Process Management
kill
Send signals to processes, commonly used to terminate them.
Synopsis
syntax
kill [OPTION]... PID...
Examples
Send SIGTERM to process 1234
kill 1234
Force kill process 1234
kill -9 1234
List all available signals
kill -l
Send hangup signal to reload config
kill -SIGHUP 1234
Check if process exists without signaling
kill -0 1234
Common options
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| -9 | SIGKILL — force kill immediately |
| -15 | SIGTERM — graceful termination (default) |
| -l | List all signal names |
| -s | Specify signal by name |
About kill
The `kill` command send signals to processes, commonly used to terminate them. Process management commands let you monitor, control, and schedule running processes.
Linux is a multitasking operating system, and understanding how to list processes, send signals, adjust priorities, and manage background jobs is vital for system administration and debugging performance issues. The command accepts 4 commonly used flags shown above, though the full set of options is available in the man page (`man kill`).
The 5 examples on this page cover typical real-world usage patterns that you can copy and adapt for your own workflows.
Related commands
More Process Management Commands
Other commands in the Process Management category