How to View Environment Variables in htop on Ubuntu

Managing processes on Ubuntu often requires inspecting their configuration to troubleshoot issues or verify settings. This article explains how to use the htop utility to identify a specific process and then view its environment variables using standard Linux commands. While htop itself does not display environment variables directly, it serves as the primary tool for locating the necessary process ID.

Install and Launch htop

Ensure htop is installed on your Ubuntu system by running sudo apt install htop. Launch the utility by typing htop in your terminal. The interface displays a list of running processes along with their resource usage.

Identify the Process ID

Navigate through the process list using the arrow keys to select the target process. You can also press F3 to search for a specific process name. Once highlighted, note the number listed in the PID column on the left side of the screen.

View Environment Variables

Press F10 or q to exit htop and return to the command line. Use the Process ID you recorded to view the environment variables. You can use the ps command with the following syntax:

ps e -p <PID>

Alternatively, you can read the environment file directly from the proc filesystem:

cat /proc/<PID>/environ | tr '\0' '\n'

Replace <PID> with the actual number you found in htop. The tr command converts the null separators used in the proc file into newlines for readable output.

Summary

Using htop to find the PID and standard commands to inspect variables provides a reliable workflow for process analysis on Ubuntu. This method ensures you access accurate environment data without needing specialized plugins.