Sort htop by Start Time

This article provides a quick overview and step-by-step guide on how to sort running processes by their start time using the htop interactive process viewer in Linux. By default, htop sorts processes by CPU usage, but configuring it to display and sort by the exact time a process began is a straightforward process. Linux administrators and users can achieve this by customizing the display columns and selecting the appropriate sorting criteria within the tool’s interactive menu.

Steps to Sort Processes by Start Time

To sort your processes by the time they were started, follow these instructions within the htop interface:

• Open htop: Launch the utility by typing htop in your terminal and pressing Enter.
• Enter Setup: Press the F6 key (or Shift + O on some configurations) to open the “Sort by” menu on the left side of the screen. Alternatively, you can press F2 to enter the main Setup menu.
• Select the Start Time Column: Scroll through the column options using your arrow keys until you find STARTTIME.
• Apply the Sort: Press Enter to select STARTTIME. Your process list will instantly reorder itself based on when each process was initiated.

Alternative Mouse Method

If your terminal emulator supports mouse clicks, you can also achieve this visually:

1. Click on the STARTTIME column header at the top of the process list.
2. If the STARTTIME column is not visible, press F2, navigate to Columns, add STARTTIME from the available columns list to the active columns list, and save your changes before clicking the header.