Revised output for a cleaner look.

color-top.py

@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ import sys
 import select
 import socket
 import argparse
+import tty
+import termios
 
 GREEN = "\033[32m"
 YELLOW = "\033[33m"
@@ -18,7 +20,19 @@ ORANGE = "\033[38;5;214m"
 RED = "\033[31m"
 RESET = "\033[0m"
 
+def clear_screen():
+    os.system('cls' if os.name == 'nt' else 'clear')
+
 def get_top_processes(limit):
+    # Prime cpu_percent readings
+    for proc in psutil.process_iter(['pid']):
+        try:
+            proc.cpu_percent(interval=None)
+        except (psutil.NoSuchProcess, psutil.AccessDenied, psutil.ZombieProcess):
+            continue
+
+    time.sleep(0.1)
+
     processes = []
     for proc in psutil.process_iter(['cpu_percent', 'name', 'username']):
         try:
@@ -32,36 +46,43 @@ def get_top_processes(limit):
 
 def colorize(cpu, name, user):
     color = GREEN if cpu <= 25 else YELLOW if cpu <= 50 else ORANGE if cpu <= 75 else RED
-    cpu_str = f"{cpu:.2f}%"  # Displaying CPU usage with 2 decimal places
+    cpu_str = f"{cpu:6.2f}%"
-    return f"{color}{cpu_str}, {name}, {user}{RESET}"
+    return f"{color}{cpu_str}  {name[:25]:<25}  {user[:15]:<15}{RESET}"
 
 def print_processes(limit):
-    os.system('clear')
+    clear_screen()
     top_processes = get_top_processes(limit)
-    hostname = socket.gethostname()
 
-    header = f"Top {limit} Running Processes ({hostname}):"
+    print("CPU %   Process Name               User")
-    print(header)
+    print("----------------------------------------------")
-    print("-" * len(header))
     
-    for idx, (cpu, name, user) in enumerate(top_processes, start=1):
+    for (cpu, name, user) in top_processes:
         print(colorize(cpu, name, user))
 
+    print("\nPress 'q' to quit.")
+
+def wait_for_keypress(timeout=1.0):
+    fd = sys.stdin.fileno()
+    old_settings = termios.tcgetattr(fd)
+    try:
+        tty.setcbreak(fd)
+        if select.select([sys.stdin], [], [], timeout)[0]:
+            return sys.stdin.read(1)
+    finally:
+        termios.tcsetattr(fd, termios.TCSADRAIN, old_settings)
+    return None
+
 def main():
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Monitor system processes by CPU usage.")
     parser.add_argument("-n", "--number", type=int, default=10, help="Number of processes to monitor (default is 10).")
-    
     args = parser.parse_args()
     limit = args.number
 
     try:
         while True:
             print_processes(limit)
-            time.sleep(1)
+            key = wait_for_keypress(timeout=1.0)
-
+            if key and key.lower() == 'q':
-            if sys.stdin in select.select([sys.stdin], [], [], 0)[0]:
-                input_char = sys.stdin.read(1)
-                if input_char.lower() == 'q':
                 print("Exiting...")
                 break
     except KeyboardInterrupt: