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PGREP(1) User Commands PGREP(1)

NAME

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

SYNOPSIS

pgrep [options] pattern
pkill [options] pattern

DESCRIPTION

pgrep looks through the currently running processes and lists the process IDs which match the selection criteria to stdout. All the criteria 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 process instead of listing them on stdout.

OPTIONS

Defines the signal to send to each matched process. Either the numeric or the symbolic signal name can be used. (pkill only.)
Suppress normal output; instead print a count of matching processes. When count does not match anything, e.g. returns zero, the command will return non-zero value.
Sets the string used to delimit each process ID in the output (by default a newline). (pgrep only.)
The pattern is normally only matched against the process name. When -f is set, the full command line is used.
Only match processes in the process group IDs listed. Process group 0 is translated into pgrep's or pkill's own process group.
Only match processes whose real group ID is listed. Either the numerical or symbolical value may be used.
List the process name as well as the process ID. (pgrep only.)
List the full command line as well as the process ID. (pgrep only.)
Select only the newest (most recently started) of the matching processes.
Select only the oldest (least recently started) of the matching processes.
Only match processes whose parent process ID is listed.
Only match processes whose process session ID is listed. Session ID 0 is translated into pgrep's or pkill's own session ID.
Only match processes whose controlling terminal is listed. The terminal name should be specified without the "/dev/" prefix.
Only match processes whose effective user ID is listed. Either the numerical or symbolical value may be used.
Only match processes whose real user ID is listed. Either the numerical or symbolical value may be used.
Negates the matching. This option is usually used in pgrep's context. In pkill's context the short option is disabled to avoid accidental usage of the option.
Shows all thread ids instead of pids in pgrep's context. In pkill's context this option is disabled.
Only match processes whose names (or command line if -f is specified) exactly match the pattern.
Read PID's from file. This option is perhaps more useful for pkill than pgrep.
Fail if pidfile (see -F) not locked.
Match processes that belong to the same namespaces. Required to run as root to match processes from other users. See --nslist for how to limit which namespaces to match.
Match only the provided namespaces. Available namespaces: ipc, mnt, net, pid, user,uts.
Display version information and exit.
Display help and exit.

OPERANDS

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:

$ pgrep -u root named

Example 2: Make syslog reread its configuration file:

$ pkill -HUP syslogd

Example 3: Give detailed information on all xterm processes:

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

Example 4: Make all netscape processes run nicer:

$ 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 -o and -v can not be combined. Let me know if you need to do this.

Defunct processes are reported.

SEE ALSO

ps(1), regex(7), signal(7), killall(1), skill(1), kill(1), kill(2)

STANDARDS

pkill and pgrep were introduced in Sun's Solaris 7. This implementation is fully compatible.

AUTHOR

Kjetil Torgrim Homme

REPORTING BUGS

Please send bug reports to procps@freelists.org

October 2012 procps-ng