top in batch mode, need CPU% for every core

Question

I know that after running top, I can press '1' and get a list of the CPUs with their utilization percentages. I suspect I can do this in batch mode too with the -b option, but I don't know how, and I cannot find it in the manual.

I need to read it periodically from a python program, so it must be in batch mode.

Answer 1

You can use a configuration file for this. The easiest way is to open top, and configure it the way you want. In this case, that means using '1' to get the per-CPU listing. Then have it write a configuration file with W. (Note the caps -- gotta use shift) After that, it will use that config file whenever that user runs top, and keep the same appearance, even in batch mode.

Note that you'll probably need a $HOME variable defined, if you're using this via cron, or some other environment lacking the standard login definitions.

--Christopher Karel

Answer 2

I am not familiar with a way to do that with top, but you might have a look at mpstat which will show cpu utilization per core.