{"id":2465,"date":"2023-05-28T13:38:21","date_gmt":"2023-05-28T13:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/draculaservers.com\/tutorials\/?p=2465"},"modified":"2023-06-06T06:54:08","modified_gmt":"2023-06-06T06:54:08","slug":"how-to-kill-processes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/draculaservers.com\/tutorials\/how-to-kill-processes\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Kill Processes in Linux \\ Ubuntu?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are looking for different ways of killing processes or know what killing a process (kill Process) is, you are in the right spot. This article will explain everything you need to know about killing processes in Linux in detail.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

No matter if you are a Linux System Administrator, a Novice Linux User, or running and managing your own VPS Server on Linux. There might come a certain situation where you must kill a process manually.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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What is Killing a Process in Linux & Ubuntu<\/a>?<\/span><\/h2>\n

There are many instances where the processes running in the Linux installation fail to exit on their own. It may be because the process has become unresponsive, the process encountered an error during the execution, or maybe just consuming a little too much of the system\u2019s resources, and you need to use those resources elsewhere.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In such cases, forcing the process to stop its execution and remove it from the working memory is known as killing processes in Linux. This action of stopping a process\u2019 execution can be generous in that you let the process run its exit code and wrap up everything, or it can be forcefully terminated when you tell the kernel to stop a program instantly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before you learn how to kill a process, you must know how it works.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Does Killing a Process Work in Linux?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Every running program in the Linux Operating System (in every OS) has a unique PID, which stands for Process ID. This PID number is used to track the state and actions of the processes. The commands and tools kill a specific process by sending a signal to the OS along with the PID of the process to stop.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, caution must always be taken while trying to terminate or kill a process forcefully. Because if you accidentally exit a sensitive process (Kernel Processes), then you might end up damaging your Linux Installations.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to Kill a Specific Process in Linux\\Ubuntu?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Now that you are fully aware of what killing processes mean and how the killing process works, let\u2019s move on to the steps for killing a specific process in Linux.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 1: Find the PID of the Process to Kill<\/span><\/h3>\n

The first step to killing a specific process is to know its Process ID (PID). There are various methods and commands through which you can easily find the process ID of the process that you want to kill. Let\u2019s go through some of the most commonly used methods.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. The top Command<\/span><\/h4>\n

The first command is the top command, which shows an overview of all the processes currently in your Linux Operating System. To this command, simply open up a new terminal and type \u201c<\/span>top<\/b>,\u201d and hit \u201c<\/span>Enter<\/b>\u201d<\/span> to get the following result:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In addition to the PID, the top command also shows the user and the amount of CPU and Memory consumed by the process.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. The ps Command<\/span><\/h4>\n

The next command that provides a little more readable output of the processes running in the Linux System is the \u201cps\u201d command. Unlike the top command, the ps command also shows the system \u201cAll\u201d processes, including kernel and system processes. To display the details of all processes, simply use the following command:<\/span><\/p>\n

ps -ef<\/pre>\n
Running this command will show you the following output:<\/span><\/p>\n
\"Output<\/a><\/p>\n
Suppose that you want to kill the spotify process. Then you can see all of the processes associated with spotify. Killing the very first process will terminate all instances of spotify, which in this case is PID 6123<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n
3. The pidof Command<\/span><\/h4>\n
One of the easiest commands to find the Process ID of a certain application is to use the \u201c<\/span>pidof<\/b>\u201d command. To use this command, simply follow the below-given syntax:<\/span><\/p>\n
pidof {appname}<\/pre>\n
To find the PID of spotify, use the command:<\/span><\/p>\n
pidof spotify<\/pre>\n
You will get similar results to:<\/span><\/p>\n
\"Output<\/a><\/p>\n
The most recent process of the application will be on the left, and the oldest on the right.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Step 2: Kill the Process Using a Kill Command<\/span><\/h3>\n
Once you have found the PID of the process you want to kill, the next step is to simply use any of the available commands to kill a process. Let\u2019s go through some most used Kill commands.<\/span><\/p>\n
1. The Kill Command<\/span><\/h4>\n
The first and the most widely used command is the \u201cKill\u201d command. The syntax of the kill command is given as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n
kill {signal} {PID}<\/pre>\n
The kill commands tell the OS to terminate the Processes referred by the PID by using the Signal specific. Some common Signals are as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n