---
name: "powertop"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "powertop"
version: "2.16.1-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/powertop/8"
---

# powertop(8)

a power consumption and power management diagnosis tool.

## NAME

powertop - a power consumption and power management diagnosis tool.

## SYNOPSIS

**powertop** \[*options*\]

## DESCRIPTION

**powertop** is a program that helps to diagnose various issues with power consumption and power management.  It also has an interactive mode allowing one to experiment with various power management settings.  When invoking powertop without arguments powertop starts in interactive mode.

## OPTIONS

- **--auto-tune**

  Set all tunable options to their good setting without interaction.

- **--auto-tune-dump**

  Print *auto-tune* commands to STDOUT instead of executing them.

- **--bypass-root-check**

  Skip the root privilege check.  Intended for testing only; running without root privileges will limit the data powertop can collect.

- **-c**, **--calibrate**

  Runs powertop in calibration mode.  When running on battery, powertop can track power consumption as well as system activity.  When there are enough measurements, powertop can start to report power estimates.  One can get more accurate estimates by using this option to enable a calibration cycle.  This will cycle through various display levels and USB device activities and workloads.

- **-C**, **--csv**\[=*filename*\]

  Generate a CSV report.  If a *filename* is not specified then the default name **powertop.csv** is used.  The CSV report can be used for reporting and data analysis.

- **--debug**

  Run in debug mode.

- **--extech**=*devnode*

  Use the Extech Power Analyzer for measurements.  This allows one to specify the serial device node of the serial to USB adaptor connecting to the Extech Power Analyzer, for example */dev/ttyUSB0*.

- **-r**, **--html**\[=*filename*\]

  Generate an HTML report.  If a *filename* is not specified then the default name **powertop.html** is used.  The HTML report can be sent to others to help diagnose power issues.

- **-i**, **--iteration**\[=*iterations*\]

  Number of times to run each test.

- **-M**, **--markdown**\[=*filename*\]

  Generate a Markdown report.  If a *filename* is not specified then the default name **powertop.md** is used.

- **--once**

  Run measurements only once and then exit.  Useful in combination with **--html**, **--csv**, or **--markdown** to generate a single-shot report non-interactively.

- **-q**, **--quiet**

  Suppress stderr output.

- **-s**, **--sample**\[=*seconds*\]

  Set the interval in *seconds* between power consumption measurements.  The default is **5**.

- **-t**, **--time**\[=*seconds*\]

  Generate a report for a specified number of *seconds*.

- **-w**, **--workload**\[=*workload*\]

  Execute *workload* file as a part of calibration before making a report.

- **-V**, **--version**

  Print version information and exit.

- **-h**, **--help**

  Show the help message and exit.

## COMMANDS

In interactive mode, the following key bindings are available:

-

  | | |
  | --- | --- |
  | **Tab** | Show next tab |
  | **BackTab** | Show previous tab |
  | **Right Arrow**, **l** | Scroll to the right |
  | **Left Arrow**, **h** | Scroll to the left |
  | **Up Arrow**, **PageUp**, **k** | Scroll up or select previous item |
  | **Down Arrow**, **PageDown**, **j** | Scroll down or select next item |
  | **Space**, **Return** | Activate current item |
  | **s** | Set refresh timeout |
  | **r** | Refresh window |
  | **q**, **Ctrl-C**, **Escape** | Exit powertop |

## BUGS

Send bug reports to the GitHub issue tracker at ⟨https://github.com/fenrus75/powertop/issues⟩

## SEE ALSO

The program is more fully described at ⟨https://github.com/fenrus75/powertop⟩

## AUTHOR

powertop was written by Arjan van de Ven ⟨arjan@\\:linux.\\:intel.\\:com⟩, and is currently maintained by Chris E Ferron ⟨chris.\\:e.\\:ferron@\\:linux.\\:intel.\\:com⟩.