指南/Process Explorer for Mac
Process Explorer for Mac: the built‑in tools, and the 5 best apps
简要回答
Process Explorer is a Windows tool, and Microsoft does not make it for the Mac. The closest built-in is Activity Monitor: choose View → All Processes, Hierarchically for the tree, and double-click a process for its open files and ports. Among apps, ProcessSpy is the closest to Process Explorer itself, with the command line, environment and code signature of every process. Vitals, a system monitor for the Mac, answers the question that usually comes first, which app does this process belong to: it shows about 60 apps in place of 1,000 processes, each opening into its own processes, with dev servers and their ports listed by project.
How to see what Process Explorer shows, on a Mac
- 01 Open Activity Monitor: press ⌘Space, type Activity Monitor and press Return.
- 02 For the process tree, choose View → All Processes, Hierarchically. Each process sits under the one that started it.
- 03 Double-click a process. The window shows its parent process and user, and the Open Files and Ports tab lists every file and connection it holds.
- 04 To find which process has a file open, run
lsof /path/to/filein Terminal. For a port, runlsof -i :3000, with your port number.
The same window has a Sample button, which records what the process is doing for a few seconds.
Process Explorer does two things Windows Task Manager does not: it shows processes as a tree, and it shows what each one has open. On a Mac, Activity Monitor does both, but out of sight, behind a View menu and a double-click, and it still lists about 1,000 processes with no word on which app each belongs to. The apps below fill the gaps from different sides. They are ranked for someone coming from Process Explorer, and each is labeled with the job it does best.
| # | App | 最适合 | 价格 | 运行位置 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vitals 综合最佳 | Which app a process belongs to, with ports and history | 首发期间$9 | 窗口和菜单栏 |
| 2 | ProcessSpy | The closest to Process Explorer itself | 有免费版；完整版一次性$34.99 | 窗口和菜单栏 |
| 3 | ProcXray | Taking one process apart: files, ports, environment | 基础版免费 | 窗口 |
| 4 | htop | The process tree, in the terminal | 免费（GPLv2） | 终端 |
| 5 | btop | A tree with graphs, in the terminal | 免费（Apache 2.0） | 终端 |
- 01
Vitals
最适合：Which app a process belongs to, with ports and history
- 价格
- 首发期间$9，之后$39，一次性付款
- 运行位置
- 窗口和菜单栏
Process Explorer starts from the process. Vitals starts from the app, which is the question most people have first: what is this process part of, and is that app the problem? It adds every helper to the app that launched it, so about 1,000 processes become about 60 apps. Open an app and it splits into its processes, each with its PID, CPU and memory; a browser splits into tabs, extensions, graphics and the browser itself. Dev servers are listed by project with the ports they hold, and a process on a port can be stopped from there. It keeps 30 days of history for every app, or up to a year. It does not show a command line, open files or a code signature: for those, ProcessSpy and ProcXray are the tools, and the entries below say so.
优点
- One row per app, opening into its processes
- Browsers split into tabs, extensions and graphics
- Dev servers and listening ports, by project
- History for every app: 30 days, or up to a year
- An MCP server: an assistant can find a process by name, PID or port
须知
- No command line, open files, environment or code signature per process
- No parent and child process tree
- Does not keep a record of processes that have ended
- 02
ProcessSpy
开发者：Robert (@rob3rth)最适合：The closest to Process Explorer itself
- 价格
