Complete htop keyboard shortcuts reference — 71 shortcuts across 2 categories. Quick reference cheat sheet for Linux, macOS & BSD.
htop is top with a usable interface, and almost everything you do in it is a single key while it is running; the command-line options only shape what it shows at startup. The function-key row at the bottom of the screen is the built-in cheat sheet, and every F-key has a letter alias for keyboards and terminals that swallow function keys.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| htop -d --delay=DELAY | Delay between updates, in tenths of a second |
| htop -C --no-color --no-colour | Start htop in monochrome mode |
| htop -F --filter=FILTER | Filter processes by terms matching the commands |
| htop --no-function-bar | Hide the function bar |
| htop -h --help | Display a help message and exit |
| htop -p --pid=PID | Show only the given PIDs |
| htop -s --sort-key COLUMN | Sort by this column (use --sort-key help for a column list) |
| htop -u --user[=USERNAME|UID] | Show only the processes of a given user, or self if omitted |
| htop -U --no-unicode | Do not use unicode but ASCII characters for graph meters |
| htop -M --no-mouse | Disable support of mouse control |
| htop --no-meters | Hide graph meters |
| htop --readonly | Disable all system and process changing features |
| htop -V --version | Output version information and exit |
| htop -t --tree[=MODE] | Show processes in tree view |
| htop -H --highlight-changes=DELAY | Highlight new and old processes |
| htop --drop-capabilities[=off|basic|strict] | Linux only; this option needs to have been enabled at compile-time and requires libcap sup |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Tab | Select the next / the previous screen tab to display |
| Shift + Tab | Select the next / the previous screen tab to display |
| Up | Select (highlight) the previous process in the process list |
| Alt + k | Select (highlight) the previous process in the process list |
| Down | Select (highlight) the next process in the process list |
| Alt + j | Select (highlight) the next process in the process list |
| Left | Scroll the process list left |
| Alt + h | Scroll the process list left |
| Right | Scroll the process list right |
| Alt + l | Scroll the process list right |
| PgUp | Scroll the process list up or down one window |
| PgDn | Scroll the process list up or down one window |
| Ctrl + A | Scroll left to the beginning of the process entry (i.e |
| ^ | Scroll left to the beginning of the process entry (i.e |
| Ctrl + E | Scroll right to the end of the process entry (i.e |
| $ | Scroll right to the end of the process entry (i.e |
| Shift + Up | Pan the process list view up |
| Alt + Up | Pan the process list view up |
| Shift + Down | Pan the process list view down |
| Alt + Down | Pan the process list view down |
| Space | Tag or untag a process |
| F1 | Go to the help screen |
| h | Go to the help screen |
| ? | Go to the help screen |
| F2 | Go to the setup screen, where you can configure the meters displayed at the top of the scr |
| S | Go to the setup screen, where you can configure the meters displayed at the top of the scr |
| F3 | Incrementally search the command lines of all the displayed processes |
| / | Incrementally search the command lines of all the displayed processes |
| F4 | Incremental process filtering: type in part of a process command line and only processes w |
| \ | Incremental process filtering: type in part of a process command line and only processes w |
| F5 | Tree view: organize processes by parenthood, and layout the relations between them as a tr |
| t | Tree view: organize processes by parenthood, and layout the relations between them as a tr |
| F6 | Selects a field for sorting, also accessible through < and > |
| < | Selects a field for sorting, also accessible through < and > |
| > | Selects a field for sorting, also accessible through < and > |
| F7 | Increase the selected process's priority (subtract from 'nice' value) |
| ] | Increase the selected process's priority (subtract from 'nice' value) |
| F8 | Decrease the selected process's priority (add to 'nice' value) |
| [ | Decrease the selected process's priority (add to 'nice' value) |
| Shift + F7 | Increase the selected process's autogroup priority (subtract from autogroup 'nice' value) |
| } | Increase the selected process's autogroup priority (subtract from autogroup 'nice' value) |
| Shift + F8 | Decrease the selected process's autogroup priority (add to autogroup 'nice' value) |
| { | Decrease the selected process's autogroup priority (add to autogroup 'nice' value) |
| F9 | "Kill" process: sends a signal which is selected in a menu, to one or a group of processes |
| k | "Kill" process: sends a signal which is selected in a menu, to one or a group of processes |
| F10 | Quit |
| q | Quit |
| switch to | decreasing, and vice-versa |
| + | When in tree view mode, expand or collapse subtree |
| - | When in tree view mode, expand or collapse subtree |
| * | When in tree view mode, expand or collapse subtree |
| m | Merge exe, comm and cmdline, where applicable |
| Ctrl + L | Refresh: redraw screen and recalculate values |
| Numbers | PID search: type in process ID and the selection highlight will be moved to it |
F3 (or /) searches command lines incrementally and highlights the first match; F4 (or \) filters so only matching processes stay on screen, which is the one to use when a service has dozens of workers. F6 (or < / >) picks the sort column, and F5 (or t) switches to tree view so children sit under their parent.
Space tags a process, and after tagging several, F9 (or k) sends a signal to all of them at once — SIGTERM is the default, SIGKILL is further down the list. F7 and F8 nice a process down or up (only root can raise priority). F10 or q quits. Letter keys such as l (lsof), s (strace) and e (environment) exist in the full manual but are not in this table; the help screen on F1 or h lists everything the installed build supports.
htop -t --tree[=MODE] starts in tree view, htop -u --user[=USERNAME|UID] shows one user, and htop -p --pid=PID watches specific PIDs. htop -d --delay=DELAY sets the refresh in tenths of a second. On a server that should not be touched, htop --readonly disables every kill, nice and signal feature. htop -F --filter=FILTER starts with a filter already applied. Layout and colours are set once with F2 and saved to ~/.config/htop/htoprc.
Highlight it (or tag several with Space), press F9 or k, choose the signal and press Enter. SIGTERM is selected by default.
Some terminals and multiplexers intercept them. Every F-key has an alias: / for search, \ for filter, t for tree, k for kill, h for help.
Start with htop -u username, or press u inside htop (see the F1 help screen for your build).
Start it with --readonly. Kill, nice and signal features are disabled for that session.
Open your assistant with this page preloaded as the source — great for follow-up questions like "which of these work in other apps?"