Quick Tip

Tame Your Processes: Focused `ps` Output with `awk`

Challenge: The output of the ps command can be overwhelming, filled with more information than you typically need. Filtering and extracting specific process details can be tedious.

The Solution: Combine ps with awk for precise process information filtering.

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

Why it works: The ps aux command lists all running processes in a standard format. awk then processes this output line by line, printing only the user (column 1), PID (column 2), and command (column 11) for each process, effectively creating a much cleaner, focused view.

Pro-Tip: To see processes for a specific user, you can add a condition to awk: ps aux | awk '$1 == "yourusername" {print $1, $2, $11}'

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 6/23/2026