$ Linux Command

Processes

iotop

Show live disk IO usage by process.

diskioprocessmonitor

Additional Notes

iotop is a process-management command used to show live disk IO usage by process. It helps identify which processes are consuming disk I/O and causing system slowdowns.

iotop requires root privileges or CAP_NET_ADMIN to read per-process I/O statistics. Use -o to show only processes currently performing I/O.

Syntax

iotop [options]

Parameters

  • options: Flags that change how iotop behaves.

Common Options

  • -o: Show only processes doing IO.
  • -a: Accumulate IO instead of showing bandwidth.
  • -P: Show processes only, not threads.

Examples

sudo iotop
sudo iotop -o
sudo iotop -aP

Practical Notes

iotop usually requires administrator privileges to read per-process IO details.