Prompts you to specify the delay before updating the screen, overriding the default value. If topdisplayed command lines, that field now shows program names and vice versa. top doesn't accept input in batch mode and runs until killed or until it reaches the specified iteration limit. Starts top in batch mode, allowing to send the command's output to a file or other programs. Shows the library version and usage prompt and then quits the program. The switch ( -) and whitespace characters are optional. Customize the view using the available options.īelow is the top command syntax with all the available options and flags: top -hv | -bcEeHiOSs1 -d secs -n max -u | U user -p pid(s) -o field -w

The command starts in interactive command mode, showing the active processes and other system information. I do not know if this was your issue or not, nor if it is the only issue.To run the top command, type top in the command line and press Enter. This hack seems to fix this issue: top -b -n 2 | grep Cpu | sed 's/:/ /g' | awk '' | sed -n '2 p' Indeed, the output running your command gives an incorrect answer sometimes (running it in a loop,where the real load is always 100%): CPU Load: 100.00 Looking in more detail, I'll add the field number below (remember, the default field delimiters are space and tab): %Cpu(s): 98.9 us, 1.1 sy, 0.0 ni, 0.0 id, 0.0 wa, 0.0 hi, 0.0 si, 0.0 stġ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Notice in the 2nd printing there are only 16 fields instead of 17, because the normal space between the : and the first digit of the 'us' load isn't there having been taken up by the '1', and therefore the referencing would be wrong. One example, there may be more: top -b -n 2 | grep Cpu You are counting fields backwards from the last one, assuming the number is always the same.

Top linux cpu usage