display Linux processes
DOCUMENTEDProcessesUbuntu 24.04 LTS baseline
Synopsis
topWhat it does
- `top` displays a dynamic, real-time view of running processes.
- Interactive commands are documented in the `top` manual page; `q` exits.
Examples
Start the interactive process viewer
topImportant details
These examples are intentionally conservative. Command behavior can still depend on filesystem state, permissions, locale, shell, installed package version, and other system configuration.
For exact option semantics, the linked authoritative documentation is the source of truth.