Quick Tip

Taming Process Output: Focused `ps` with `awk`

Challenge: The standard `ps` command can produce a lot of information, making it difficult to quickly find specific details about running processes.

The Solution: Combine `ps` with `awk` to filter and format the output to show only the columns you need.

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

Why it works: `ps aux` provides a comprehensive list of processes, and `awk` then selectively prints the first ($1 – USER), second ($2 – PID), and eleventh ($11 – COMMAND) columns, giving you a cleaner, more focused view.

Pro-Tip: To sort processes by CPU usage, use `ps aux –sort=-%cpu | awk ‘{print $1, $2, $11, $3}’`.

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 5/14/2026