[#]: collector: (lujun9972) [#]: translator: ( ) [#]: reviewer: ( ) [#]: publisher: ( ) [#]: url: ( ) [#]: subject: (How to Run the Top Command in Batch Mode) [#]: via: (https://www.2daygeek.com/linux-run-execute-top-command-in-batch-mode/) [#]: author: (Magesh Maruthamuthu https://www.2daygeek.com/author/magesh/) How to Run the Top Command in Batch Mode ====== The **[Linux Top command][1]** is the best and most well known command that everyone uses to **[monitor Linux system performance][2]**. You probably already know most of the options available, except for a few options, and if I’m not wrong, “batch more” is one of the options. Most script writer and developers know this because this option is mainly used when writing the script. If you’re not sure about this, don’t worry we’re here to explain this. ### What is “Batch Mode” in the Top Command The “Batch Mode” option allows you to send top command output to other programs or to a file. In this mode, top will not accept input and runs until the iterations limit you’ve set with the “-n” command-line option. If you want to fix any performance issues on the Linux server, you need to **[understand the top command output][3]** correctly. ### 1) How to Run the Top Command in Batch Mode By default, the top command sort the results based on CPU usage, so when you run the below top command in batch mode, it does the same and prints the first 35 lines. ``` # top -bc | head -35 top - 06:41:14 up 8 days, 20:24, 1 user, load average: 0.87, 0.77, 0.81 Tasks: 139 total, 1 running, 136 sleeping, 0 stopped, 2 zombie %Cpu(s): 0.0 us, 3.2 sy, 0.0 ni, 96.8 id, 0.0 wa, 0.0 hi, 0.0 si, 0.0 st KiB Mem : 3880940 total, 1595932 free, 886736 used, 1398272 buff/cache KiB Swap: 1048572 total, 514640 free, 533932 used. 2648472 avail Mem PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND 1 root 20 0 191144 2800 1596 S 0.0 0.1 5:43.63 /usr/lib/systemd/systemd --switched-root --system --deserialize 22 2 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.32 [kthreadd] 3 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:28.10 [ksoftirqd/0] 5 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [kworker/0:0H] 7 root rt 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:33.96 [migration/0] 8 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [rcu_bh] 9 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 63:05.12 [rcu_sched] 10 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [lru-add-drain] 11 root rt 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:08.79 [watchdog/0] 12 root rt 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:08.82 [watchdog/1] 13 root rt 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:44.27 [migration/1] 14 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 1:22.45 [ksoftirqd/1] 16 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [kworker/1:0H] 18 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.01 [kdevtmpfs] 19 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [netns] 20 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:01.35 [khungtaskd] 21 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.02 [writeback] 22 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [kintegrityd] 23 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [bioset] 24 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [kblockd] 25 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [md] 26 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [edac-poller] 33 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 1:19.07 [kswapd0] 34 root 25 5 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [ksmd] 35 root 39 19 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:12.80 [khugepaged] 36 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [crypto] 44 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [kthrotld] 46 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [kmpath_rdacd] ``` ### 2) How