pkill

PGREP(1)                      Linux User's Manual                     PGREP(1)



NAME
       pgrep,  pkill  -  look  up  or signal processes based on name and other
       attributes


SYNOPSIS
       pgrep [-flnvx] [-d delimiter] [-P ppid,...] [-g pgrp,...]
            [-s sid,...] [-u euid,...] [-U uid,...] [-G gid,...]
            [-t term,...] [pattern]

       pkill [-signal] [-fnvx] [-P ppid,...] [-g pgrp,...]
            [-s sid,...] [-u euid,...] [-U uid,...] [-G gid,...]
            [-t term,...] [pattern]


DESCRIPTION
       pgrep looks through the currently running processes and lists the  pro-
       cess  IDs which matches the selection criteria to stdout.  All the cri-
       teria have to match.  For example,

       pgrep -u root sshd

       will only list the processes called sshd AND owned  by  root.   On  the
       other hand,

       pgrep -u root,daemon

       will list the processes owned by root OR daemon.

       pkill  will send the specified signal (by default SIGTERM) to each pro-
       cess instead of listing them on stdout.


OPTIONS
       -d delimiter
              Sets the string used to delimit each process ID  in  the  output
              (by default a newline).  (pgrep only.)

       -f     The  pattern  is normally only matched against the process name.
              When -f is set, the full command line is used.

       -g pgrp,...
              Only match processes in the process group IDs  listed.   Process
              group 0 is translated into pgrep's or pkill's own process group.

       -G gid,...
              Only match processes whose real group ID is listed.  Either  the
              numerical or symbolical value may be used.

       -l     List the process name as well as the process ID. (pgrep only.)

       -n     Select  only  the newest (most recently started) of the matching
              processes.

       -P ppid,...
              Only match processes whose parent process ID is listed.

       -s sid,...
              Only match processes whose process session ID is  listed.   Ses-
              sion  ID 0 is translated into pgrep's or pkill's own session ID.

       -t term,...
              Only match processes whose controlling terminal is listed.   The
              terminal name should be specified without the "/dev/" prefix.

       -u euid,...
              Only  match processes whose effective user ID is listed.  Either
              the numerical or symbolical value may be used.

       -U uid,...
              Only match processes whose real user ID is listed.   Either  the
              numerical or symbolical value may be used.

       -v     Negates the matching.

       -x     Only match processes whose name (or command line if -f is speci-
              fied) exactly match the pattern.

       -signal
              Defines the signal to send to each matched process.  Either  the
              numeric  or the symbolic signal name can be used.  (pkill only.)


OPERANDS
       pattern
              Specifies an Extended Regular Expression  for  matching  against
              the process names or command lines.


EXAMPLES
       Example 1: Find the process ID of the named daemon:

       unix$ pgrep -u root named

       Example 2: Make syslog reread its configuration file:

       unix$ pkill -HUP syslogd

       Example 3: Give detailed information on all xterm processes:

       unix$ ps -fp $(pgrep -d, -x xterm)

       Example 4: Make all netscape processes run nicer:

       unix$ renice +4 `pgrep netscape`


EXIT STATUS
       0      One or more processes matched the criteria.

       1      No processes matched.

       2      Syntax error in the command line.

       3      Fatal error: out of memory etc.


NOTES
       The  process  name  used  for  matching is limited to the 15 characters
       present in the output of /proc/pid/stat.  Use the -f  option  to  match
       against the complete command line, /proc/pid/cmdline.

       The running pgrep or pkill process will never report itself as a match.


BUGS
       The options -n and -v can not be combined.  Let me know if you need  to
       do this.

       Defunct processes are reported.


SEE ALSO
       ps(1) proc(5) regex(5)


STANDARDS
       pkill  and  pgrep were introduced in Sun's Solaris 7.  This implementa-
       tion is fully compatible.


AUTHOR
       Kjetil Torgrim Homme <kjetilho@ifi.uio.no>

       Michael K. Johnson <johnsonm@redhat.com> is the current  maintainer  of
       the procps package.

       Please send bug reports to <procps-list@redhat.com>



Linux                            June 25, 2000                        PGREP(1)