bottom/docs/content/usage/widgets/process.md
Clement Tsang a94a8059da
docs: add docs on process kill, update docs on updating docs (#1010)
* docs: add some documentation on process term, update captions

* docs on updating docs
2023-02-03 03:05:18 -05:00

13 KiB

Process Widget

The process widget displays a table containing information regarding a running process, along with sorting, searching, and process control features.

A picture of an expanded process widget by default.

Features

The process widget has three main components:

  • The main process table
  • The search sub-widget (opened with ++ctrl+f++ or ++slash++)
  • The sort menu sub-widget (opened with ++s++ or ++f6++)

By default, the main process table displays the following information for each process:

  • PID
  • Name of the process
  • CPU use percentage (note this is averaged out per available thread)
  • Memory use percentage
  • Reads per second
  • Writes per second
  • Total amount read
  • Total amount written
  • User
  • State

Sorting

The table can be sorted by clicking on the table headers, which will either sort the table by that column, or if already sorting by that column, reverse the sorting order.

Alternatively, one can sort using the sort menu sub-widget, which is brought up using ++s++ or ++f6++, and can be controlled by arrow keys or the mouse.

A picture of an expanded process widget with the sort menu open.

Grouping

Pressing ++tab++ in the table will group entries with the same name together. The PID column will be replaced with the number of entries in each group, and usage is added together when displayed.

A picture of grouped mode in a process widget.

Note that the process state and user columns are disabled in this mode.

Process termination

Pressing ++d+d++ or ++f9++ will allow you to terminate the currently selected process/process group. On Unix-like operating systems, you are also able to control which specific signals to send (e.g. SIGKILL, SIGTERM).

A picture of the process kill menu on Linux.
The process termination menu on Linux

If you're on Windows, or if the disable_advanced_kill flag is set in the options or command-line, then a simpler termination screen will be shown to confirm whether you want to kill that process/process group.

A picture of the process kill menu on Windows.
The process termination menu on Windows

Tree mode

Pressing ++t++ or ++f5++ in the table toggles tree mode in the process widget, displaying processes in regards to their parent-child process relationships.

A picture of tree mode in a process widget.

A process in tree mode can also be "collapsed", hiding its children and any descendants, using either the ++minus++ or ++plus++ keys, or double clicking on an entry.

Lastly, note that in tree mode, processes cannot be grouped together due to the behaviour of the two modes somewhat clashing.

Full command

You can show the full command instead of just the process name by pressing ++P++.

A picture of a process widget using full commands.

Pressing ++slash++ or ++ctrl+f++ will open up the search sub-widget. By default, just typing in something will search by the process name.

A picture of searching for a process with a simple search.

This search can be further enhanced by matching by case, matching the entire word, or by regex.

A picture of searching for a process with a search condition that uses regex.

We are able to also search for multiple things/conditions.

A picture of searching for a process with a search condition that uses the or operator.

And if our search uses a keyword, we need to use quotation marks around the term to properly search it.

A picture of searching for a process with a search condition that needs quotation marks.

Lastly, we can refine our search even further based on the other columns, like PID, CPU usage, etc., as well as grouping together conditions.

A picture of searching for a process with a search condition that uses the CPU keyword.

You can also paste search queries (e.g. ++shift+insert++, ++ctrl+shift+v++).

Keywords

Note all keywords are case-insensitive. To search for a process/command that collides with a keyword, surround the term with quotes (e.x. "cpu").

Keywords Example Description
btm Matches by process or command name; supports regex
pid pid=1044 Matches by PID; supports regex
cpu
cpu%
cpu > 0.5 Matches the CPU column; supports comparison operators
memb memb > 1000 b Matches the memory column in terms of bytes; supports comparison operators
mem
mem%
mem < 0.5 Matches the memory column in terms of percent; supports comparison operators
read
r/s
read = 1 mb Matches the read/s column in terms of bytes; supports comparison operators
write
w/s
write >= 1 kb Matches the write/s column in terms of bytes; supports comparison operators
tread
t.read
tread <= 1024 gb Matches he total read column in terms of bytes; supports comparison operators
twrite
t.write
twrite > 1024 tb Matches the total write column in terms of bytes; supports comparison operators
user user=root Matches by user; supports regex
state state=running Matches by state; supports regex
() (<COND 1> AND <COND 2>) OR <COND 3> Group together a condition

Comparison operators

Keywords Description
= Checks if the values are equal
> Checks if the left value is strictly greater than the right
< Checks if the left value is strictly less than the right
>= Checks if the left value is greater than or equal to the right
<= Checks if the left value is less than or equal to the right

Logical operators

Note all operators are case-insensitive, and the and operator takes precedence over the or operator.

Keywords Usage Description
and
&&
<Space>
<COND 1> and <COND 2>
<COND 1> && <COND 2>
<COND 1> <COND 2>
Requires both conditions to be true to match
or
||
<COND 1> or <COND 2>
<COND 1> &#124;&#124; <COND 2>
Requires at least one condition to be true to match

Units

All units are case-insensitive.

Keywords Description
B Bytes
KB Kilobytes
MB Megabytes
GB Gigabytes
TB Terabytes
KiB Kibibytes
MiB Mebibytes
GiB Gibibytes
TiB Tebibytes

Key bindings

Note that key bindings are generally case-sensitive.

Process table

Binding Action
++up++ , ++k++ Move up within a widget
++down++ , ++j++ Move down within a widget
++g+g++ , ++home++ Jump to the first entry in the table
++G++ , ++end++ Jump to the last entry in the table
++d+d++ , ++f9++ Send a kill signal to the selected process
++c++ Sort by CPU usage, press again to reverse sorting order
++m++ Sort by memory usage, press again to reverse sorting order
++p++ Sort by PID name, press again to reverse sorting order
++n++ Sort by process name, press again to reverse sorting order
++tab++ Toggle grouping processes with the same name
++P++ Toggle between showing the full command or just the process name
++ctrl+f++ , ++slash++ Toggle showing the search sub-widget
++s++ , ++f6++ Toggle showing the sort sub-widget
++I++ Invert the current sort
++"%"++ Toggle between values and percentages for memory usage
++t++ , ++f5++ Toggle tree mode

Sort sub-widget

Binding Action
++up++ , ++k++ Move up within a widget
++down++ , ++j++ Move down within a widget
++g+g++ , ++home++ Jump to the first entry in the table
++G++ , ++end++ Jump to the last entry in the table
++esc++ Close the sort sub-widget
++enter++ Sorts the corresponding process table

Search sub-widget

Binding Action
++left++
++h++
++alt+h++
Moves the cursor left
++right++
++l++
++alt+l++
Moves the cursor right
++esc++ Close the search widget (retains the filter)
++ctrl+a++ Skip to the start of the search query
++ctrl+e++ Skip to the end of the search query
++ctrl+u++ Clear the current search query
++ctrl+w++ Delete a word behind the cursor
++ctrl+h++ Delete the character behind the cursor
++backspace++ Delete the character behind the cursor
++delete++ Delete the character at the cursor
++alt+c++ , ++f1++ Toggle matching case
++alt+w++ , ++f2++ Toggle matching the entire word
++alt+r++ , ++f3++ Toggle using regex

Mouse bindings

Process table

Binding Action
++"Scroll"++ Selects a CPU thread/average to show in the graph
++lbutton++ Table header: Sorts/reverse sorts the table by the column
Table entry: Selects an entry in the table, if in tree mode, collapses/expands the entry's children

Sort sub-widget

Binding Action
++lbutton++ Selects an entry in the table