to Run the Top Command in Batch Mode and Sort the Output Based on Memory Usage Run the below top command to sort the results based on memory usage in batch mode. ``` # top -bc -o +%MEM | head -n 20 top - 06:42:00 up 8 days, 20:25, 1 user, load average: 0.66, 0.74, 0.80 Tasks: 146 total, 1 running, 145 sleeping, 0 stopped, 0 zombie %Cpu(s): 0.0 us, 0.0 sy, 0.0 ni,100.0 id, 0.0 wa, 0.0 hi, 0.0 si, 0.0 st KiB Mem : 3880940 total, 1422044 free, 1059176 used, 1399720 buff/cache KiB Swap: 1048572 total, 514640 free, 533932 used. 2475984 avail Mem PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND 18105 mysql 20 0 1453900 156096 8816 S 0.0 4.0 2:12.98 /usr/sbin/mysqld --daemonize --pid-file=/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.pid 1841 root 20 0 228980 107036 5360 S 0.0 2.8 0:05.56 /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty/perl/528/bin/perl -T -w /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty/bin/spamd --max-children=3 --max-spare=1 --allowed-ips=127.0.0.+ 4301 root 20 0 230208 104608 1816 S 0.0 2.7 0:03.77 spamd child 8139 nobody 20 0 257000 27108 3408 S 0.0 0.7 0:00.04 /usr/sbin/httpd -k start 7961 nobody 20 0 256988 26912 3160 S 0.0 0.7 0:00.05 /usr/sbin/httpd -k start 8190 nobody 20 0 256976 26812 3140 S 0.0 0.7 0:00.05 /usr/sbin/httpd -k start 8353 nobody 20 0 256976 26812 3144 S 0.0 0.7 0:00.04 /usr/sbin/httpd -k start 8629 nobody 20 0 256856 26736 3108 S 0.0 0.7 0:00.02 /usr/sbin/httpd -k start 8636 nobody 20 0 256856 26712 3100 S 0.0 0.7 0:00.03 /usr/sbin/httpd -k start 8611 nobody 20 0 256844 25764 2228 S 0.0 0.7 0:00.01 /usr/sbin/httpd -k start 8451 nobody 20 0 256844 25760 2220 S 0.0 0.7 0:00.04 /usr/sbin/httpd -k start 8610 nobody 20 0 256844 25748 2224 S 0.0 0.7 0:00.01 /usr/sbin/httpd -k start 8632 nobody 20 0 256844 25744 2216 S 0.0 0.7 0:00.03 /usr/sbin/httpd -k start ``` **Details of the above command:** * **-b :** Batch mode operation * **-c :** To print the absolute path of the running process * **-o :** To specify fields for sorting processes * **head :** Output the first part of files * **-n :** To print the first “n” lines ### 3) How to Run the Top Command in Batch Mode and Sort the Output Based on a Specific User Process If you want to sort results based on a specific user, run the below top command. ``` # top -bc -u mysql | head -n 10 top - 06:44:58 up 8 days, 20:27, 1 user, load average: 0.99, 0.87, 0.84 Tasks: 140 total, 1 running, 137 sleeping, 0 stopped, 2 zombie %Cpu(s): 13.3 us, 3.3 sy, 0.0 ni, 83.3 id, 0.0 wa, 0.0 hi, 0.0 si, 0.0 st KiB Mem : 3880940 total, 1589832 free, 885648 used, 1405460 buff/cache KiB Swap: 1048572 total, 514640 free, 533932 used. 2649412 avail Mem PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND 18105 mysql 20 0 1453900 156888 8816 S 0.0 4.0 2:16.42 /usr/sbin/mysqld --daemonize --pid-file=/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.pid ``` ### 4) How to Run the Top Command in Batch Mode and Sort the Output Based on the Process Age Use the below top command to sort the results based on the age of the process in batch mode. It shows the total CPU time the task has used since it started. But if you want to check how long a process has been running on Linux, go to the following article. * **[Five Ways to Check How Long a Process Has Been Running in Linux][4]** ``` # top -bc -o TIME+ | head -n 20 top - 06:45:56 up 8 days, 20:28, 1 user, load average: 0.56, 0.77, 0.81 Tasks: 148 total, 1 running, 146 sleeping, 0 stopped, 1 zombie %Cpu(s): 0.0 us, 3.1 sy, 0.0 ni, 96.9 id, 0.0 wa, 0.0 hi, 0.0 si, 0.0 st KiB Mem : 3880940 total, 1378664 free, 1094876 used, 1407400 buff/cache KiB Swap: 1048572 total, 514640 free, 533932 used. 2440332 avail Mem PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND 9 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 63:05.70 [rcu_sched] 272 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 16:12.13 [xfsaild/vda1] 3882 root 20 0 