winget install --id=marlocarlo.pstop -e pstop is a full drop-in replacement for htop on Windows. Beautiful TUI system monitor with per-core CPU bars, memory/swap/network monitoring, tree view, process management, search/filter, 7 color schemes, and full mouse support. Installs both pstop and htop commands.
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Beautiful, fast, real-time system monitor for Windows. Built in Rust.
Install • Features • Keys • Themes • Config • License
If you've ever missed htop on Windows, your search is over. pstop brings the full htop experience to Windows PowerShell. No WSL, no Cygwin, no compromises.
| pstop | Task Manager | Get-Process | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real-time CPU per-core bars | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Memory / Swap / Network bars | ✅ |
| Partial |
| ❌ |
| GPU utilization & VRAM bars | ✅ | Basic | ❌ |
| Tree view (process hierarchy) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Search & filter processes | ✅ | Basic | ❌ |
| Kill / change priority | ✅ | ✅ | Manual |
| Mouse support | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| 7 color schemes | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Keyboard-driven | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Runs in terminal | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| ~1 MB binary, zero dependencies | ✅ | N/A | N/A |
winget install marlocarlo.pstop
choco install pstop
cargo install pstop
> Don't have Rust/Cargo? Install it in seconds:
Download the latest .zip from GitHub Releases, extract, and add to your PATH.
cargo install --git https://github.com/marlocarlo/pstop
git clone https://github.com/marlocarlo/pstop.git
cd pstop
cargo build --release
# Binary at: target/release/pstop.exe + target/release/htop.exe
All methods install both pstop and htop commands. Yes, you can just type htop on Windows.
If you only installed pstop and want the htop alias in your PowerShell profile:
pstop --install-alias
This adds Set-Alias htop pstop to your $PROFILE automatically.
Real-time CPU usage bars for every logical core, color-coded by usage type (user / system / virtual), exactly like htop. CPU columns auto-adjust based on core count (2/4/8/16 columns) and terminal size — just like htop's calcColumnWidthCount.
Press F5 or t to toggle process tree view — see parent-child relationships with ├─ / └─ tree connectors, collapsible nodes with +/-.
Press F2 to open the setup menu with 4 categories:
Switch instantly in F2 > Colors:
Familiar htop keybindings — zero learning curve if you know htop.
All settings auto-save to %APPDATA%/pstop/pstoprc and restore on next launch. Your color scheme, display options, column choices, sort preference... everything persists.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
F1 / ? | Help screen |
F2 | Setup menu (meters, display, colors, columns) |
F3 / / | Search processes |
F4 / \ | Filter processes |
F5 / t | Toggle tree view |
F6 / > | Sort by column |
F7 / F8 | Decrease / Increase process priority (nice) |
F9 / k | Kill process |
F10 / q | Quit |
Tab | Switch between Main / I/O / Net / GPU views |
Space | Tag process |
c | Tag process and children |
U | Untag all |
u | Filter by user |
p | Toggle full command path / process name |
H | Toggle show threads |
K | Toggle hide kernel threads |
+ / - | Expand / collapse tree node |
e | Show process environment |
l | List open handles (lsof equivalent) |
a | Set CPU affinity |
I | Invert sort order |
| Arrow keys | Navigate |
PgUp / PgDn | Page through process list |
Home / End | Jump to first / last process |
All 7 schemes affect every UI element — header bars, process table, footer, tabs, popups:
| Scheme | Best For |
|---|---|
| Default | Dark terminals (Windows Terminal, Alacritty) |
| Monochrome | Minimal / accessibility |
| Black Night | OLED / very dark terminals |
| Light Terminal | Light-themed terminals |
| Midnight Commander | Nostalgic blue background |
| Black on White | Maximum readability on light bg |
| Dark Vivid | High contrast, colorful |
Change schemes live: F2 > Colors > select > Enter. Preview updates in real-time.
Settings are saved automatically to:
%APPDATA%\pstop\pstoprc
Format: simple key=value (htoprc-style). Persisted settings include:
cargo install pstop)winget install marlocarlo.pstop)choco install pstop)Contributions welcome! This is a Rust project using:
git clone https://github.com/marlocarlo/pstop.git
cd pstop
cargo run
MIT - use it, fork it, ship it.
Stop opening Task Manager. Type pstop or its aliases.