Quick Tip

Master `ps` with `awk` for Focused Process Info

Challenge: The output of the `ps aux` command can be overwhelming, making it difficult to quickly find specific information about running processes.

The Solution: Combine `ps` with `awk` to filter and format the process information for easier readability.

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

Why it works: `ps aux` lists all running processes. `awk` then processes this output line by line, printing only the username (field 1), PID (field 2), and command (field 11), making it much cleaner.

Pro-Tip: To further filter for a specific process, you can pipe the output to `grep` before or after `awk`. For example, `ps aux | grep nginx | awk ‘{print $1, $2, $11}’`.

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 5/22/2026