Stop a process from running, either via a signal or forced termination.
Syntax
kill [-s sigspec] [-n signum] [-sigspec] jobspec or pid
kill -l [exit_status]
kill -l [sigspec]
Key
-l List the signal names
-s Send a specific signal
-n Send a specific signal number
Send a signal specified by sigspec or signum
to the process named by job specification jobspec or process ID pid.
sigspec is either a case-insensitive signal name such as SIGINT (with or without
the SIG prefix) or a signal number; signum is a signal
number.
If sigspec is not present, SIGTERM
is used (Terminate).
If any arguments are supplied when `-l' is given, the names of
the signals corresponding to the arguments are listed, and the return status
is zero. exit_status is a number specifying a signal number or the
exit status of a process terminated by a signal.
The return status is true if at least one signal was successfully sent, or false
if an error occurs or an invalid option is encountered.
Examples
List the running process
$ ps PID TTY TIME CMD 1293 pts/5 00:00:00 MyProgram
Then Kill it
$ kill 1293 [2]+ Terminated MyProgram
To run a command and then kill it after 5 seconds:
$ my_command & sleep 5
$ kill -0 $! && kill $!
kill is a bash built in command: $ help kill
"Whom the gods love dies young" - Menander 300 BC
Related:
ctrl+z - Suspend a program
ctrl+c - Interrupt a program
ps - List running processes (returns PID)
jobs - List your own processes (returns Job No.)
bg - Put a process in the background
fg - Put a process in the foreground
killall - kill processes by name
pkill - Stop processes from running
