PGREP(1)		      Linux User's Manual		      PGREP(1)



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


SYNOPSIS
       pgrep [-flvx] [-d delimiter] [-n|-o] [-P ppid,...] [-g pgrp,...]
	    [-s sid,...] [-u euid,...] [-U uid,...] [-G gid,...]
	    [-t term,...] [pattern]

       pkill [-signal] [-fvx] [-n|-o] [-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.)

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

       -o     Select  only the oldest (least recently started) of 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.	  Ses-
	      sion 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 speci-
	      fied) 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  matching  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 processes:

       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 -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>

       Albert  Cahalan	<albert@users.sf.net> is the current maintainer of the
       procps package.

       Please send bug reports to <procps-feedback@lists.sf.net>



Linux				 June 25, 2000			      PGREP(1)