Linux Task Manager is one of the essential tools that help you to find out the details of resource usages (CPU/RAM) by any particular software or even the system itself.
Just like in other operating systems task managers are so useful to Linux users since as an operating system it has mistakes too. Some are GUI based, and some are CLI based.
Further, there are lots of openource software you need to run on your system, and sometimes you find that some of them are causing problem like freezing the system by taking excessive resources.
For that reason, I have analyzed 15 best Linux task managers.
1.Top
It is a text-based task manager. Normally, users can use this task management tool in every Linux distros by using the Terminal. Importantly, it displays important information about your system like the total number of a running process, CPU usage, SWAP usage, free and used RAM resources, and many useful information.
Pros
- Efficient in process management.
- Easy monitoring of system resource usage.
- Additionally, it has a simple and flexible interface making it easy to use.
Cons
- It is a bit complex, for example, you need to search for the exact process number in order to execute a process.
2.Glances
This is one of the best Linux system monitoring tools. Secondly, this task manager is based on python and open architecture where developers can add various custom plugins for increasing its functionality and flexibility. Furthermore, it helps you to grab a large number of data for your system resources through the web interface
Pros
- It tries to present a whole lot of useful data in a single window.
- Secondly, it is unique since it runs on almost all platforms.
- Ease of exporting system statistics to CSV, ElasticSearch, Cassandra among other formats.
- It uses in-built Web UI hence, the flexibility of monitoring your system from any device.
Cons
- Its installation needs a techie.
3.Htop
This tool offers lots of useful options to the system admin like stopping, restarting and overall controlling of programs. Moreover, it also provides a handful of information about your system including memory and CPU consumption.
pros
- It is modern.
- It has a user-friendly interface.
- It lets you filter the processes and kill them.
Cons
- It does not feature the SWAP column like other Linux task managers.
4.Gnome System Monitor
It is the default GUI-based task manager for Linux systems. You just need to search for it in the app drawer. It comes up with a useful “File Systems” feature that allows users to have a clear view of hard drive space.
Pros
- You can manage the processes running and check your system’s resource usage.
- It is a simple task manager with a GUI.
5. Conky
It is a free and cross-platform system monitor software for the X Window System. It shows various important system information like system temperature, disk usage, CPU and memory usage, network resource stream, download and upload, system notifications and so on.
Pros
- A light-weight task monitor which is independent of the desktop environment
- It features a lot of information to look at Linux task managersA light-weight task monitor which is independent of the desktop environment
- It features a lot of information to look at
6. XFCE4 Task Manager
It is another default Linux task manager for the XFCE desktop environment. It is lightweight and well-integrated with the system. It helps the user get system information like CPU and memory usages, any running process with IDs, etc. You get a handful of option when right-clicking on any specific running process like you can terminate, stop or set the task priority.
Pros
- It lets you expand the process tree and manage them.
- You get to check the system resource usage as well.
7. Stacer
Stacer is an interactive and modern GUI-based Linux system optimizer and monitoring software. This Linux task manager is developed focusing on the novice Linux users. It is a task manager, system optimizer, resource viewer, system cleaner etc
Pros
- The best GUI-based task manager for Linux, which is easy-to-use as well.
- It lets you manage the startup programs, add/remove repositories, check resource usage history among other things.
- It features a dashboard which gives you an idea of the overall system resource usage.
- An all-in-one task manager.
8. Pstree
Pstree is a Linux Command and visual alternative to ps command which shows the system running threads and processes as a “tree.” It shows all process trees rooted at processes owned by a user-specified beforehand.
Pros
- Ps is scriptable and works well with other commands in the terminal, making it more useful.
- Despite its basic nature, Ps has dozens of useful command arguments, like sorting processes, showing process IDs, displaying individual threads of a given process and more.
- It comes on virtually every Linux distribution in existence, meaning users don’t need to install anything to use it.
9. Mate System Monitor
It’s a GUI-based Linux Monitoring tool which is helpful for the new Linux users to get some vital information regarding the system.
Mate system monitor lets you know the total running processes with IDs, memory and CPU usages, and much more through the intuitive “tab” interface. Moreover, It provides a bit of advanced functionality about killing, stopping or changing the priority of various processes as you wish to do.
10. KSysGuard
KSysGuard is the default Linux task and system performance monitor for KDE desktop environment. it supports client/server architecture that lets the user monitor both remote and localhost.
Pros
- It has design that allows managing both remote and local systems.
- Has a powerful search feature and detailed system-load tab, that helps keep track of your Linux processes very easily and control their behavior.
11.LXTask
It helps the users to perform some specific root task and display a table of information about any running process.
It is purely meant for the users using older hardware. It does have a graphical user interface but it is tailored for LXDE/LXQt desktop environment which is usually utilized for low-end systems.
.
Pros
- It is a light-weight task manager for low-end systems.
Cons
- Only meant for users using older hardware
12. Ps
It is a command-line system monitoring tool that helps users to show various running programs. It runs and works well in collaboration with other commands in the terminal which is effective and useful for any system administrator.
Pros
- No need for installation as it is in every Linux distro.
- It has useful and handy commands arguments which help to sort the processes and IDs.
13. ptop
It is a task manager that lets you manage the processes and give insight of your system resource usage. It offers the same set of features Htop offers.
Pros
- supports a couple of themes for you to customize its appearance.
Cons
- its text-based UI is somewhat engaging
Conclusion
In this article, I have discussed the best Linux task managers. I have tried to balance between GUI-based and Command-line tools. However, I would advise that for experienced Linux users and network/system administrators, they should use command-line based task-managers. I hope this article was helpful. If I didn’t mention any best Linux task manager let me know in the comment section. Feel free to share the article with your friends. Thank you.
