Update ReadMe
Add license and repology badge, improve several wording, improve
several sections.
[skip ci]
diff --git a/README b/README
index 121ef96..1b848a0 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
-# [](https://htop.dev)
+# [](https://htop.dev)
[](https://github.com/htop-dev/htop/actions)
[](https://scan.coverity.com/projects/21665)
[](https://groups.io/g/htop)
[](https://web.libera.chat/#htop)
-[](https://github.com/htop-dev/htop/releases/latest)
+[](https://github.com/htop-dev/htop/releases/latest)
+[](https://repology.org/project/htop/versions)
+[](COPYING?raw=true)
@@ -13,23 +15,27 @@
`htop` is a cross-platform interactive process viewer.
`htop` allows scrolling the list of processes vertically and horizontally to see their full command lines and related information like memory and CPU consumption.
+Also system wide information, like load average or swap usage, is shown.
The information displayed is configurable through a graphical setup and can be sorted and filtered interactively.
Tasks related to processes (e.g. killing and renicing) can be done without entering their PIDs.
-Running `htop` requires `ncurses` libraries (typically named libncursesw*).
+Running `htop` requires `ncurses` libraries, typically named libncurses(w).
-For more information and details on how to contribute to `htop` visit [htop.dev](https://htop.dev).
+`htop` is written in C.
+
+For more information and details visit [htop.dev](https://htop.dev).
## Build instructions
### Prerequisite
List of build-time dependencies:
-* `build-essential` standard GNU autotools-based
-* `autoconf`
-* `autotools`
-* `ncurses`
+ * standard GNU autotools-based C toolchain
+ - C99 compliant compiler
+ - `autoconf`
+ - `autotools`
+ * `ncurses`
**Note about `ncurses`:**
> htop requires ncurses 6.0. Be aware the appropriate package is sometimes still called libncurses5 (on Debian/Ubuntu). Also ncurses usually comes in two flavours:
@@ -42,27 +48,26 @@
* `sensors`
* `hwloc`
* `libcap`
+* `libnl-3`
-Compiling `htop` requires the header files for `ncurses` . Install these and other required packages for C development from your package manager.
+Install these and other required packages for C development from your package manager.
**Debian/Ubuntu**
~~~ shell
-sudo apt install libncursesw5-dev autotools-dev autoconf
+sudo apt install libncursesw5-dev autotools-dev autoconf build-essential
~~~
**Fedora/RHEL**
~~~ shell
-sudo dnf install ncurses-devel automake autoconf
+sudo dnf install ncurses-devel automake autoconf gcc
~~~
-### Compiling from source:
-To compile from sources downloaded from the Git repository (`git clone` or downloads from [Github releases](https://github.com/htop-dev/htop/releases/)), then run:
+### Compile from source:
+To compile from source, download from the Git repository (`git clone` or downloads from [GitHub releases](https://github.com/htop-dev/htop/releases/)), then run:
~~~ shell
./autogen.sh && ./configure && make
~~~
-By default `make install` will install into `/usr/local`, for changing the path use `./configure --prefix=/some/path`.
-
### Install
To install on the local system run `make install`. By default `make install` installs into `/usr/local`. To change this path use `./configure --prefix=/some/path`.
