How to Kill a Process by Name in Linux?


This article shows you how to use the Linux pkill command to kill running processes within Linux by using a name. Pkill (see pgrep) is a command-line utility while Solaris 7 process is running. pkill works on a currently active running process and lists down process ID’s which matches with the criteria.

To kill a process by name in Linux, use the following command –

pkill

To get a list of process in Linux, use the following command –

$ ps -A

The sample output should be like this –

PID TTY          TIME CMD
   1 ?           00:00:01 systemd
   2 ?           00:00:00 kthreadd
   3 ?           00:00:00 ksoftirqd/0
   5 ?           00:00:00 kworker/0:0H
   7 ?           00:00:17 rcu_sched
   8 ?           00:00:00 rcu_bh
   9 ?           00:00:00 migration/0
   10 ?          00:00:00 watchdog/0
   11 ?          00:00:00 watchdog/1
   12 ?          00:00:00 migration/1
   13 ?          00:00:00 ksoftirqd/1
   15 ?          00:00:00 kworker/1:0H
   16 ?          00:00:00 watchdog/2
   17 ?          00:00:00 migration/2
   18 ?          00:00:00 ksoftirqd/2
   20 ?          00:00:00 kworker/2:0H
   21 ?          00:00:00 watchdog/3
   22 ?          00:00:00 migration/3
   23 ?          00:00:00 ksoftirqd/3
   25 ?          00:00:00 kworker/3:0H
   26 ?          00:00:00 kdevtmpfs
   27 ?          00:00:00 netns
   28 ?          00:00:00 perf
   29 ?          00:00:00 khungtaskd
   30 ?          00:00:00 writeback
   31 ?          00:00:00 ksmd
   32 ?          00:00:00 khugepaged
   33 ?          00:00:00 crypto
   34 ?          00:00:00 kintegrityd
   35 ?          00:00:00 bioset
   36 ?          00:00:00 kblockd
   37 ?          00:00:00 ata_sff
   38 ?          00:00:00 md
   39 ?          00:00:00 devfreq_wq
   44 ?          00:00:00 kswapd0
   45 ?          00:00:00 vmstat
   46 ?          00:00:00 fsnotify_mark
   47 ?          00:00:00 ecryptfs-kthrea
   63 ?          00:00:00 kthrotld
   64 ?          00:00:00 acpi_thermal_pm
   65 ?          00:00:00 bioset
   66 ?          00:00:00 bioset
   67 ?          00:00:00 bioset
...............................................

To kill the process using name, use the following command –

$sudo pkill apache2

To verify the above command, use the following command –

$ ps -A

From the above, we have learnt about – How to Kill a Process by Name in Linux? We will come up with more Linux based tricks and tips. Keep reading!

Sharon Christine
Sharon Christine

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest

Updated on: 22-Jan-2020

479 Views

Kickstart Your Career

Get certified by completing the course

Get Started
Advertisements