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Introduction to the Linux Command Line on Raspberry Pi OS

40% Percent Complete

Getting Started with the Command Line
Managing Files and Directories
Managing Software
System Monitoring and Management
Networking Basics
Scripting Basics
Working with Git (Optional Advanced Topic)
Final Project: Building a Simple Command Line Application
Resources and Next Steps

Monitoring System Performance

Learn how to monitor system performance using commands like df, du, top, and free.

By Kevin McAleer,    2 Minutes

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Introduction

Monitoring system performance is crucial for keeping your Raspberry Pi running smoothly. This lesson will introduce you to commands that help you keep track of disk usage, CPU load, and memory usage.

Learning Objectives

  • Check disk usage with df and du.
  • Monitor CPU and process activity with top and htop.
  • View memory usage with free.

Checking Disk Usage

  • df (disk free): Displays the amount of disk space used and available on all mounted filesystems.

      df -h

    Note -h: Displays output in human-readable format (e.g., KB, MB, GB).

  • du (disk usage): Estimates file space usage. Use it to check how much space a directory is using.

      du -sh /home/pi

    Note -s: Displays only a total for each argument. -h: Displays output in human-readable format.

Monitoring Processes with top and htop

  • top: Displays real-time information about running processes, including CPU and memory usage.

      top

  • htop: A more user-friendly version of top with an easier-to-read interface. You may need to install it first:

      sudo apt install htop
  htop

Checking Memory Usage with free

The free command displays the total, used, and available memory on your Raspberry Pi. For human-readable output, use:

    free -h

Summary

In this lesson, you learned how to monitor system performance using commands like df, du, top, and free. Regular monitoring can help you detect and troubleshoot potential issues before they become serious problems.

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