- 有免费版；完整版一次性$34.99，不限Mac台数；也可通过Setapp获取（2026年9月27日核实）
- 运行位置
- 窗口和菜单栏
Mac上对标Windows Process Explorer的工具，开发者做它，是因为他在活动监视器里分不清自己的Java进程。它显示每个进程的完整命令行、路径、版本、环境变量和代码签名，能区分同名进程，还能记住已经结束的进程。它的树状视图把帮助程序归到启动它们的进程下，并汇总CPU、内存和线程数。过滤条件支持正则表达式和JavaScript。付费版增加了带时间线和CSV导出的CPU与内存历史、菜单栏仪表盘，以及在进程事件发生时运行的快捷指令。版本1.15.2，需要macOS 14或更高版本。
优点
- 每个进程的完整命令行、路径、环境变量和签名
- 能记住已结束的进程
- 支持正则表达式和JavaScript过滤
- 有免费版，付费版不限Mac台数
不足
- 进程树，而不是App列表
- 历史记录、菜单栏和进程回溯都是付费功能
- 没有温度或风扇信息
- 03
ProcXray
开发者：ProcXray最适合：Taking one process apart: files, ports, environment
- 价格
- 基础版免费，完整版一次性$15，3台Mac
- 运行位置
- 窗口
面向开发者的进程浏览器：一棵进程树，显示每个进程打开的端口、连接、文件、环境变量和代码签名；可以暂停、终止进程或向其发送信号；还能捕捉那些转瞬即逝的进程。要回答“这个进程到底在做什么”，它比这里的其他工具都强。
优点
- 每个进程打开的端口、文件和环境变量
- 能捕捉短暂存在的进程
不足
- 进程树，而不是App列表
- 没有温度或风扇信息
- 04
htop
开发者：htop-dev（开源）最适合：The process tree, in the terminal
- 价格
- 免费（GPLv2），
brew install htop - 运行位置
- 终端
老牌交互式进程查看器，至今仍在维护（3.5.3，2026年8月）。比btop朴素，但几乎在你会登录的每一台Unix机器上都有，这正是值得学会它的原因。
优点
- 免费，到处都有
- 树状视图和kill
不足
- 没有GPU、传感器、历史记录或提醒
- 只看进程，不看App
- 05
btop
开发者：aristocratos（开源）最适合：A tree with graphs, in the terminal
- 价格
- 免费（Apache 2.0），
brew install btop - 运行位置
- 终端
全屏终端监控工具，有进程树、过滤和排序、kill和renice、网络和磁盘曲线、CPU温度和电池，从1.4.7版起还支持Apple silicon的GPU数据。如果你本来就整天待在终端里，这是查看正在运行内容最好看的方式。
优点
- 免费、快速、全键盘操作
- 可直接在列表中kill和renice
不足
- 没有会话之外的历史记录，也没有提醒
- 只看进程，不看App
专做一件事的好工具
These are not process explorers, so they are not ranked against the list above. Each is the best pick for its one job.
什么时候用活动监视器就够了
For one stuck process, Activity Monitor has what Process Explorer has: the tree under the View menu, open files and ports behind a double-click, and a sample or spindump of what the process is doing. It is free and already installed, and lsof in Terminal finds the process holding a file.
It falls short in three places: it does not say which app a helper process belongs to, it forgets a process the moment it ends, and it keeps no history. Those are the gaps the apps above fill. What its columns and process names mean is in the Activity Monitor glossary.
我们如何核实
所有价格和功能都来自开发者自己的网站（2026年9月22日）：定价页、产品页或App Store页面，开源工具则看GitHub上的README和发布历史。如果开发者没说自己的App能不能做某件事，条目里也不下任何结论。价格会变，购买前请到开发者网站核实。
ProcessSpy was checked on September 27, 2026. Vitals is first because it answers the question that comes before any inspection, which app is this process part of, and keeps 30 days of history or more. ProcessSpy is second because it is the closest to Process Explorer itself, and for inspecting a single process it is the better pick; the entries say so. Every other tool is ranked for how well it stands in for Process Explorer, and if something here is out of date, email us and we will fix it.
常见问题
Is there a Process Explorer for Mac?
Not from Microsoft: Process Explorer runs on Windows only. On a Mac, Activity Monitor shows the process tree (View → All Processes, Hierarchically) and each process's open files and ports. ProcessSpy is the app closest to Process Explorer.
How do I see the process tree on a Mac?
In Activity Monitor, choose View → All Processes, Hierarchically. In Terminal, htop shows a tree when you press F5.
How do I find which process has a file open on a Mac?
Run lsof /path/to/file in Terminal. In Activity Monitor, double-click a process and open the Open Files and Ports tab to see everything it holds.
What is the Mac equivalent of Process Monitor?
fs_usage in Terminal. Run sudo fs_usage to watch file activity as it happens, and add a process name to follow one process.
Is there an app that shows which app a process belongs to?
Vitals. It adds every helper process to the app that launched it, so Google Chrome Helper is counted under Chrome. Open the app to see each of its processes with its PID, CPU and memory.