P.A (Process Analyzer)

P.A is a fast, lightweight system monitor for Linux written in C++11 and ncurses. I built it as an alternative to htop, focusing on direct /proc parsing and better handling of process states, zombies, and kernel threads.

Features

• Htop-style UI: Multi-colored bars for CPU (User/Sys/Nice/IRQ) and Memory (Used/Buffers/Cache).
• Accurate network & IO tracking: Properly ignores PF_KTHREAD (kernel threads) so they don't bleed into network and IO stats.
• Filtering & Search: Incremental search (/) and live advanced filtering (\) to easily isolate specific workloads.
• Tree & List views: Toggle between hierarchical process trees and flat lists.
• Process management: Built-in support for sending signals and purging zombies directly from the UI.
• JSON mode: Run ./pa --json to get a two-scan live snapshot of the system for scripting.

Building

You just need g++ and the ncurses development headers (libncurses5-dev or ncurses-devel).

git clone https://github.com/Serosh-commits/P.A.git
cd P.A
make
./pa

Keybindings

• F1 or h or ?: Show help
• F3 or /: Search for a process by name
• F4 or \: Filter processes (e.g., cpu>50, cmd:python)
• F5 or t: Toggle between tree and list view
• F6 or > or .: Cycle sort column (CPU, Mem, IO, Net)
• F9 or k: Kill selected process
• F10 or q: Quit
• P: Sort by CPU
• M: Sort by Memory
• N: Sort by PID
• I: Invert sort order
• z: Show only zombies/orphans
• x: Purge zombies (sends standard signals to their parents)
• l: Toggle CSV logging