@@ -74,52 +79,55 @@
* `--enable-unicode`:
enable Unicode support
- dependency: *libncursesw*
- default: *yes*
- * `--enable-pcp`:
- enable Performance Co-Pilot support via a new pcp-htop utility
- dependency: *libpcp*
- default: *no*
+ - dependency: *libncursesw*
+ - default: *yes*
* `--enable-affinity`:
enable `sched_setaffinity(2)` and `sched_getaffinity(2)` for affinity support; conflicts with hwloc
- default: *check*
+ - default: *check*
* `--enable-hwloc`:
enable hwloc support for CPU affinity; disables affinity support
- dependency: *libhwloc*
- default: *no*
+ - dependency: *libhwloc*
+ - default: *no*
* `--enable-static`:
build a static htop binary; hwloc and delay accounting are not supported
- default: *no*
+ - default: *no*
* `--enable-debug`:
Enable asserts and internal sanity checks; implies a performance penalty
- default: *no*
+ - default: *no*
+
+#### Performance Co-Pilot
+
+ * `--enable-pcp`:
+ enable Performance Co-Pilot support via a new pcp-htop utility
+ - dependency: *libpcp*
+ - default: *no*
#### Linux
* `--enable-sensors`:
enable libsensors(3) support for reading temperature data
- dependencies: *libsensors-dev*(build-time), at runtime *libsensors* is loaded via `dlopen(3)` if available
- default: *check*
+ - dependencies: *libsensors-dev*(build-time), at runtime *libsensors* is loaded via `dlopen(3)` if available
+ - default: *check*
* `--enable-capabilities`:
enable Linux capabilities support
- dependency: *libcap*
- default: *check*
+ - dependency: *libcap*
+ - default: *check*
* `--with-proc`:
location of a Linux-compatible proc filesystem
- default: */proc*
+ - default: */proc*
* `--enable-openvz`:
enable OpenVZ support
- default: *no*
+ - default: *no*
* `--enable-vserver`:
enable VServer support
- default: *no*
+ - default: *no*
* `--enable-ancient-vserver`:
enable ancient VServer support (implies `--enable-vserver`)
- default: *no*
+ - default: *no*
* `--enable-delayacct`:
enable Linux delay accounting support
- dependencies: *pkg-config*(build-time), *libnl-3* and *libnl-genl-3*
- default: *check*
+ - dependencies: *pkg-config*(build-time), *libnl-3* and *libnl-genl-3*
+ - default: *check*
## Runtime dependencies:
@@ -128,20 +136,22 @@
### Runtime optional dependencies:
`htop` has a set of fixed optional dependencies, depending on build/configure option used:
-* `libdl`, if not building static and support for some of the optional libraries is enabled, is always required when support for to optionally load dependencies (i.e. `libsensors`, `systemd`) is present.
+
+#### Linux
+* `libdl`, if not building a static binary, is always required when support for to optionally dependencies (i.e. `libsensors`, `libsystemd`) is present.
* `libcap`, user-space interfaces to the POSIX 1003.1e, is always required when `--enable-capabilities` was used to configure `htop`.
* `libsensors`, readout of temperatures and CPU speeds, is optional even when `--enable-sensors` was used to configure `htop`.
-* `systemd` is optional when `--enable-static` was not used to configure `htop` (Linux only). If building statically and `libsystemd` is not found by `configure` support for the SystemD meter is disabled entirely.
+* `libsystemd` is optional when `--enable-static` was not used to configure `htop`. If building statically and `libsystemd` is not found by `configure`, support for the systemd meter is disabled entirely.
`htop` checks for the availability of the actual runtime lib as `htop` runs.
-**BSD**
-On most *BSD systems you also have `kvm` as a static requirement to read all the kernel information.
+#### BSD
+On most BSD systems `kvm` is a requirement to read kernel information.
More information on required and optional dependencies can be found in [configure.ac](configure.ac).
## Usage
-See the manual page (`man htop`) or the on-line help ('F1' or 'h' inside `htop`) for a list of supported key commands.
+See the manual page (`man htop`) or the help menu (**F1** or **h** inside `htop`) for a list of supported key commands.
## Support
@@ -151,14 +161,14 @@
We have a [development mailing list](https://htop.dev/mailinglist.html). Feel free to subscribe for release announcements or asking questions on the development of htop.
-You can also join our IRC channel #htop on Libera.Chat and talk to the developers there.
+You can also join our IRC channel [#htop on Libera.Chat](https://web.libera.chat/#htop) and talk to the developers there.
-If you have found an issue with the source of htop, please check whether this has already been reported in our [Github issue tracker](https://github.com/htop-dev/htop/issues).
-If not, please file a new issue describing the problem you have found, the location in the source code you are referring to and a possible fix.
+If you have found an issue within the source of htop, please check whether this has already been reported in our [GitHub issue tracker](https://github.com/htop-dev/htop/issues).
+If not, please file a new issue describing the problem you have found, the potential location in the source code you are referring to and a possible fix if available.
## History
-`htop` was invented, developed and maintained by Hisham Muhammad from 2004 to 2019. His [legacy repository](https://github.com/hishamhm/htop/) has been archived to preserve the history.
+`htop` was invented, developed and maintained by [Hisham Muhammad](https://hisham.hm/) from 2004 to 2019. His [legacy repository](https://github.com/hishamhm/htop/) has been archived to preserve the history.
In 2020 a [team](https://github.com/orgs/htop-dev/people) took over the development amicably and continues to maintain `htop` collaboratively.