Btop: A better modern alternative of htop with a gamified interface

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Title and “gamified” controversy

  • Many commenters dispute calling btop “gamified.”
  • Distinction is made between:
    • “Game-inspired menu system” (as in the README and DOOM-like ESC menu)
    • True “gamification” (rewards, progression, addiction loops), which btop does not have.
  • Several argue the HN title is “editorialized” and against guidelines because it adds a subjective, inaccurate term not present on the project page.
  • Others clarify “editorialized” doesn’t imply deceit—just opinion in a title.
  • The submitter explains the misuse as a language/definition mistake, apologizes, and says they’ll follow the guidelines in future.

btop vs htop/top and other monitors

  • Users like that btop shows CPU, memory, disk, and network stats on one screen with rich graphs.
  • Compared to htop/top:
    • btop adds integrated IO, GPU stats, temperature, per-process graphs, multiple network graphs, and vi-like keybindings.
    • Some find killing processes and simple workflows still easier in htop; a few people use btop for visualization and htop for actions.
  • Other tools mentioned:
    • dstat and below praised for historical data and time travel, especially for deeper performance analysis.
    • glances, bottom, zenith get shout-outs; some prefer them for Docker awareness or macOS quirks.

UI / TUI aesthetics and ergonomics

  • Strong appreciation for btop’s colorful, 90s “warez”/TUI aesthetic and smooth gradients.
  • Others dislike highly styled TUIs, preferring composable CLIs and simpler visuals; some find btop’s section titlebars visually cluttered.
  • Debate over TUI vs CLI “composability” surfaces; examples of past attempts at composable GUIs are mentioned.

Implementation, performance, and issues

  • Some praise static musl-linked binaries and modest runtime CPU/memory use; others call a 2.6 MB text monitor “bloated” on principle.
  • One user reports severe memory leaks over days; another says their long-running instance is fine, so status is unclear.
  • Use of C++23 draws criticism from those who want utilities to build on older compilers/distros.
  • Minor annoyances: config files rewritten on every change, no Mac GPU stats yet, and some bugs on macOS reported in other comments.