PGREP(1) User Commands PGREP(1)

NAME
       pgrep,  pkill  -  look  up  or signal processes based on name and other
       attributes

SYNOPSIS
       pgrep [options] pattern
       pkill [options] pattern

DESCRIPTION
       pgrep looks through the  currently  running  processes  and  lists  the
       process IDs which match the selection criteria to stdout.  All the cri‐
       teria have to match.  For example,

              $ pgrep -u root sshd

       will only list the processes called sshd AND owned  by  root.   On  the
       other hand,

              $ pgrep -u root,daemon

       will list the processes owned by root OR daemon.

       pkill  will  send  the  specified  signal  (by default SIGTERM) to each
       process instead of listing them on stdout.

OPTIONS
       -signal
       signal signal
              Defines the signal to send to each matched process.  Either  the
              numeric or the symbolic signal name can be used.  (pkill only.)

       -c, count
              Suppress  normal  output; instead print a count of matching pro‐
              cesses.  When count does not match anything, e.g. returns  zero,
              the command will return non-zero value.

       -d, delimiter delimiter
              Sets  the  string  used to delimit each process ID in the output
              (by default a newline).  (pgrep only.)

       -f, full
              The pattern is normally only matched against the  process  name.
              When -f is set, the full command line is used.

       -g, pgroup pgrp,...
              Only  match  processes in the process group IDs listed.  Process
              group 0 is translated into pgrep's or pkill's own process group.

       -G, group gid,...
              Only match processes whose real group ID is listed.  Either  the
              numerical or symbolical value may be used.

       -l, list-name
              List the process name as well as the process ID.  (pgrep only.)

       -a, list-full
              List  the  full  command line as well as the process ID.  (pgrep
              only.)

       -n, newest
              Select only the newest (most recently started) of  the  matching
              processes.

       -o, oldest
              Select  only the oldest (least recently started) of the matching
              processes.

       -P, parent ppid,...
              Only match processes whose parent process ID is listed.

       -s, session sid,...
              Only match processes whose process session ID is  listed.   Ses‐
              sion ID 0 is translated into pgrep's or pkill's own session ID.

       -t, terminal term,...
              Only  match processes whose controlling terminal is listed.  The
              terminal name should be specified without the "/dev/" prefix.

       -u, euid euid,...
              Only match processes whose effective user ID is listed.   Either
              the numerical or symbolical value may be used.

       -U, uid uid,...
              Only  match  processes whose real user ID is listed.  Either the
              numerical or symbolical value may be used.

       -v, inverse
              Negates the matching.  This option is usually  used  in  pgrep's
              context.   In  pkill's  context  the short option is disabled to
              avoid accidental usage of the option.

       -w, lightweight
              Shows all thread ids instead of pids  in  pgrep's  context.   In
              pkill's context this option is disabled.

       -x, exact
              Only match processes whose names (or command line if -f is spec‐
              ified) exactly match the pattern.

       -F, pidfile file
              Read PID's from file.  This option is perhaps  more  useful  for
              pkill than pgrep.

       -L, logpidfile
              Fail if pidfile (see -F) not locked.

       ns pid
              Match  processes that belong to the same namespaces. Required to
              run as root to match processes from other  users.  See  nslist
              for how to limit which namespaces to match.

       nslist name,...
              Match  only  the provided namespaces. Available namespaces: ipc,
              mnt, net, pid, user,uts.

       -V, version
              Display version information and exit.

       -h, help
              Display help and exit.

OPERANDS
       pattern
              Specifies an Extended Regular Expression  for  matching  against
              the process names or command lines.

EXAMPLES
       Example 1: Find the process ID of the named daemon:

              $ pgrep -u root named

       Example 2: Make syslog reread its configuration file:

              $ pkill -HUP syslogd

       Example 3: Give detailed information on all xterm processes:

              $ ps -fp $(pgrep -d, -x xterm)

       Example 4: Make all netscape processes run nicer:

              $ renice +4 $(pgrep netscape)

EXIT STATUS
       0      One or more processes matched the criteria.
       1      No processes matched.
       2      Syntax error in the command line.
       3      Fatal error: out of memory etc.

NOTES
       The  process  name  used  for  matching is limited to the 15 characters
       present in the output of /proc/pid/stat.  Use the -f  option  to  match
       against the complete command line, /proc/pid/cmdline.

       The running pgrep or pkill process will never report itself as a match.

BUGS
       The  options  -n and -o and -v can not be combined.  Let me know if you
       need to do this.

       Defunct processes are reported.


SEE ALSO
       ps(1), regex(7), signal(7), killall(1), skill(1), kill(1), kill(2)

STANDARDS
       pkill and pgrep were introduced in Sun's Solaris 7.   This  implementa‐
       tion is fully compatible.

AUTHOR
       Kjetil Torgrim Homme ⟨kjetilho@ifi.uio.no⟩

REPORTING BUGS
       Please send bug reports to ⟨procps@freelists.org⟩



procps-ng                        October 2012                         PGREP(1)