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bottom/docs
ChrisJr404andClementTsang 1888dbb270 feature: configurable default sort column for the process widget (#2053)
## Description

You can now tell bottom which column the process widget should be sorted
by at startup, instead of always falling back to CPU%.

It's settable in two places: a `default_sort` field under `[processes]`
in the config file, and a `--process_default_sort` CLI flag. The flag
accepts the same column-name aliases that already work in
`[processes].columns` (e.g. `cpu%`, `mem`, `pid`, `name`, `read`,
`t.write`, etc.), and the CLI flag wins over the config setting.

```toml
[processes]
default_sort = "mem"
```

```
btm --process_default_sort mem
```

This piggybacks on the same wiring that #2003 added for the disk and
temperature widgets, just routed through the existing `ProcTableConfig`
so the widget initializer can pick a non-default sort index without
touching any of the runtime sort code.

A few small things worth flagging:

- If the configured column is not actually present in the user's
`columns` list, the widget falls back to the existing default behaviour
(CPU% in normal/grouped mode, PID in tree mode) instead of silently
snapping to column 0. That keeps misconfiguration predictable.
- The deserializer for `ProcColumn` was refactored to share its parsing
with the CLI's value parser, so config-file and CLI accept the exact
same aliases. The set of accepted strings is unchanged from before.

I checked the `# columns =` workaround floating around in #810 and on
Stack Overflow; it changes layout but not the sort key, so it doesn't
actually solve the original ask.

## Issue

Closes: #810

## Testing

_If this change affects the program, please also indicate which
platforms were tested:_

- [ ] _Windows_
- [ ] _macOS (specify version below)_
- [x] _Linux (Kali, kernel 6.19)_
- [ ] _Other (specify below)_

Added unit tests for `ProcWidgetState::new` covering the happy path
(sort index actually lands on the configured column) and the fallback
path (configured column not in the column list). Also added valid +
invalid config integration tests under `tests/valid_configs/` and
`tests/invalid_configs/`, matching the pattern used for the disk/temp
default-sort tests.

`cargo test`, `cargo clippy --all -- -D warnings`, and `cargo fmt
--check` are all clean.

Manual smoke test: ran `btm --process_default_sort=mem` and `btm
--process_default_sort=garbage`. The first starts the widget sorted by
Mem%, the second exits early with `'garbage' is not a valid process
column for --process_default_sort` from the args layer. Also ran `btm -C
tests/valid_configs/proc_default_sort.toml` to confirm the config-file
path works the same way.

## Checklist

_Ensure **all** of these are met:_

- [x] _If this PR adds or changes a dependency, please justify this in
the description_ (no new deps)
- [x] _If this is a code change, areas your change affects have been
linted using (`cargo fmt`)_
- [x] _If this is a code change, your changes pass `cargo clippy --all
-- -D warnings`_
- [x] _If this is a code change, new tests were added if relevant_
- [x] _If this is a code change, your changes pass `cargo test`_
- [x] _The change has been tested to work (see above) and doesn't appear
to break other things_
- [x] _Documentation has been updated if needed (`README.md`, help menu,
docs, configs, etc.)_
- [x] _There are no merge conflicts_
- [x] _You have reviewed your changes first_
- [x] _The pull request passes the provided CI pipeline_

## Other

The schema under `schema/nightly/bottom.json` was regenerated via `cargo
run --features generate_schema --bin schema`; the only diff is the new
`default_sort` entry on `ProcessesConfig`, mirroring what's already
there on `DiskConfig` and `TemperatureConfig`.

---------

Co-authored-by: ClementTsang <dev@cjhtsang.ca>
2026-05-08 00:31:08 -04:00
..

Extended Documentation

This is where the extended documentation resides, hosted on GitHub Pages. We use MkDocs, Material for MkDocs, and mike.

Documentation is currently built using Python 3.11, though it should work fine with older versions.

Running locally

One way is to just run serve.sh. Alternatively, the manual steps are, assuming your current working directory is the bottom repo:

# Change directories to the documentation.
cd docs/

# Create and activate venv.
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

# Install requirements
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run mkdocs
venv/bin/mkdocs serve

Deploying

Deploying is done via mike in order to get versioning. Typically, this is done through CI, but can be done manually if needed.

Nightly docs

cd docs
mike deploy nightly --push

Stable docs

cd docs

# Rename the previous stable version
mike retitle --push stable $OLD_STABLE_VERSION

# Set the newest version as the most recent stable version
mike deploy --push --update-aliases $RELEASE_VERSION stable

# Append a "(stable)" string to the end.
mike retitle --push $RELEASE_VERSION "$RELEASE_VERSION (stable)"