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


SYNOPSIS

       pgrep [-flnvx] [-d delimiter] [-P ppid,...] [-g  pgrp,...]
            [-s  sid,...] [-u euid,...] [-U uid,...] [-G gid,...]
            [-t term,...] [pattern]

       pkill [-signal] [-fnvx] [-P ppid,...] [-g pgrp,...]
            [-s sid,...] [-u euid,...] [-U uid,...] [-G  gid,...]
            [-t term,...] [pattern]


DESCRIPTION

       pgrep  looks  through  the currently running processes and
       lists the process IDs which matches the selection criteria
       to stdout.  All the criteria 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

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

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

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

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

              the matching processes.

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

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

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

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

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

       -v     Negates the matching.

       -x     Only match processes whose name (or command line if
              -f is specified) exactly match the pattern.

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


OPERANDS

       pattern
              Specifies an Extended Regular Expression for match­
              ing against the process names or command lines.


EXAMPLES

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

       unix$ pgrep -u root named

       Example 2: Make syslog reread its configuration file:

       unix$ pkill -HUP syslogd

       Example   3:   Give  detailed  information  on  all  xterm


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

       Example 4: Make all netscape processes run nicer:

       unix$ 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 -v can not be combined.  Let me know if
       you need to do this.

       Defunct processes are reported.


SEE ALSO

       ps(1) proc(5) regex(5)


STANDARDS

       pkill  and pgrep were introduced in Sun's Solaris 7.  This
       implementation is fully compatible.


AUTHOR

       Kjetil Torgrim Homme <kjetilho@ifi.uio.no>

       Michael K. Johnson <johnsonm@redhat.com>  is  the  current
       maintainer of the procps package.

       Please send bug reports to <procps-bugs@redhat.com>


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