PsList v1.41

By Mark Russinovich

Published: March 30, 2023

Download Download PsTools (5 MB)

Introduction

Parameter Description
pslist exp Show statistics for all the processes that start with "exp", which would include Explorer.
-d Show thread detail.
-m Show memory detail.
-x Show processes, memory information and threads.
-t Show process tree.
-s [n] Run in task-manager mode, for optional seconds specified. Press Escape to abort.
-r n Task-manager mode refresh rate in seconds (default is 1).
\\computer Instead of showing process information for the local system, PsList will show information for the NT/Win2K system specified. Include the -u switch with a username and password to login to the remote system if your security credentials do not permit you to obtain performance counter information from the remote system.
-u Specifies optional user name for login to remote computer.
-p This option lets you specify the login password on the command line so that you can use PsList from batch files. If you specify an account name and omit the -p option PsList prompts you interactively for a password.
name Show information about processes that begin with the name specified.
-e Exact match the process name.
pid Instead of listing all the running processes in the system, this parameter narrows PsList's scan to the process that has the specified PID. Thus:
pslist 53
would dump statistics for the process with the PID 53.

How it Works

Like Windows NT/2K's built-in PerfMon monitoring tool, PsList uses the Windows NT/2K performance counters to obtain the information it displays. You can find documentation for Windows NT/2K performance counters, including the source code to Windows NT's built-in performance monitor, PerfMon, in MSDN.

Memory Abbreviation Key

All memory values are displayed in KB.

  • Pri: Priority
  • Thd: Number of Threads
  • Hnd: Number of Handles
  • VM: Virtual Memory
  • WS: Working Set
  • Priv: Private Virtual Memory
  • Priv Pk: Private Virtual Memory Peak
  • Faults: Page Faults
  • NonP: Non-Paged Pool
  • Page: Paged Pool
  • Cswtch: Context Switches

Download Download PsTools (5 MB)

PsTools

PsList is part of a growing kit of Sysinternals command-line tools that aid in the administration of local and remote systems named PsTools.

Runs on:

  • Client: Windows 8.1 and higher.
  • Server: Windows Server 2012 and higher.