Can Htop Show Nice Value of Processes in Ubuntu?

This article confirms that htop can display the nice value of processes on Ubuntu and explains how to locate this information within the interface. It provides a straightforward guide on interpreting priority levels and managing process scheduling directly from the terminal monitor.

Yes, htop displays the nice value of running processes by default on Ubuntu systems. When you launch the application by typing htop in the terminal, look for the column labeled NI. This column represents the nice value, which indicates the priority of a process in the Linux scheduler.

The nice value ranges from -20 to 19. A lower number means a higher priority, while a higher number means a lower priority. A value of 0 is the standard default priority. Processes with negative nice values receive more CPU time, whereas processes with positive values yield CPU time to other tasks.

If the NI column is not visible in your current view, you can enable it by pressing the F2 key to enter the Setup menu. Navigate to the “Display options” or “Columns” section and ensure that “NI” is selected. Once enabled, the column will appear in the main process list.

You can also modify the nice value of a process directly within htop. Select a process using the arrow keys, press F7 to increase priority (lower nice value), or press F8 to decrease priority (higher nice value). Note that increasing priority (negative nice values) typically requires sudo privileges.

To install htop on Ubuntu if it is not already present, run the command sudo apt install htop. Once installed, it serves as an effective tool for monitoring system resource usage and managing process priorities without needing complex commands.