ps

List every running program with its PID, owner, CPU and memory — and find one by name with ps aux | grep.

>_ Try it: a simulated Linux, right herenothing runs on your computer

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Examples

ps aux everything that runs
ps aux | grep node find the node process and its PID
ps -ef the same list, with each parent
ps aux | grep -v root only processes not run by root
top a live view, busiest first

How it works

Every running program is a process with a number, its PID. ps alone shows only the ones in your terminal; ps aux shows every process on the machine.

The columns that matter most: USER (who runs it), PID (what you give to kill), %CPU and %MEM (how busy it is) and COMMAND (what it is).

Syntax

ps aux  |  ps -ef

Options

Option	What it does
`aux`	every process, with owner, CPU and memory (BSD style, no dash)
`-ef`	every process, with the parent's PID (PPID)
`\| grep NAME`	find a process by name

Good to know

ps aux | grep node also lists the grep itself on a real machine; that line is harmless.
A process using ~100% CPU for a long time is a classic sign something is stuck: note its PID and try kill PID.