How to Toggle Tree View in htop on Ubuntu

This article provides a quick method to toggle the tree view in htop on Ubuntu. It covers the necessary keyboard shortcuts and explains how to visualize process hierarchies effectively. Follow the steps below to change your process display mode instantly without navigating complex menus.

Install htop

If you do not have htop installed on your Ubuntu system, open a terminal and run the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install htop

Start the Process Viewer

Launch the application by typing the following command into your terminal:

htop

Toggle the Tree View

Once htop is running, press the t key on your keyboard.

• Active Tree View: Child processes are indented under their parent processes, showing the hierarchy.
• Inactive Tree View: Processes are listed in a flat, sorted order.

You can press t repeatedly to switch between these two modes. In some configurations, the F5 key may also trigger the tree view. Check the function key labels at the bottom of the screen to verify.

Save Settings

Htop saves your layout preferences automatically when you exit. To keep the tree view enabled for future sessions, ensure the tree view is active before closing the program.

Exit htop

Press the q key to quit htop and return to the command line.