Software Alternatives & Startups

htop VS pkgsrc

Compare htop VS pkgsrc and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

htop logo htop

htop - an interactive process viewer for Unix. This is htop, an interactive process viewer for Unix systems. It is a text-mode application (for console or X terminals) and requires ncurses. Latest release: htop 2.

pkgsrc logo pkgsrc

pkgsrc is a framework for building over 17,000 open source software packages.
  • htop Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-20
  • pkgsrc Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-30

htop features and specs

  • User-friendly Interface
    htop features a colorful, visually appealing interface that displays system processes in a tree structure, which makes it easier to understand process hierarchies and relationships.
  • Interactive Process Management
    You can easily manage processes in htop by using keyboard shortcuts to kill, renice, or trace processes without needing to type out commands.
  • Customizable Display
    htop allows users to customize which metrics are displayed and in what order, enabling more efficient monitoring tailored to individual needs.
  • Resource Usage Meters
    It provides live updating meters and histograms for CPU, memory, and swap usage, offering a quick overview of system performance.
  • Process Filtering and Sorting
    htop includes advanced filtering and sorting options that make it easy to find specific processes or sort them by criteria like CPU usage, memory usage, or user.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    htop is compatible with a variety of Unix-like systems including Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and macOS, making it versatile for use in different environments.

Possible disadvantages of htop

  • Resource Consumption
    Because htop provides live updates and a rich graphical interface, it consumes more system resources compared to simpler tools like top.
  • Limited Remote Monitoring
    htop does not natively support remote monitoring of systems, which can make it less useful in distributed or cloud environments without additional tools or configurations.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While the basic interface is intuitive, mastering htop's advanced features and customizations may require additional learning and familiarity.
  • No Built-in Logging
    htop does not have functionality for logging or saving historical data, which can limit its usefulness for performance tracking over time without third-party tools.
  • Dependency on Terminal
    As a terminal-based application, htop requires a terminal to run, which might not be ideal for users who prefer GUI-based monitoring tools.
  • Lack of Detailed Metrics
    htop provides an overview of system performance but does not offer the granularity of metrics provided by specialized monitoring tools dedicated to in-depth analysis.

pkgsrc features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Support
    pkgsrc is designed to be a portable package management system and can be used on a variety of Unix-like operating systems, including NetBSD, Solaris, Linux, and macOS. This cross-platform capability makes it a versatile tool for developers working in diverse environments.
  • Consistency Across Systems
    Using pkgsrc allows for a consistent package management experience regardless of the underlying operating system, reducing the learning curve and maintenance overhead for administrators managing multiple systems.
  • Comprehensive Package Collection
    pkgsrc offers a wide range of software packages, providing a robust collection that can meet diverse user needs from scientific libraries to web applications.
  • Quarterly Releases
    With quarterly releases, pkgsrc provides a balanced approach between stability and keeping software up to date, offering users new features regularly while maintaining reliability.
  • Flexible Build Options
    pkgsrc supports a flexible build system, allowing users to customize package builds with specific options or dependencies, tailored to their specific needs or system requirements.

Possible disadvantages of pkgsrc

  • Smaller Community
    Compared to other popular package management systems like apt (Debian/Ubuntu) or yum (RedHat/CentOS), pkgsrc has a relatively smaller community, which might affect the availability of support and community-driven improvements.
  • Potentially Older Software
    While pkgsrc maintains stable quarterly releases, it may occasionally lag behind other systems in terms of offering the very latest versions of certain software, which might not be ideal for users needing the newest features.
  • Manual Configuration
    Setting up pkgsrc might require manual interventions and configurations, which could pose a hurdle for users unfamiliar with its setup process or those who prefer more automated solutions.
  • Dependency Management
    Although pkgsrc is quite capable in dependency handling, some users may find its dependency resolution to be less automatic or seamless compared to other systems which offer more integrated solutions.
  • Performance Overhead
    Because it is designed to be cross-platform, there can be some performance overhead associated with using pkgsrc compared to native package managers that are optimized for specific operating systems.

