# btop — Beautiful Resource Monitor for Linux, macOS, Windows

> btop is a resource monitor that shows usage and stats for CPU, memory, disks, network, and processes. Beautiful TUI with mouse support, gradients, themes, and low memory footprint. The modern successor to htop and bashtop.

## Install

Save the content below to `.claude/skills/` or append to your `CLAUDE.md`:

## Quick Use

```bash
# Install
brew install btop                          # macOS
sudo apt install btop                      # Debian/Ubuntu
scoop install btop                         # Windows
snap install btop                          # Linux snap

# Launch
btop
```

Keybindings:
- `esc` / `m` — menu
- `1-4` — toggle CPU/Memory/Network/Process boxes
- `f` — filter processes
- `+/-` — sort columns
- `e` — tree view of processes
- `t` — toggle tree
- `k` — kill selected process
- `q` — quit

## Intro

btop is a resource monitor for Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD, and OpenBSD that displays usage and stats for processor, memory, disks, network, and processes. Written in C++ (a Python version, bpytop, also exists). Beautiful TUI with gradients, graphs, theming, and mouse support. Successor to the older htop and bashtop.

- **Repo**: https://github.com/aristocratos/btop
- **Stars**: 31K+
- **Language**: C++
- **License**: Apache 2.0

## What btop Does

- **CPU monitor** — per-core usage, frequency, temperature
- **Memory** — RAM and swap with detailed breakdown
- **Disks** — IO, usage, mounts
- **Network** — RX/TX speeds, interface selection
- **Processes** — sortable list, tree view, filter, kill
- **GPU** — NVIDIA / AMD / Intel support (v1.3+)
- **Themes** — 20+ built-in, truecolor gradient rendering
- **Mouse** — click to focus boxes, select processes

## Architecture

Written in C++ for speed and low memory. Uses ncurses-like rendering with 24-bit truecolor gradients. Polls /proc (Linux), sysctl (macOS), or PDH (Windows) for stats. Very low CPU footprint (under 1%).

## Self-Hosting

CLI tool.

## Key Features

- Beautiful TUI with gradients
- Truecolor support
- 20+ themes
- Mouse support
- GPU monitoring
- Process tree view and kill
- Disk IO graphs
- Network graph
- Low CPU/memory overhead

## Comparison

| Tool | Language | UI | GPU | Themes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| btop | C++ | Gradient TUI | Yes | Many |
| htop | C | Classic TUI | No | Few |
| bpytop | Python | Gradient TUI | Partial | Many |
| gtop | Node.js | Basic TUI | No | No |
| glances | Python | Classic TUI | Yes | Few |

## FAQ

**Q: What is better about it vs htop?**
A: A prettier gradient UI, truecolor, GPU monitoring, disk IO graphs, and mouse support. Covers all of htop's core functionality.

**Q: Will CPU usage be high?**
A: Usually <1% on a single core. C++ is much faster than bpytop (Python).

**Q: Does it support Windows?**
A: Officially supported on Windows since v1.2.

## Sources

- GitHub: https://github.com/aristocratos/btop
- License: Apache 2.0

---
Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/btop-beautiful-resource-monitor-linux-macos-windows-224cd6fd
Author: Script Depot