# Install htop with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper Improved top (interactive process viewer). Version 3.5.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-04-28. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:htop ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install htop ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install htop ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/htop/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add htop ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: htop from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install htop ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: htop from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install htop ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: htop from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#htop ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ht/htop/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - pacman (92%): ```sh sudo pacman -S htop ``` Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: htop from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install htop ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: htop from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:htop - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 3.5.1 - **Source summary:** Improved top (interactive process viewer) - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** GPL-2.0-or-later - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-04-28T16:07:10Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - htop (cli) - htop (alias) ## Dependencies - ncurses ## Build dependencies - autoconf - automake - libtool - pkgconf ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Caveats: htop requires root privileges to correctly display all running processes, so you will need to run `sudo htop`. You should be certain that you trust any software you grant root privileges. - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 3.5.1 - Package-manager updated: 2026-04-28 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/htop-dev/htop - Upstream latest detected: 3.5.1 (current) ## Project history and usage htop is a cross-platform interactive terminal process viewer and process manager. It became one of the canonical 'install this first' system packages because it made `top`-style process monitoring visual, sortable, searchable, colorful, and keyboard/mouse interactive while staying inside a terminal. ### Project history The htop-dev README records that htop was invented, developed, and maintained by Hisham Muhammad from 2004 to 2019, with the original repository archived to preserve that history. The legacy README describes the project as an interactive text-mode process viewer for Unix systems that aims to be a better `top`. A 2016 FOSDEM talk by Muhammad describes the early implementation as Linux-oriented, using `/proc` for process data and ncurses for the interface. The talk also documents the portability story: FreeBSD users used linprocfs, a Mac OS X fork diverged, and a later effort brought cross-platform support back into the main project. In 2020, after a prolonged period of inactivity by the original maintainer, a volunteer team took over development amicably under the htop-dev organization. The ChangeLog entry for 3.0.0 names the new maintainers, htop.dev, and the htop-dev GitHub repository as the continuation point, while the legacy repository points users to the organization-based repository. ### Adoption history htop's adoption is broad enough to be almost infrastructural for Unix-like users. The input package facts record it across Homebrew, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, Alpine, and openSUSE-style packaging. That spread reflects both user familiarity and maintainer demand: the tool is expected on servers, developer laptops, containers, and rescue shells. The project's portability work also widened adoption beyond the original Linux `/proc` model. Official and historical materials discuss macOS, BSD, Solaris-family, and other Unix-like support, which helped htop become a standard cross-platform terminal monitor rather than only a Linux convenience. ### How it is used Users run htop to inspect live CPU, memory, swap, load, process state, process trees, command lines, and per-process resource consumption. Its interactive controls make common administration tasks faster: sort by columns, search or filter processes, change views, inspect trees, send signals, and adjust process priorities without leaving the TUI. Configuration is part of its package identity. The curated input records `~/.config/htop/htoprc` and `$HTOPRC`, matching the way users customize columns, meters, colors, sorting, and display behavior so the same terminal dashboard appears across machines. ### Why package nerds care For package nerds, htop is a perfect example of a small terminal program becoming a cultural default. It is not a daemon, framework, or library; it is a better everyday view into process state. Its ubiquity makes package availability itself part of the user expectation: if a system package manager exists, users look for htop in it. The 2020 maintainer transition is also significant. htop shows how a beloved single-maintainer utility can move to a collaborative organization while preserving the old repository, homepage identity, and release line. That is the kind of continuity package ecosystems depend on. ### Timeline - 2004: htop was invented by Hisham Muhammad. - 2006: The htop-dev Git tag stream includes the 0.6.1 tag from May. - 2016: Muhammad presented the FOSDEM talk 'Going cross-platform: how htop was made portable.' - 2019: The htop-dev README marks the end of Muhammad's original maintenance period. - 2020: A volunteer team took over development under htop-dev. - 2020: Version 3.0.0 introduced the htop-dev continuation after the maintainer transition. - Package-manager era: The input package facts record htop across major Linux, BSD-adjacent, macOS, and cross-platform package managers. ### Related projects - htop is historically related to Unix `top`, and its ecosystem neighbors include process viewers and system monitors such as `atop`, `glances`, `btop`, `gotop`, and desktop task managers. It also has a lineage connection to terminal UI programs built on ncurses and to platform-specific process APIs that replaced the original Linux-only `/proc` assumptions. ### Sources - - - - - - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Unix: ~/.config/htop/htoprc, $HTOPRC ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** htop - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - htop - 3.4.1-5: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: htop from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | interactive processes viewer | https://htop.dev/ - Nix - htop: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ht/htop/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - htop - 3.3.0-4build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: htop from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | interactive processes viewer | https://htop.dev/ - apk - htop - 3.5.1-r1: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: htop from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Interactive process viewer | https://htop.dev/ - apk - htop-doc - 3.5.1-r1: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: htop-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Interactive process viewer (documentation) | https://htop.dev/ - dnf - htop - 3.4.1-3.fc44: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: htop from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | Interactive process viewer | https://htop.dev/ - pacman - htop - 3.5.1-1: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: htop from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | Interactive process viewer | https://htop.dev/ - zypper - htop - 3.5.1-2.1: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: htop from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | An Interactive text-mode Process Viewer for Linux | https://htop.dev - MacPorts - htop: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/htop/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Homebrew utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew-utility-packages/) - Matched Homebrew package provider. - [ncurses](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ncurses/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [autoconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/autoconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [automake](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/automake/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [libtool](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libtool/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [gotop](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/gotop/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, monitoring, system, terminal. - [hwatch](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/hwatch/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, monitoring, system, terminal. - [pv](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pv/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, monitoring, system, terminal. - [viddy](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/viddy/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, monitoring, system, terminal. - [ansiweather](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ansiweather/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, monitoring, system, terminal. - [asitop](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/asitop/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, monitoring, system. - [bottom](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/bottom/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, monitoring, system, terminal. - [collectd](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/collectd/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, monitoring, system. - [atop](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/atop/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, monitoring, ncurses, process, system. - [multitail](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/multitail/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, monitoring, ncurses, system, terminal. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/htop.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/htop.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph