Quick Tip

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

Challenge: The output of the `ps` command can be overwhelming, showing more information than you might need when trying to find specific processes or resource usage.

The Solution: Pipe the output of `ps` to `awk` to filter and format it to your exact requirements.

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

Why it works: `ps aux` lists all running processes with detailed information. `awk` then processes this output line by line, printing only the user (field 1), PID (field 2), and command name (field 11) for each process.

Pro-Tip: To find processes owned by a specific user, use `ps aux | awk -v user=”your_username” ‘$1 == user {print $2, $11}’`.

Linux Tips & Tricks | © ngelinux.com | 5/16/2026