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Gqqnbig
Asked: 2019-08-01 13:05:56 +0800 CST

Easy way to get process information from a window

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On Windows, I can use Process Explorer and drag its crosshairs to a window, then Process Explorer highlights the associated process.

On Ubuntu, I didn't find such a function in System Monitor. What's the easy way to get process from window?

I'm open to downloading an alternative process monitor or other tools.

process window 18.04

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    If you can use Terminal, try this:

    xprop | grep WM_CLASS

    and your cursor should turn into cross allowing you to click on any window to get its process name. If you just need the PID, try:

    xprop | awk '/PID/ {print $3}'

    Hope this helps.

    • 20

  2. Using xprop is already mentioned in this other answer and probably the best solution.

    Another way might be to use wmctrl -lp to list all windows managed by your window manager together with their respective process IDs (PID) where possible:

    $ wmctrl -lp
0x03a00002  0 1570   type40mark3 XdndCollectionWindowImp
0x03a00003  0 1570   type40mark3 unity-launcher
0x03a00004  0 1570   type40mark3 unity-panel
0x03a00005  0 1570   type40mark3 unity-dash
0x03a00006  0 1570   type40mark3 Hud
0x02c0000a -1 302    type40mark3 Desktop
0x08a00003  0 8861   type40mark3 18.04 - Easy way to get process from window - Ask Ubuntu - Mozilla Firefox
0x08a00033  0 8861   type40mark3 Some other site in a different window - Mozilla Firefox
0x0840b72c  0 20705  type40mark3 bytecommander@type40mark3: ~
0x08800001  0 7389   type40mark3 New Tab - Chromium

    You could then use this PID to get more info about the process, e.g. with ps aux -q YOUR_PID_HERE:

    $ ps aux -q 20705
USER       PID %CPU %MEM    VSZ   RSS TTY      STAT START   TIME COMMAND
bytecom+ 20705  0.0  0.2 676820 32268 ?        Sl   Jun28   1:58 /usr/lib/gnome-terminal/gnome-terminal-server
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