Master Real-Time Container Monitoring with ctop: Features, Installation & Shortcuts

What is ctop?

ctop is a top‑style command‑line tool that provides a concise, compact, real‑time overview of multiple containers. It offers a detailed view for individual containers, supports Docker and runC, and plans to add more platforms and orchestration systems.

Key Features

Real‑time container status : Shows running containers with key metrics such as name, CPU, memory, Disk I/O, and Net TX/RX.

Easy filtering and sorting : Press s to sort by CPU, memory, or name; press f to filter containers by keyword.

Monitoring actions : After selecting a container, use shortcuts to restart, stop, pause, or resume it.

High compatibility : Works with Docker and runc, and runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, etc.

Installation

Linux (generic)

sudo wget https://github.com/bcicen/ctop/releases/download/v0.7.7/ctop-0.7.7-linux-amd64 -O /usr/local/bin/ctop
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/ctop

Docker

docker run --rm -ti \
   --name=ctop \
   --volume /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro \
   quay.io/vektorlab/ctop:latest

Windows (via Scoop)

scoop install ctop

Usage

Options

a

: Show only active containers f <string>: Set initial filter string h: Show help dialog i: Invert default colors r: Reverse container sorting order s: Choose initial container sort field v: Print version and exit

Shortcuts

a

: Toggle display of all containers (running and stopped) f: Filter displayed containers (clear with ESC) H: Toggle ctop title bar h: Open help dialog s: Choose container sort field r: Reverse container sorting order o: Open single‑view mode l: View container logs (press t to toggle timestamps) e: Enter shell terminal c: Configure column display S: Save current configuration to file q: Quit ctop

Conclusion

Whether you need a quick glance at container performance or deep inspection of a single container’s logs, ctop offers an intuitive, visual alternative to cumbersome CLI commands, making operations more straightforward and efficient.