Analysis of htop

Overall verdict

  • Yes, htop is considered a good tool. It improves upon the functionality of the standard top command by providing a more intuitive interface and additional features that enhance usability and efficiency in system monitoring.

Why this product is good

  • Htop is an interactive process viewer for Unix systems, offering an enhanced, user-friendly alternative to the traditional top command. It provides a visually appealing interface that allows users to easily monitor system processes, resource usage, and performance in real-time. Features like tree view for process hierarchies, customizable meters, and the ability to manage processes make it a popular tool among system administrators and power users.

Recommended for

  • System administrators
  • Linux and Unix users
  • IT professionals
  • Developers interested in system performance
  • Servers monitoring

htop videos

Htop Review Video

More videos:

  • Review - HTOP Hotel DO's and DONT's || REVIEW #2
  • Review - Htop - Terminal-Based Interactive Process Viewing Program

pkgsrc videos

pkgsrc on ChromeOS

More videos:

  • Review - Using pkgsrc for multi-platform deployments in heterogeneous environments, G Clifford Williams

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to htop and pkgsrc)
Command Line Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Monitoring Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Package Manager
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare htop and pkgsrc

htop Reviews

Best Linux Network Monitoring Tools for 2020
At this point in the list, we’re starting to review less-complex programs to monitor small-network use with accuracy and reliability. Htop (the H stands for the designer’s name, Hisham) doesn’t contain graphical analysis software, but it provides a flexible monitoring program that can be installed on Linux as well as Unix-based systems. Htop might not be the most visually...

pkgsrc Reviews

We have no reviews of pkgsrc yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, pkgsrc seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 11 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

htop mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of htop yet. Tracking of htop recommendations started around Mar 2021.

pkgsrc mentions (11)

  • Debian isn't waiting for 2038 to blow up, switches to 64-bit time for everything
    > Most open source software packages are also compiled for BSD variants, they switched to 64 bit time_t a long time ago and reported back upstream any problems. * NetBSD in 2012: https://www.netbsd.org/releases/formal-6/NetBSD-6.0.html * OpenBSD in 2014: http://www.openbsd.org/55.html For packaging, NetBSD uses their (multi-platform) Pkgsrc, which has 29,000 packages, which probably covers a large swath of... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Our Audit of Homebrew
    > https://pkgsrc.smartos.org/install-on-macos/ Note that Pkgsrc is a NetBSD-derived project. * https://pkgsrc.org The Joyent folks leveraged it to allow their customers, who were perhaps not as familiar with Solaris/SmartOS, a larger pool of packages. Pkgsrc was running on Solaris before Joyent, Joyent built on top of it. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Show HN: Brioche – A new Nix-like package manager
    Https://pkgsrc.org/ from netbsd runs on many systems. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Installing packages without an internet connection?
    It seems according to pkgsrc.org that pkgin might follow the PKG_PATH environment variable. You're supposed to set PKG_PATH="http://cdn.NetBSD.org/pub/pkgsrc/packages/NetBSD/$(uname -p)/$(uname -r|cut -f '1 2' -d.)/All/", and according to uname(1), -p gives the processor architecture and -r gives the operating system [kernel] release. Source: over 3 years ago
  • pkgsrc.se is no more :(
    It seems like pkgsrc.org hasn’t got the news yet. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing htop and pkgsrc, you can also consider the following products

Process Explorer - The top window always shows a list of the currently active processes, including the names of their owning accounts, whereas the information displayed in the bottom window depends on the mode that Process Explorer is in: if it is in handle mode you'l…

Conda - Binary package manager with support for environments.

glances system monitoring - Glances is a cross-platform system monitoring tool written in Python. Written in Python, Glances will run on almost any plaftorm : GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, OS X and Windows.

Homebrew - The missing package manager for macOS

Process Lasso - Process Lasso is NOT yet another task manager.

Yay - Yay is an AUR helper written in go, based on the design of yaourt, apacman and pacaur.