#SHOW RUNNING PROCESSES MAC COMMAND LINE HOW TO#
#SHOW RUNNING PROCESSES MAC COMMAND LINE MAC OS X#

At the command prompt type ps -ax | grep.

It can be used in conjunction with the ps -ax command to list only the process that you are interested in. One very useful command to help find a process by name or PID is grepВ which can filter out the desired information. The process list displayed using ps -ax may include a hundred or more processes, but itвЂ™s quite simple to identify a process based on the name in the CMD column (for example Skype is listed as /Applications/Skype.app/Contents/MacOS/Skype),В or even by the PID if you already know it.ДЄs shown in Activity Monitor earlier, the Mail application on my Mac had the PID 14649, so itвЂ™s simple to scroll down the Terminal window until the relevant process is found. Running Processes Displayed To Find a Specific Process

Type ps -axВ at TerminalвЂ™s command prompt to list every process running, along with additional details such as the PID, the elapsed time running, and the process name and location (shown in the CMD column).

Enter apropos into the Terminal window for a description of that command and its options. The simplest way to discover the available command-line options is to type the command into Terminal followed by -? such as ls -?ДЄnother useful command is apropos. Note that many commands in Terminal can accept various options (sometimes called switches) that can alter their effect.

To list the files in the current folder type ls -l.

To show the current folder name type pwd.

#SHOW RUNNING PROCESSES MAC COMMAND LINE HOW TO#

The current directory (the вЂњworking directoryвЂќ) when you open Terminal always defaults to your Home Folder.Д«efore we describe how to check and terminate a process on your computer itвЂ™s worth knowing a few basic Terminal commands. The command prompt always begins with your computer name followed by your local Account Name. The second line is the command promptВ which is where you enter the commands you wish to execute. The first line shows the date and time when you last logged in. Once it opens youвЂ™ll be presented with a standard Terminal window as below. Terminal is always represented by the icon below.

The first step is to open Terminal either from the Applications -> Utilities folder or simply type Terminal into Spotlight. The Activity Monitor Application How to Use Terminal Note that process IDвЂ™s are assigned by Mac OS, and therefore will not be the same on your computer as somebody elseвЂ™s. The Apple Mail application is displayed in Activity Monitor with a PID number of 14649. From here you can inspect or quit each process, but in this example we use Activity Monitor simply as a companion to Terminal. The main Activity Monitor window is shown below.Д®ach application on your Mac has an associated Process IDВ (a PID) and a user-friendly name. When used together, Activity Monitor and Terminal provide a powerful yet relatively straightforward way to inspect and manage wayward processes. Activity Monitor shows common process-related details such as the memory used and percentage of CPU that each process is consuming. Terminal is a text-based tool which lets you conduct all manner of routine tasks such as viewing directories, copying, moving and deleting files, as well as obtain detailed information about each process running including:ДЄ related indispensable application is Activity Monitor вЂ“В a graphical tool that allows you to manage processes, however it doesnвЂ™t have quite the same capabilities that Terminal does.

#SHOW RUNNING PROCESSES MAC COMMAND LINE MAC OS X#

Probably the most useful tool to check and kill processes is called Terminal, which is an application that provides access to the lower levels of the Mac OS X operating system and files.

Show running processes mac command line