Keyboard Shortcuts¶

Global shortcuts¶

These work from any tab:

Key	Action
`1`	Switch to Overview tab
`2`	Switch to Processes tab
`3`	Switch to Power tab
`4`	Switch to Network tab
`5`	Switch to Disk tab
`6`	Switch to System tab
`Tab`	Next tab
`Shift+Tab`	Previous tab
`q`	Quit
`Ctrl+C`	Quit (always works, even in overlays)
`Space`	Pause / resume data collection
`t`	Cycle color theme
`?`	Toggle help overlay

Process list shortcuts¶

These shortcuts work on both the Overview tab (tab 1) and the Processes tab (tab 2):

Key	Action
`j` or `Down`	Move selection down
`k` or `Up`	Move selection up
`s`	Cycle sort column (CPU% -> MEM -> PID -> Name -> User)
`K`	Kill selected process (shows confirmation)

Note

The Overview tab includes an embedded process list that supports the same navigation and sorting keys as the dedicated Processes tab.

Kill confirmation¶

When the kill confirmation prompt is active:

Key	Action
`y`	Confirm kill (sends SIGTERM)
`n` or `Esc`	Cancel

Help overlay¶

When the help overlay is open:

Key	Action
`?` or `Esc`	Close help
`j` or `Down`	Scroll down
`k` or `Up`	Scroll up

Stress testing¶

These shortcuts are only available when pitop was launched with --stress:

Key	Action
`Ctrl+S`	Toggle stress test on/off
`Ctrl+Up`	Add one worker thread
`Ctrl+Down`	Remove one worker thread

Note

Ctrl+S toggles the stress test between running and stopped. Ctrl+Up/Down adjusts the worker count only while the stress test is running. The worker count is clamped between 1 and 2x the initial count.

Quick reference¶

Navigation     1-6 / Tab / Shift+Tab
Quit           q / Ctrl+C
Pause          Space
Theme          t
Help           ?
Process nav    j/k / arrows  (Overview + Processes tabs)
Process sort   s             (Overview + Processes tabs)
Process kill   K -> y/n      (Overview + Processes tabs)
Stress toggle  Ctrl+S
Stress workers Ctrl+Up / Ctrl+Down