How to Install and Use btop in Linux to Monitor CPU, Memory, Disks, and Network with an Interactive TUI

Terminal-based system monitoring has evolved significantly since the early days of monochromatic top. While htop brought mouse support and colour bars, modern multi-core workstations and cloud servers demand deeper, real-time insight into hardware telemetry—including per-core CPU frequencies, GPU utilisation, disk read/write bandwidth, and process tree hierarchies.

btop (and its C++ implementation btop++) is an open-source, resource-efficient system monitor featuring a stunning terminal user interface (TUI). It provides responsive graph visualisations, full mouse support, customizable themes, and granular process management without requiring a heavy graphical desktop environment. This guide covers how to install, navigate, and customise btop across Linux distributions.

Key Features of btop

• Real-Time Hardware Graphs: Auto-scaling graphs for CPU, RAM, Swap, Disks, and Network interfaces.
• Per-Core Temperature and Clock Speeds: Tracks physical core temperatures and dynamic frequencies.
• Process Tree Navigation: Sort, filter, and terminate processes with interactive search and signal menus.
• GPU Telemetry: Supports NVIDIA and Intel GPU monitoring directly inside the main dashboard.
• Zero Desktop Dependencies: Operates entirely within SSH terminal sessions.

Installing btop on Linux

Method 1: Distribution Package Managers

# Ubuntu 22.04+ / Debian 12+
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y btop

# Fedora / Rocky Linux / RHEL 9
sudo dnf install -y btop

# Arch Linux / Manjaro
sudo pacman -S btop

Method 2: Static Pre-Compiled Binary (Universal)

If running an older distribution without native packages:

curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/aristocratos/btop/releases/latest | grep "browser_download_url.*x86_64.*.tbz" | cut -d : -f 2,3 | tr -d \" | wget -qi -
tar -xvf btop-*.tbz
cd btop
sudo make install

Navigating the btop Interface

Launch the monitor by typing btop in your terminal:

btop

Essential Keyboard Shortcuts

Keybinding	Triggered Action	Workflow Benefit
h or Esc	Opens the Main Menu	Access settings, options, and help overlays.
m	Cycles through view presets	Quickly toggle between compact, standard, and full dashboard views.
f	Interactive Process Filter	Type process names (e.g. nginx) to isolate matching PID trees.
k	Send Termination Signal	Sends SIGTERM or opens the signal selection menu (SIGKILL, SIGHUP).
1, 2, 3, 4	Toggle Dashboard Panels	Toggle CPU (1), Mem (2), Disks (3), or Proc (4) panels individually.

Customising Themes and Layouts

Press Esc and select Options to adjust settings interactively:

• Color Themes: Switch between bundled palettes including Gruvbox, Tokyo Night, Dracula, and Nord.
• Update Frequency: Set polling intervals between 100ms and 5000ms (default is 2000ms for balanced CPU overhead).
• Low-Power Mode: Disables animated graphs during remote battery-powered laptop SSH sessions.