kill(C)                         19 June 1992                         kill(C)


 Name

    kill - terminate a process

 Syntax

    kill [ -signo ] processid ...

 Description

    The kill command sends signal 15 (terminate) to the specified pro-
    cess(es).  This will normally kill processes that do not catch or ignore
    the signal.  The process number of each asynchronous process (background
    process) started with ``&'' is reported by the shell (unless more than
    one process is started in a pipeline, in which case the number of the
    last process in the pipeline is reported).  Process numbers can also be
    found by using ps(C).

    For example, if process number 0 is specified, all processes in the pro-
    cess group are signaled.

    The killed process must belong to the current user unless he is the super
    user.

    If a signal number preceded by ``-'' is given as the first argument, that
    signal is sent instead of the terminate signal (see signal(S)).  In par-
    ticular kill -9 ... is a sure kill.

 Note

    A version of kill is built into the Korn shell (ksh(C)).  It differs
    slightly from the command described here. For further details, refer to
    the ksh(C) entry.

 See also

    kill(S), ps(C), sh(C), csh(C), ksh(C), signal(S)

 Standards conformance

    kill is conformant with:

    AT&T SVID Issue 2;
    and X/Open Portability Guide, Issue 3, 1989.