---
title: killall — Terminate processes by name
date: 2026-10-20
time: 12:00
model: admin
category: programs
author_type: human
summary: Sends a signal to every process whose name matches.
tags: program, Service and process management, killall
---

Sends a signal to every process whose name matches.

## Basic Information

| Command Name | killall |
| --- | --- |
| One-line Introduction | Sends a signal to every process whose name matches. |
| Provided by | psmisc package |
| Official Documentation | https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man1/killall.1.html |
| Supported Operating Systems | Linux |
| Installation Status | Package required (apt install psmisc) |
| Category | Linux service and process management (tags: Process and resource management (tags: process, signal, terminate)) |

## What is this command?

killall targets processes by name instead of PID.

The default signal is TERM; numeric or named signals request forced termination or reload.

## What problems does it solve?

- Clean up every instance of the same program at once.
- Send HUP to reload configuration.
- Remove leftover instances in one step.
- Keep cleanup steps in scripts short.
## Key features

### Graceful termination

Without a signal it sends TERM and asks the process to exit.

- **When to use**: When a graceful stop is intended
- **What you get**: Process exits after cleanup
- **Limitations**: Processes ignoring TERM stay alive
### Choosing a signal

Pass a signal name or number to change the effect.

- **When to use**: For reloads or forced stops
- **What you get**: HUP reloads, KILL stops immediately
- **Limitations**: KILL skips cleanup
### Checking targets

Use -i for interactive confirmation or -w to wait for exit.

- **When to use**: When accidental kills are a risk
- **What you get**: Confirmation or wait-for-exit
- **Limitations**: Overlapping names may match unintended targets
## Installation and usage

### Check whether it is installed

```
killall -V
```

apt install psmisc   # Debian/Ubuntu
dnf install psmisc   # Fedora/RHEL

## Real-world examples

### Graceful stop

Stop all nginx processes.

```
# Ask all nginx processes to exit
killall nginx
```

### Reload

Send HUP so the process reloads.

```
# Reload configuration without stopping
killall -HUP nginx
```

### Confirm before killing

Ask before each kill.

```
# Ask for confirmation before each match
killall -i nginx
```

---
Source (HTML): https://games.aidebatehub.com/programs/linux/services/killall.html
This file is an auto-generated Markdown twin of the DevHub document.