Interactive command-line tools make Linux administration easier to explore: instead of memorizing every option, you can inspect processes, configure a network, browse files, or monitor system activity through a keyboard-driven terminal interface. The right tool depends on the task, and some network utilities need elevated privileges or a specific service such as NetworkManager.
Choose a tool by the job you need to do
| Task | Tool | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Inspect and control processes | htop | Find, filter, inspect, and act on running processes. |
| Monitor several system resources | nmon | Show resource panels for monitoring, tuning, or benchmarking. |
| Configure a network connection | nmtui | Use NetworkManager through a text menu. |
| Watch network traffic | iftop or iptraf | View bandwidth by interface or inspect protocol and LAN statistics. |
| Browse files | mc | Navigate and move among files in a visual shell. |
| Edit text | mcedit or nano | Make terminal-based edits, either within mc or in a standalone editor. |
| Run several commands together | mprocs | View and manage multiple processes in one text interface. |
Install tools through your Linux distribution’s package manager; package names and installation commands vary between distributions. Check the package documentation for your distribution if a command is unavailable.
Inspect and manage processes
htop
htop is an interactive process viewer. Scroll through the process list vertically or horizontally, search or filter it, and switch to a process-tree view. It can show command lines and lets you select one or more processes to take actions such as sending a kill signal or changing process priority (renicing), without having to enter each PID manually. See the htop manual for its documented behavior.
Use htop when the question is “Which process is consuming resources, and what should I do about it?” It is focused on processes and their management rather than being a single dashboard for every system resource.
#1 Best Overall
Monitor system resources
nmon
nmon builds a monitoring display from keyboard-selected panels. Depending on what you need to inspect, you can bring up views for CPU, memory, network, disks, file systems, processes, and other resources. That makes it useful for a broader system check, as well as tuning or benchmarking work.
How it differs from a process viewer
Use nmon when you want to examine multiple kinds of resource activity. For a current alternative focused on processor, memory, disks, network, and processes, the btop manual documents filtering, process trees, signals, graphs, and mouse support. htop’s documented emphasis is more specifically interactive process inspection and control. Neither is a universal winner: choose based on whether you need a broad resource view or process-level investigation.
Configure or inspect network activity
nmtui: set up a connection
nmtui provides a text-based menu interface to NetworkManager. Choose it when you prefer menu-driven network configuration to editing configuration files directly. It is useful only on systems using NetworkManager; it is not a general front end for every Linux network configuration system.
iftop: watch bandwidth by interface
iftop displays live network traffic and bandwidth usage for a selected interface. For example, the DZone article’s wireless-interface example is sudo iftop -i wlp3s0; replace wlp3s0 with an interface that exists on your system. The example uses sudo, so be prepared to run it with elevated privileges if your account cannot access the required network information.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →iptraf: inspect protocols and LAN activity
iptraf offers interactive protocol and local-network monitoring. Its views include TCP information, UDP counts, ICMP and OSPF information, Ethernet load, node statistics, and IP checksum errors. The DZone article says to run iptraf as root, so use the appropriate administrative method for your distribution and environment.
iftop and iptraf answer different questions: choose iftop for a live view of traffic and bandwidth on an interface, or iptraf when protocol, node, and LAN statistics are more relevant.
Rank #4
Browse and edit files in the terminal
mc: navigate files visually
GNU Midnight Commander, usually launched as mc, is a visual shell for browsing and moving files. It supports mouse interaction as well as keyboard shortcuts, which can make it convenient when switching between configuration files or navigating directories without leaving the terminal.
mcedit: edit from Midnight Commander or on its own
Midnight Commander includes the mcedit editor, which can also be run independently. Its features include mouse support, editing in windows, keyboard shortcuts, code navigation, syntax highlighting, and macro recording. Use it when you want an editor available as part of the mc workflow or as a standalone terminal editor.
Best Value
nano: make a quick text edit
nano is a compact terminal editor suited to straightforward changes. The DZone article lists multiple-file support, line scrolling, undo and redo, syntax coloring, line numbering, and soft wrapping among its features. It points readers who want deeper configurability toward Vim; the practical choice depends on how much editor customization and workflow complexity you need.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Run multiple processes in one interface
mprocs
mprocs runs several processes in a single text user interface. It can help when you need to run multiple commands side by side while changing configuration or observing their output. It is a process launcher and viewer for concurrent commands, not a replacement for a specialized process monitor such as htop or nmon.
Quick Recap
Practical selection checklist
- For finding, filtering, and acting on a running process, start with htop.
- For a panel-based view across CPU, memory, disks, network, and other resources, try nmon.
- For network setup through menus, use nmtui only if the system uses NetworkManager.
- For live interface bandwidth use iftop; for protocol and LAN statistics use iptraf.
- For visual file navigation use mc; for editing, choose mcedit or nano according to your preferred workflow.
- For several commands running together in one interface, use mprocs.
- Before installation, consult your distribution’s package manager and documentation. Before running a network utility, check whether it requires root or sudo.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
