Discover and act on running processes using the versatile ps command. 23.04.2026 | reading time: 2 min Want to know exactly what is running on a Linux host? The `ps` command snapshots active processes so you can identify resource users, parent-child relationships and run actions like monitoring or terminating misbehaving processes. Quick Hands-On ```\n$ ps aux | grep sshd\nroot 1021 0.0 0.1 123456 6789 ? Ss 09:11 0:00 /usr/sbin/sshd -D\nalice 12345 0.0 0.0 4500 800 pts/0 S+ 10:05 0:00 grep --color=auto sshd\n``` Options That Matter Use the right options to get the view you need: BSD-style listings like `ps aux` are concise; standard options like `ps -ef` show full hierarchies; custom columns with `ps -o` let you extract fields; example: ```\n$ ps -eo pid,ppid,user,%mem,%cpu,cmd --sort=-%cpu | head -n 6\n PID PPID USER %MEM %CPU CMD\n 2345 1 mysql 4.2 12.3 /usr/sbin/mysqld\n 6789 2345 www-data 1.1 3.9 /usr/sbin/nginx -g daemon off;\n``` Combine and Control Tell, don't just look: pipe `ps` output to `awk`, `xargs` or `grep` to act; for example to find and kill a process by name: ```\n$ ps -eo pid,cmd | awk '/mysqld/ && !/awk/ {print $1}' | xargs -r kill -15\n``` Where to go next Practice reading `ps` output daily, learn to combine it with monitoring and signalling tools, and consider formalizing skills with exams like CompTIA Linux+ or LPIC-1 using focused preparation at bitsandbytes.academy. Join Bits & Bytes Academy First class LINUX exam preparation. processes utilities troubleshooting scripting
