PKILL(1) | General Commands Manual | PKILL(1)

# NAME

`pgrep`, `pkill` — find or signal processes by name

# SYNOPSIS

`pgrep` | [`-flnoqvx`] [`-d` delim] [`-G` gid] [`-g` pgrp] [`-P` ppid] [`-s` sid] [`-T` rtable] [`-t` tty] [`-U` uid] [`-u` euid] [pattern ...]

`pkill` | [`-`signal] [`-fIlnoqvx`] [`-G` gid] [`-g` pgrp] [`-P` ppid] [`-s` sid] [`-T` rtable] [`-t` tty] [`-U` uid] [`-u` euid] [pattern ...]

# DESCRIPTION

The `pgrep` command searches the process table on the running system and prints the process IDs of all processes that match the criteria given on the command line.

The `pkill` command searches the process table on the running system and signals all processes that match the criteria given on the command line.

The following options are available:

`-d` delim
  Specify a delimiter to be printed between each process ID. The default is a newline. This option can only be used with the `pgrep` command.
`-f`
  Match against full argument lists. The default is to match against process names.
`-G` gid
  Restrict matches to processes with a real group ID in the comma-separated list gid.
`-g` pgrp
  Restrict matches to processes with a process group ID in the comma-separated list pgrp. The value zero is taken to mean the process group ID of the running `pgrep` or `pkill` command.
`-I`
  Ask for confirmation before killing a process.
`-l`
  Long output. Print the process name in addition to the process ID for each matching process. If used in conjunction with `-f`, print the process ID and the full argument list for each matching process (`pgrep` only).
`-n`
  Match only the most recently created (newest) process, if any. Cannot be used in conjunction with `-o`.
`-o`
  Match only the least recently created (oldest) process, if any. Cannot be used in conjunction with `-n`.
`-P` ppid
  Restrict matches to processes with a parent process ID in the comma-separated list ppid.
`-q`
  Quiet mode. Perform the action, but don't display anything on standard output. Note that `-q` takes precedence over other display options such as `-l`.
`-s` sid
  Restrict matches to processes with a session ID in the comma-separated list sid. The value zero is taken to mean the session ID of the running `pgrep` or `pkill` command.
`-T` rtable
  Restrict matches to processes associated with the specified routing tables in the comma-separated list rtable.
`-t` tty
  Restrict matches to processes associated with a terminal in the comma-separated list tty. Terminal names may be of the form ‘ttyxx’ or the shortened form ‘xx’. A single dash (‘-’) matches processes not associated with a terminal.
`-U` uid
  Restrict matches to processes with a real user ID in the comma-separated list uid.
`-u` euid
  Restrict matches to processes with an effective user ID in the comma-separated list euid.
`-v`
  Reverse the sense of the matching; display or signal processes that do not match the given criteria.
`-x`
  Require an exact match of the process name, or argument list if `-f` is given. The default is to match any substring.
`-`signal
  A non-negative decimal number or one of the symbolic names listed in signal(3) specifying the signal to be sent instead of the default TERM. This option is valid only when given as the first argument to `pkill`.

If any pattern operands are specified, they are used as extended regular expressions to match the command name. Only the first 16 characters of the command name are matched; attempts to match any characters after the first 16 will silently fail. If `-f` is specified, the full argument list, including the full command name, of each process is matched.

Note that a running `pgrep` or `pkill` process will never consider itself or system processes (kernel threads) as a potential match.

# EXIT STATUS

The `pgrep` and `pkill` utilities exit with one of the following values:

0
  One or more processes were matched.
1
  No processes were matched.
2
  Invalid options were specified on the command line.
3
  An internal error occurred.

# SEE ALSO

grep(1), kill(1), ps(1), kill(2), signal(3), re_format(7)

# HISTORY

`pkill` and `pgrep` first appeared in OpenBSD 3.5. They are modelled after utilities of the same name that appeared in Sun Solaris 7.

# AUTHORS

Andrew Doran <ad@NetBSD.org>.

April 22, 2025 | Debian