Can You Run htop on macOS or BSD Systems?

This article explores whether the popular Linux command-line activity monitor, htop, can be used on macOS and BSD operating systems. While originally built for Linux, htop has been successfully ported to both platforms. Below, you will find an explanation of how htop functions on these non-Linux systems, along with step-by-step instructions on how to install and run it using native package managers.

Understanding htop Compatibility

htop is an interactive system-monitor and process-viewer. Because it relies heavily on the operating system’s kernel to fetch process metrics, running it on macOS or BSD requires platform-specific code to translate those system calls.

Fortunately, the modern upstream version of htop supports cross-platform abstraction. This allows the tool to display real-time CPU, memory, swap, and process statistics on macOS and various BSD distributions just as it does on Linux, despite the underlying structural differences in how these operating systems manage processes.

How to Install and Run htop on macOS

On macOS, the easiest way to install htop is through a package manager like Homebrew or MacPorts.

• Using Homebrew: Open your terminal and run the command brew install htop.
• Using MacPorts: Open your terminal and run the command sudo port install htop.

Once the installation is complete, you can launch the utility by simply typing htop into your terminal. Because macOS restricts access to certain process statistics for security reasons, you may need to run it with elevated privileges using sudo htop to view all running system processes.

How to Install and Run htop on BSD Systems

BSD systems possess their own native package management tools that include htop in their official repositories. The installation command varies slightly depending on the specific BSD flavor you are using.

• FreeBSD: Run pkg install htop as the root user or using sudo.
• OpenBSD: Run pkg_add htop as the root user.
• NetBSD: Run pkgin install htop to fetch the package from the repository.

After installation, entering htop into the command line will initiate the interface. Just like on macOS, running the command as the root user ensures that htop can accurately report memory consumption and CPU states across all user accounts.