229832 6212 1220 S 0.0 0.2 9:00.84 /usr/sbin/httpd -k start 1 root 20 0 191144 2800 1596 S 0.0 0.1 5:43.75 /usr/lib/systemd/systemd --switched-root --system --deserialize 22 3761 root 20 0 68784 9820 2048 S 0.0 0.3 5:09.67 tailwatchd 3529 root 20 0 404380 3472 2604 S 0.0 0.1 3:24.98 /usr/sbin/rsyslogd -n 3520 root 20 0 574208 572 164 S 0.0 0.0 3:07.74 /usr/bin/python2 -Es /usr/sbin/tuned -l -P 444 dbus 20 0 58444 1144 612 S 0.0 0.0 2:23.90 /usr/bin/dbus-daemon --system --address=systemd: --nofork --nopidfile --systemd-activation 18105 mysql 20 0 1453900 157152 8816 S 0.0 4.0 2:17.29 /usr/sbin/mysqld --daemonize --pid-file=/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.pid 249 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 1:28.83 [kworker/0:1H] 14 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 1:22.46 [ksoftirqd/1] 33 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 1:19.07 [kswapd0] 342 root 20 0 39472 2940 2752 S 0.0 0.1 1:18.17 /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-journald ``` ### 5) How to Run the Top Command in Batch Mode and Save the Output to a File If you want to share the output of the top command to someone for troubleshooting purposes, redirect the output to a file using the following command. ``` # top -bc | head -35 > top-report.txt # cat top-report.txt top - 06:47:11 up 8 days, 20:30, 1 user, load average: 0.67, 0.77, 0.81 Tasks: 133 total, 4 running, 129 sleeping, 0 stopped, 0 zombie %Cpu(s): 59.4 us, 12.5 sy, 0.0 ni, 28.1 id, 0.0 wa, 0.0 hi, 0.0 si, 0.0 st KiB Mem : 3880940 total, 1596268 free, 843284 used, 1441388 buff/cache KiB Swap: 1048572 total, 514640 free, 533932 used. 2659084 avail Mem PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND 9686 daygeekc 20 0 406132 62184 43448 R 94.1 1.6 0:00.34 /opt/cpanel/ea-php56/root/usr/bin/php-cgi 9689 nobody 20 0 256588 24428 1184 S 5.9 0.6 0:00.01 /usr/sbin/httpd -k start 1 root 20 0 191144 2800 1596 S 0.0 0.1 5:43.79 /usr/lib/systemd/systemd --switched-root --system --deserialize 22 2 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.32 [kthreadd] 3 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:28.11 [ksoftirqd/0] 5 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [kworker/0:0H] 7 root rt 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:33.96 [migration/0] 8 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [rcu_bh] 9 root 20 0 0 0 0 R 0.0 0.0 63:05.82 [rcu_sched] 10 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [lru-add-drain] 11 root rt 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:08.79 [watchdog/0] 12 root rt 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:08.82 [watchdog/1] 13 root rt 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:44.28 [migration/1] 14 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 1:22.46 [ksoftirqd/1] 16 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [kworker/1:0H] 18 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.01 [kdevtmpfs] 19 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [netns] 20 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:01.35 [khungtaskd] 21 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.02 [writeback] 22 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [kintegrityd] 23 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [bioset] 24 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [kblockd] 25 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [md] 26 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [edac-poller] 33 root 20 0 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 1:19.07 [kswapd0] 34 root 25 5 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [ksmd] 35 root 39 19 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:12.80 [khugepaged] 36 root 0 -20 0 0 0 S 0.0 0.0 0:00.00 [crypto] ``` ### How to Sort Output Based on Specific Fields In the latest version of the top command release, press the **“f”** key