NAME
pgrep, pkill - look up or signal processes based on name and other
attributes
SYNOPSIS
pgrep [-cflvx] [-d delimiter] [-n|-o] [-P ppid,...] [-g pgrp,...]
[-s sid,...] [-u euid,...] [-U uid,...] [-G gid,...] [-t term,...]
[pattern]
pkill [-signal] [-fvx] [-n|-o] [-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
process IDs which matches 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
-c Suppress normal output; instead print a count of matching
processes.
-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.
-o Select only the oldest (least 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.
Session 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
specified) 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:
$ 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 <kjetilho@ifi.uio.no>
Albert Cahalan <albert@users.sf.net> is the current maintainer of the
procps package.
Please send bug reports to <procps-feedback@lists.sf.net>