Linux Mint

How to Install and Use htop on Linux Mint 21

System monitoring is the one of the main constituents for using the resources of the system effectively as one can get a clear picture on resource usage of individual applications running in the system. Htop is one of the best monitoring tools when it comes to the Linux system as it is a sort of a task manager like the one in the Windows operating system. So, if you want to install htop system monitoring tool in Linux Mint 21 then go through this guide.

Installing htop on Linux Mint 21

The process of installation in not quite lengthy as it is available in the default package repository, so below are some necessary steps to install htop on Linux Mint 21:

Step 1: Before installing the application first upgrade the package list of the default package manager:

$ sudo apt-get update

Step2: Now it’s time to install the htop monitoring tool and for that use:

$ sudo apt-get install -y htop

Step 3: Now just to be sure that the tool has been installed correctly check its version using:

$ htop --version

Now to run the tool there are two ways one is through the terminal and the other is through the GUI, to run the htop through terminal use:

$ htop

To run the application through GUI, click on the Linux Mint logo on the task bar and under administration option you will come across the htop system monitoring application:

Using htop as a System Monitoring on Linux Mint 21

There are multiple features that this tool provides like overall system resource usage that is displayed on the top. Not only that it also displays the total number of tasks running along with load average and uptime of the system. It also gives the individual usage of system resources by the application running on your Linux system:

Another feature that one is worth considering is that users can close any application either if it is using large percentage of resources or is getting unresponsive, to that first search the respective application by pressing F3:

Next write the name of application under the search bar appeared at the bottom and hit enter:

Now the respective application is selected and to close it you can press F9 from:

Next, hit enter to prompt the closure of this application:

Conclusion

Monitoring your Linux system not only helps in effectively utilizing the resources but can also save time in diagnosing any potential issue. The htop is a monitoring utility that is used by many of the Linux users and it can be installed on your Linux system using the default package manager.

About the author

Aaliyan Javaid

I am an electrical engineer and a technical blogger. My keen interest in embedded systems has led me to write and share my knowledge about them.