---
title: btop
homepage: https://github.com/aristocratos/btop
tagline: |
  btop: a beautiful, interactive resource monitor
description: |
  btop++ is a fast, feature-rich terminal resource monitor written in C++.
  It shows real-time usage and stats for CPU, memory, disks, network, and
  processes — with full mouse support, customizable themes, and an
  easy-to-use menu system. The spiritual successor to bashtop and bpytop.
---

To update or switch versions, run `webi btop@stable` (or `@v1.4`, `@beta`, etc).

### Files

These are the files / directories that are created and/or modified with this
install:

```
~/.config/envman/PATH.env
~/.local/bin/btop
~/.local/opt/btop/
~/.local/opt/btop-<VERSION>/
```

## Cheat Sheet

![](https://static.linuxblog.io/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/btop.png)

> btop gives you a gorgeous, interactive view of what your system is doing —
> CPU cores, RAM, swap, disk I/O, network throughput, and a filterable process
> list — all in one terminal window.

### Launch btop

```sh
btop
```

### Navigation

| Key            | Action                              |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| `Arrow keys`   | Move selection in process list      |
| `Enter`        | Show detailed stats for process     |
| `F`            | Filter / search processes           |
| `K`            | Send signal (kill, SIGTERM, etc.)   |
| `R`            | Renice (change process priority)    |
| `T`            | Toggle tree / flat process view     |
| `M`            | Change sort field                   |
| `ESC`          | Open settings menu                  |
| `Q`            | Quit                                |

Mouse support is fully enabled by default — scroll and click anywhere in the UI.

### Change the color theme

Press `ESC` to open the menu, navigate to **Options → Color theme**, and pick
from the built-in themes (Default, TTY, Dracula, Gruvbox, and more).

Custom themes can be placed in:

```
~/.config/btop/themes/
```

### Adjust update interval

In the Options menu, set **Update interval** (in milliseconds). The default is
`2000` (2 seconds). Lower values give a more live feel; higher values reduce CPU
overhead from btop itself.

### Config file location

btop's settings are saved automatically at:

```
~/.config/btop/btop.conf
```

You can edit this file directly to set options like `update_ms`, `color_theme`,
`proc_sorting`, or `net_iface`.

### Run btop with a specific network interface shown

```sh
btop --utf-foce      # force UTF-8 box drawing
btop --debug         # verbose debug output to btop.log
```

Network interface selection is done interactively inside btop via the network
panel — press `B` / `N` to cycle interfaces.

### GPU monitoring (Linux x86\_64)

On Linux, btop supports Nvidia, AMD, and Intel GPUs out of the box provided the
correct drivers are installed. If wattage or GPU stats are missing, you may need
to grant extended capabilities:

```sh
# Run once after install (requires sudo)
sudo setcap cap_perfmon,cap_sys_ptrace+ep ~/.local/bin/btop
```

### See also

- [btop releases](https://github.com/aristocratos/btop/releases)
- [Theme gallery](https://github.com/aristocratos/btop/tree/main/themes)
