Why does htop on Mac OS X require root privileges to see data for all processes, but on Linux it runs without root

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Chapters
00:00 Why Does Htop On Mac Os X Require Root Privileges To See Data For All Processes, But On Linux It Run
00:44 Accepted Answer Score 13
01:27 Thank you

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Full question
https://superuser.com/questions/981790/w...

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Tags
#linux #macos #mac #sudo #htop

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ACCEPTED ANSWER

Score 13

On Linux, htop uses the /proc filesystem, which allows viewing information provided by the kernel. That (/proc) is not part of OSX, so (like some other systems lacking this feature), one can only get at the kernel's data using privileged access.

For more discussion

Where is the /proc folder on Mac OS X? (2013)
Where did the /proc directory go in Mountain Lion? (2012)
A MacFUSE-Based Process File System for Mac OS X (2007)
/proc on Mac OS X (2003)