Quick Tip

Master Process Monitoring with `ps` and `awk`

Challenge: Getting a clear, concise view of specific process information can be difficult with the default `ps` command output, which often includes extraneous details or requires complex manual parsing.

The Solution: Pipe `ps` output to `awk` to select and format only the columns you need.

ps aux | awk '{print $1, $2, $11}'

Why it works: `ps aux` provides a detailed snapshot of all running processes. Piping this to `awk ‘{print $1, $2, $11}’` allows us to select specific fields (in this case, the username, PID, and command name) and print them in a clean, tabular format.

Pro-Tip: Experiment with different column numbers ($3 for %CPU, $4 for %MEM, etc.) to customize the output for your specific monitoring needs.

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 6/21/2026