Command line and full screen utilities for browsing procfs, a "pseudo" file system dynamically generated by Linux to provide information about the status of entries in its process table.
Go to file
Stephen Brennan 518547742b Set TZ to avoid repeated stat("/etc/localtime")
With glibc, each time the strftime() function is used (twice per process
in a typical ps -fe run), a stat("/etc/localtime") system call is used
to determine the timezone. Not only does this add extra system call
overhead, but when multiple ps processes are trying to access this
file (or multiple glibc programs using strftime) in parallel, this can
trigger significant lock contention within the OS kernel.

Since ps is not intended to run for long periods of time as a
daemon (during which the system timezone could be altered and PS might
reasonably be expected to adapt its output), there is no benefit to
repeatedly doing this stat(). To stop this behavior, explicitly set the
TZ variable to its default value (:/etc/localtime) whenever it is unset.
glibc will then cache the stat() result.
2020-12-22 11:09:44 +11:00
contrib miscellaneous: clean up trailing whitespace once again 2013-04-07 18:05:01 +10:00
doc docs: Merge procps_uptime_* into procps_misc.3 2020-12-21 12:48:06 +11:00
Documentation miscellaneous: remove some trailing whitespace buildup 2015-06-20 07:46:23 +10:00
include build-sys: fix some important 'tests.h' related issues 2020-08-17 21:49:08 +10:00
lib misc: Add test_nsutils to gitignore 2020-12-17 21:43:10 +11:00
man-po misc: Tell po4a to handle email macros 2018-06-23 21:59:14 +10:00
misc build-sys: rename the 'tools' subdirectory to 'misc' 2012-03-02 21:25:38 +11:00
po vmstat: Add NEWS and revert comment from prev 2020-05-12 19:06:34 +10:00
proc library: a tweak to the UNREF_RPTHASH code, <pids> api 2020-10-24 18:27:57 +11:00
ps Set TZ to avoid repeated stat("/etc/localtime") 2020-12-22 11:09:44 +11:00
testsuite kill: use sigqueue to pass value with the signal. 2020-05-11 17:36:12 +10:00
top top: fix additional SEGVs if no tasks were displayable 2020-09-16 14:26:59 +10:00
.gitignore misc: Update translations _________________ (catch up) 2018-05-06 07:19:38 +10:00
.gitlab-ci.yml test: Update gitlab CI YAML to use shared runner 2016-04-20 22:20:55 +10:00
AUTHORS Changed git site to gitlab 2015-05-10 14:57:50 +10:00
autogen.sh Fix a remaining util-linux word in autogen 2012-02-26 08:39:16 +11:00
ChangeLog Changed git site to gitlab 2015-05-10 14:57:50 +10:00
configure.ac build-sys: updated autoscan for that configure.ac file 2020-09-13 10:00:49 +10:00
COPYING license: update FSF addresses 2012-03-04 08:04:24 +11:00
COPYING.LIB miscellaneous: clean up trailing whitespace once again 2013-04-07 18:05:01 +10:00
create-man-pot.sh misc: Update translations _________________ (catch up) 2018-05-06 07:19:38 +10:00
free.1 docs: use correct units in free.1 _________ (catch up) 2019-09-22 07:32:03 +10:00
free.c free,slabtop,uptime: complain about extra ops 2020-10-19 22:41:54 +11:00
INSTALL.md INSTALL.md: Replace blockquotes with code blocks 2020-04-24 18:56:16 +10:00
kill.1 kill: use sigqueue to pass value with the signal. 2020-05-11 17:36:12 +10:00
kill.c kill: use sigqueue to pass value with the signal. 2020-05-11 17:36:12 +10:00
Makefile.am build-sys: a small tweak to the new 'check-lib' target 2020-10-24 18:27:57 +11:00
NEWS misc: Document sysctl change bug 2020-12-22 11:00:15 +11:00
pgrep.1 docs: some manpage fixes 2020-06-04 22:33:16 +10:00
pgrep.c library: eliminated the questionable 'procps.h' header 2020-07-05 21:13:01 +10:00
pidof.1 docs: some manpage fixes 2020-06-04 22:33:16 +10:00
pidof.c library: eliminated the questionable 'procps.h' header 2020-07-05 21:13:01 +10:00
pkill.1 procps 010114 2002-02-01 22:47:29 +00:00
pmap.1 docs: some manpage fixes 2020-06-04 22:33:16 +10:00
pmap.c library: eliminated the questionable 'procps.h' header 2020-07-05 21:13:01 +10:00
pwdx.1 docs: some manpage fixes 2020-06-04 22:33:16 +10:00
pwdx.c 0021-pwdx: Fix a misleading comment. 2018-06-23 21:59:14 +10:00
README.md misc: eliminate accumulated trailing whitespace, again 2016-03-12 14:53:53 +11:00
skill.1 skill: support namespaces 2013-04-18 13:59:44 -04:00
skill.c library: eliminated the questionable 'procps.h' header 2020-07-05 21:13:01 +10:00
slabtop.1 docs: some manpage fixes 2020-06-04 22:33:16 +10:00
slabtop.c free,slabtop,uptime: complain about extra ops 2020-10-19 22:41:54 +11:00
snice.1 procps 010114 2002-02-01 22:47:29 +00:00
sysctl.8 docs: some manpage fixes 2020-06-04 22:33:16 +10:00
sysctl.c sysctl: config directory order 2020-02-27 21:56:13 +11:00
sysctl.conf misc: Add some link examples to sysctl.conf (catch up) 2018-05-06 07:19:38 +10:00
sysctl.conf.5 docs: some manpage fixes 2020-06-04 22:33:16 +10:00
tload.1 docs: some manpage fixes 2020-06-04 22:33:16 +10:00
tload.c library: eliminated the questionable 'procps.h' header 2020-07-05 21:13:01 +10:00
translate-man.sh Fixed translate-man.sh for no top ps 2014-05-28 20:12:33 +10:00
uptime.1 docs: Fix typos in slabtop.1, sysctl.8 and uptime.1 2014-09-16 19:35:28 +02:00
uptime.c free,slabtop,uptime: complain about extra ops 2020-10-19 22:41:54 +11:00
vmstat.8 vmstat and watch manpage slight fixes 2020-07-01 08:05:53 +10:00
vmstat.c vmstat: Null the diskstats pointer 2020-09-13 10:25:19 +10:00
w.1 docs: some manpage fixes 2020-06-04 22:33:16 +10:00
w.c library: eliminated the questionable 'procps.h' header 2020-07-05 21:13:01 +10:00
watch.1 docs: Consistent style across watch.1 2020-12-22 11:04:50 +11:00
watch.c watch: Add no linewrap option 2020-10-19 22:07:56 +11:00

