How to close a process from htop

The htop tool is an interactive process manager for Linux systems that allows you to monitor and manage running processes in real time.

It also lets you terminate (kill) processes directly from its interface.

Step 1: Start htop

Run the command:

htop

This will open the interactive process viewer.

Step 2: Find the process

Inside htop, locate the process you want to stop.

You can:

• scroll through the list using arrow keys
• sort processes by CPU or memory usage
• search for a process (depending on configuration)

Step 3: Select the process

Use the arrow keys to highlight the process you want to terminate.

Step 4: Kill the process

Press:

• F9 (Kill command)

or sometimes:

• k

This will open the signal selection menu.

Step 5: Choose a signal

You will be prompted to select a signal to send to the process.

Common options include:

• 15 (SIGTERM) – gracefully stops the process
• 9 (SIGKILL) – forcefully terminates the process

After selecting, press Enter to confirm.

Optional: Stop or suspend a process

In some cases, you may want to temporarily suspend a process instead of killing it:

• F7 / F8 – adjust process priority (nice value)
• Ctrl + Z (outside htop) – suspend process in shell

Important notes

• Always try SIGTERM first before using SIGKILL
• Killing critical system processes may cause instability
• Some processes may restart automatically if managed by services (e.g. systemd)

Summary

To close a process in htop, select it, press F9, choose a termination signal, and confirm. This allows quick and interactive process management directly from the terminal.