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killall(8)

NAME

killall - Terminates all processes started by the user, except the calling process

SYNOPSIS

/usr/sbin/killall [- | [-]signal_name | -signal_number] /usr/sbin/killall -l

OPTIONS

- The hyphen character (without an argument) sends a SIGTERM signal initially and then sends a SIGKILL signal to all processes that survive for 30 seconds after receipt of the first signal. This gives processes that catch the SIGTERM signal an opportunity to clean up. [-]signal_name A signal name, optionally preceded by a hyphen, sends the specified signal to processes. -signal_number The hyphen character (with a signal number argument) sends the specified signal, either a name, stripped of the SIG prefix (such as KILL), or a number (such as 9). For information about signal names and numbers, see the signal() system call. In the System V habitat, the optional signal number does not have to be preceded with a hyphen (-). -l Lists signal names in numerical order (as given in the /usr/include/signal.h file), stripped of the common SIG prefix.

DESCRIPTION

This command provides a convenient means of killing all processes created by the shell that you control. When started by the superuser, the killall command kills all processes that can be terminated, except those processes that started it, the kernel processes, and processes 0 and 1(init). Security Configuration This command is modified in all security configurations of the system.

EXAMPLES

1. To stop all background processes that have started, enter: killall This sends all background processes signal 9 (the kill signal, also called SIGKILL). 2. To stop all background processes, giving them a chance to clean up, enter: killall - This sends signal 15 (SIGTERM), waits 30 seconds, and then sends signal 9 (SIGKILL). 3. To send a specific signal to the background processes, enter: killall -2 This sends signal 2 (SIGINT) to the background processes. 4. To list the signal names in numerical order, stripped of the SIG prefix, enter: killall -l This displays a list of signals, which may vary from system to system.

FILES

/usr/sbin/killall Specifies the command path

SEE ALSO

Functions: kill(2), sigaction(2), signal(2)

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