docs: add README for btop installer

Co-authored-by: AJ ONeal <aj@therootcompany.com>
2026-05-22 08:32:50 +00:00 · 2026-04-25 19:38:55 -04:00
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+---
+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)