bash
long_task &Notes
Launch a command as a background job.
Linux Signals and Job Control
Linux signals, process groups, shell job control, and safe batch-termination patterns.
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Shell Job Control
Move jobs between foreground and background from interactive shells.
bash
jobs -lNotes
Show background and stopped jobs with PIDs.
bash
fg %1Notes
Resume a job in the foreground.
bash
bg %1Notes
Continue a stopped job in the background.
bash
# Press Ctrl+Z in the terminalNotes
Suspend the current foreground process group.
Remove job from shell tracking
Prevent the shell from sending SIGHUP to the job on exit.
bashANYdisownjobs
bash
disown %1Notes
Prevent the shell from sending SIGHUP to the job on exit.
bash
wait 1234Notes
Block until a background PID exits.
bash
wait %1Notes
Block until a shell job completes.
Signals Reference and Delivery
Work with standard Unix signals and process groups.
bash
trap "echo caught INT" INTNotes
Handle a signal in a shell script.
bash
kill -- -1234Notes
Signal every process in a process group.
bash
pkill -o -TERM myworkerNotes
Signal only the oldest matching process.
bash
pkill -n -HUP nginxNotes
Signal the newest matching process.
bash
pgrep -c sshdNotes
Count processes that match a pattern.
bash
pkill -USR1 myappNotes
Send a custom signal to matching processes.
Test whether PID exists
Check whether a process exists and whether you can signal it.
bashANYkillexistence-check
bash
kill -0 1234Notes
Check whether a process exists and whether you can signal it.
Batch Termination Patterns
Terminate groups of processes safely and predictably.
bash
pkill -x ssh-agentNotes
Only match an exact process name.
bash
pkill -P 1234Notes
Signal all child processes of a parent.
bash
killall -u alice pythonNotes
Limit killall by user and executable name.
bash
killall -r "worker[0-9]+"Notes
Use a regex pattern with killall where supported.
Terminate port owners with lsof and xargs
Combine lsof and xargs to terminate port users.
bashANYlsofxargskill
bash
lsof -ti :3000 | xargs -r -n1 kill -TERMNotes
Combine lsof and xargs to terminate port users.
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