pstree is a Linux command that shows the running processes as a tree. It is used as a more visual alternative to the ps command. The root of the tree is either init or the process with the given pid. It can also be installed in other Unix systems. In BSD systems, a similar output is created using ps -d, in Linux ps axjf produces similar output. Examples pstree pid user@host ~$ pstree 1066 rsyslogd─┬─{in:imjournal} └─{rs:main Q:Reg} pstree username user@host ~# pstree username dbus-daemon───{dbus-daemon} dbus-launch bash───firefox─┬─6*[{Analysis Helper}] ├─{BgHangManager} ├─{Cache2 I/O} ├─{Compositor} ├─{GMPThread} ├─{Gecko_IOThread} ├─{Hang Monitor} ├─{ImageBridgeChil} ├─{ImageIO} ├─{JS Watchdog} ├─{Link Monitor} ├─{Socket Thread} ├─{SoftwareVsyncTh} ├─{StreamTrans #1} ├─{Timer} └─{gmain} See also top ps kill nice tree References External links The psmisc package The pstree Command by The Linux Information Project (LINFO) Gnome Process Tree The portable version of pstree on GitHub Unix process- and task-management-related software