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btm(1)

btm (Bottom) is a cross-platform system monitor written in Rust that displays CPU, memory, disk, and network usage in an interactive terminal UI.

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Synopsis

btm [OPTIONS]

Description

Bottom is a system monitoring tool that provides real-time visibility into system resources including CPU usage, memory consumption, disk I/O, network traffic, and process information. It offers an interactive dashboard with a clean, intuitive interface similar to top but with more visual information displayed simultaneously.

The tool supports customizable layouts, process filtering, and can be controlled entirely from the keyboard. Data is updated at configurable intervals and can be exported for analysis. Bottom is particularly useful for developers and sysadmins who need quick insights into system performance without opening multiple monitoring tools.

Common options

FlagWhat it does
-r, --rate <MS>Set the update interval in milliseconds (default 250ms)
-a, --average_cpuShow average CPU usage across all cores instead of per-core
-m, --maximizedStart with the largest possible window size
-c, --config <PATH>Use a custom configuration file
-b, --basicStart in basic mode with a simpler layout
--color <THEME>Set the color scheme (default, dracula, gruvbox, nord)
-v, --versionShow version information
-h, --helpDisplay help message
--batteryShow battery information on supported systems
--disable_clickDisable mouse input support

Examples

Start Bottom with default settings and 250ms refresh rate

btm

Update system stats every 1 second (1000ms) for less CPU overhead

btm -r 1000

Show average CPU usage and start in maximized window

btm -a -m

Start Bottom with the Dracula color theme

btm --color dracula

Use a custom configuration file for layout and preferences

btm -c ~/.config/bottom/bottom.toml

Start in basic mode with a simplified display layout

btm -b

Include battery status in the display (on laptops)

btm --battery

Update every 500ms with average CPU cores shown

btm -r 500 -a

Related commands