Snapshot All Processes and Search with ps aux

Dump the complete process list and filter it for a keyword in one line.

macOSProcessesmonitoringTerminalLow risk

Run ps aux | grep -i "chrome" to list every process whose full ps line contains the keyword, case-insensitively.

01Command

Command

$ ps aux | grep -i "<name>"

02What it does

ps aux prints one line per process — user, PID, %CPU, %MEM, and the full command — for every process on the machine, including those without a terminal. Piping that snapshot into grep filters it to whatever you are hunting for, and grep -i makes the match case-insensitive so Chrome, chrome, and CHROME all match.

03Risk

RiskLow risk

!Warning: The grep command itself appears in the output as a match; add | grep -v grep to remove it, or use pgrep for a cleaner PID-only list.

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

PS(1) — macOS man page
KEITH · technical · 2026-09-17
Evidence: The BSD ps man page lists the -a, -u and -x options whose combination 'aux' shows every process on the system with CPU, memory and command columns.
ps — process status (macOS)
SS64 · technical · 2026-09-17
Evidence: The page documents the BSD flags that make up 'aux': -a (other users' processes), -u (user-oriented output with %CPU and %MEM), and -x (processes without a controlling terminal).

Last verified: 2026-09-19 · Category: System & Settings