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📊 Linux Process Management
This section covers commands used to monitor, manage, and control processes in Linux systems.
🔍 View Processes
| Command |
Usage & Options |
ps aux |
Show all running processes; a → all users, u → detailed format, x → background processes |
top |
Real-time process monitoring |
htop |
Interactive process viewer (if installed) |
🧠 Process Details
| Command |
Usage & Options |
ps -ef |
Full process listing; -e → all processes, -f → full format |
pidof nginx |
Get PID of a process |
pgrep nginx |
Find process ID by name |
❌ Kill Processes
| Command |
Usage & Options |
kill PID |
Terminate process gracefully |
kill -9 PID |
Force kill process; -9 → SIGKILL |
pkill nginx |
Kill process by name |
⚙️ Process Priority
| Command |
Usage & Options |
nice -n 10 command |
Start process with priority; -n → niceness value |
renice 10 PID |
Change priority of running process |
🔄 Background Jobs
| Command |
Usage & Options |
command & |
Run process in background |
jobs |
List background jobs |
fg |
Bring job to foreground |
bg |
Resume job in background |
🔥 Useful Example
| Command |
Usage & Options |
ps aux | grep apache |
Find Apache process |
kill -9 1234 |
Force kill process with PID 1234 |
top |
Monitor CPU & memory usage |
🎯 Summary
- Use
ps, top, htop to monitor processes
- Use
kill, pkill to stop processes
- Manage priority using
nice and renice
- Background jobs help manage long-running tasks