to sort the fields via the field letter. To sort with a new field, use the **“up/down”** arrow to select the correct selection, and then press **“s”** to sort it. Finally press **“q”** to exit from this window. ``` Fields Management for window 1:Def, whose current sort field is %CPU Navigate with Up/Dn, Right selects for move then or Left commits, 'd' or toggles display, 's' sets sort. Use 'q' or to end! PID = Process Id nsUTS = UTS namespace Inode USER = Effective User Name LXC = LXC container name PR = Priority RSan = RES Anonymous (KiB) NI = Nice Value RSfd = RES File-based (KiB) VIRT = Virtual Image (KiB) RSlk = RES Locked (KiB) RES = Resident Size (KiB) RSsh = RES Shared (KiB) SHR = Shared Memory (KiB) CGNAME = Control Group name S = Process Status NU = Last Used NUMA node %CPU = CPU Usage %MEM = Memory Usage (RES) TIME+ = CPU Time, hundredths COMMAND = Command Name/Line PPID = Parent Process pid UID = Effective User Id RUID = Real User Id RUSER = Real User Name SUID = Saved User Id SUSER = Saved User Name GID = Group Id GROUP = Group Name PGRP = Process Group Id TTY = Controlling Tty TPGID = Tty Process Grp Id SID = Session Id nTH = Number of Threads P = Last Used Cpu (SMP) TIME = CPU Time SWAP = Swapped Size (KiB) CODE = Code Size (KiB) DATA = Data+Stack (KiB) nMaj = Major Page Faults nMin = Minor Page Faults nDRT = Dirty Pages Count WCHAN = Sleeping in Function Flags = Task Flags CGROUPS = Control Groups SUPGIDS = Supp Groups IDs SUPGRPS = Supp Groups Names TGID = Thread Group Id OOMa = OOMEM Adjustment OOMs = OOMEM Score current ENVIRON = Environment vars vMj = Major Faults delta vMn = Minor Faults delta USED = Res+Swap Size (KiB) nsIPC = IPC namespace Inode nsMNT = MNT namespace Inode nsNET = NET namespace Inode nsPID = PID namespace Inode nsUSER = USER namespace Inode ``` For older version of the top command, press the **“shift+f”** or **“shift+o”** key to sort the fields via the field letter. To sort with a new field, select the corresponding sort **field letter**, and then press **“Enter”** to sort it. ``` Current Sort Field: N for window 1:Def Select sort field via field letter, type any other key to return a: PID = Process Id b: PPID = Parent Process Pid c: RUSER = Real user name d: UID = User Id e: USER = User Name f: GROUP = Group Name g: TTY = Controlling Tty h: PR = Priority i: NI = Nice value j: P = Last used cpu (SMP) k: %CPU = CPU usage l: TIME = CPU Time m: TIME+ = CPU Time, hundredths * N: %MEM = Memory usage (RES) o: VIRT = Virtual Image (kb) p: SWAP = Swapped size (kb) q: RES = Resident size (kb) r: CODE = Code size (kb) s: DATA = Data+Stack size (kb) t: SHR = Shared Mem size (kb) u: nFLT = Page Fault count v: nDRT = Dirty Pages count w: S = Process Status x: COMMAND = Command name/line y: WCHAN = Sleeping in Function z: Flags = Task Flags Note1: If a selected sort field can't be shown due to screen width or your field order, the '<' and '>' keys will be unavailable until a field within viewable range is chosen. Note2: Field sorting uses internal values, not those in column display. Thus, the TTY & WCHAN fields will violate strict ASCII collating sequence. (shame on you if WCHAN is chosen) ``` -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- via: https://www.2daygeek.com/linux-run-execute-top-command-in-batch-mode/ 作者：[Magesh Maruthamuthu][a] 选题：[lujun9972][b] 译者：[译者ID](https://github.com/译者ID) 校对：[校对者ID](https://github.com/校对者ID) 本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创编译，[Linux中国](https://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出 [a]: https://www.2daygeek.com/author/magesh/ [b]: https://github.com/lujun9972 [1]: https://www.2daygeek.com/linux-top-command-linux-system-performance-monitoring-tool/ [2]: https://www.2daygeek.com/category/system-monitoring/ [3]: https://www.2daygeek.com/understanding-linux-top-command-output-usage/ [4]: https://www.2daygeek.com/how-to-check-how-long-a-process-has-been-running-in-linux/