ps (list processes) in Linux CLI - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

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What does the ps command do in Linux?

The ps command lists the currently running processes on your system. It shows details like process ID, terminal, CPU usage, and command name.

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What does the option ps aux show?

ps aux shows all running processes for all users with detailed information including user, CPU and memory usage, start time, and command.

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How can you use ps to find processes by a specific user?

Use ps -u username to list processes owned by that user only.

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What does the ps -ef command do?

ps -ef lists all processes in full-format listing, showing detailed info like UID, PID, PPID, start time, and command.

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How can you combine ps with grep to find a process?

You can run ps aux | grep process_name to filter and find processes matching the name you want.

Which ps option shows all processes with detailed info?

A ps -u

B ps -l

C ps aux

D ps -t

ps aux lists all processes for all users with detailed information.

What does ps -u username do?

A Shows processes for all users

B Shows processes by terminal

C Shows only running system services

D Shows processes for the specified user

The -u option filters processes by the specified username.

How do you find a process named 'firefox' using ps?

A ps -u firefox

B ps aux | grep firefox

C ps -ef firefox

D ps firefox

Using ps aux | grep firefox filters the process list to show only lines containing 'firefox'.

What information does ps -ef NOT show?

A User's home directory

B Parent Process ID (PPID)

C Process ID (PID)

D Start time of the process

ps -ef does not show the user's home directory.

Which command lists processes running on your current terminal?

A ps

B ps aux

C ps -ef

D ps -u

Running ps without options lists processes running in your current terminal session.

Explain how to list all running processes on a Linux system with detailed information.

Think about showing every process regardless of user.

Describe how to find a specific process by name using the command line.

Combine two commands with a pipe.