build status procps

procps is a set of command line and full-screen utilities that provide information out of the pseudo-filesystem most commonly located at /proc. This filesystem provides a simple interface to the kernel data structures. The programs of procps generally concentrate on the structures that describe the processess running on the system.

The following programs are found in procps:

  • free - Report the amount of free and used memory in the system
  • kill - Send a signal to a process based on PID
  • pgrep - List processes based on name or other attributes
  • pkill - Send a signal to a process based on name or other attributes
  • pmap - Report memory map of a process
  • ps - Report information of processes
  • pwdx - Report current directory of a process
  • skill - Obsolete version of pgrep/pkill
  • slabtop - Display kernel slab cache information in real time
  • snice - Renice a process
  • sysctl - Read or Write kernel parameters at run-time
  • tload - Graphical representation of system load average
  • top - Dynamic real-time view of running processes
  • uptime - Display how long the system has been running
  • vmstat - Report virtual memory statistics
  • w - Report logged in users and what they are doing
  • watch - Execute a program periodically, showing output fullscreen

Reporting Bugs

There are a few ways of reporting bugs or feature requests:

  1. Your distributions bug reporter. If you are using a distribution your first port of call is their bug tracker. This is because each distribution has their own patches and way of dealing with bugs. Also bug reporting often does not need any subscription to websites.
  2. GitLab Issues - To the left of this page is the issue tracker. You can report bugs here.
  3. Email list - We have an email list (see below) where you can report bugs. The problem with this method is bug reports often get lost and cannot be tracked. This is especially a big problem when its something that will take time to resolve.

If you need to report bugs, there is more details on the Bug Reporting page.

Email List

The email list for the developers and users of procps is found at http://www.freelists.org/archive/procps/ This email list discusses the development of procps and is used by distributions to also forward or discuss bugs.