disown

Disown the current job

$ disown

$ disown %[job_number]

$ disown -a

$ disown -h %[job_number]

disown [-ar] [-h] [jobspec ...]
disown [-h] [jobspec ...]

-a
    Remove all jobs from the table (cannot combine with other options)

-r
    Remove only running jobs

-h
    Mark jobs to ignore SIGHUP on shell exit, without removing from table

jobspec
    Job identifier (%n, %string, %+, %-, %%); defaults to current job if omitted

The disown command is a bash builtin that removes one or more jobs from the shell's active jobs table. This prevents the shell from sending a SIGHUP (hangup) signal to those jobs upon shell exit or logout, allowing background processes to continue running independently.

Commonly used for long-running tasks like downloads, compilations, or servers started in an SSH session. For example, run command & to background it, then disown to detach. Without arguments, it targets the current job (%+). Jobs are managed via job control features, visible with jobs.

Options provide flexibility: -a removes all jobs, -r only running ones, and -h marks jobs to ignore SIGHUP without removal (useful for nohup-like behavior). Jobspecs like %1, %string, or %% specify targets.

Unlike nohup, which redirects output and ignores SIGHUP from the start, disown acts post-launch on managed jobs. It integrates with bg and fg for suspension/resumption. Requires an interactive shell with job control enabled (default in terminals).

Only prevents shell-sent SIGHUP; processes remain session-attached and can be killed by logout scripts, SIGTERM, or OOM. Requires interactive shell with job control (shopt -u job_control disables). Bash-specific; not in POSIX sh.

sleep 3600 &
disown # Detach last background job

jobs # List jobs (detached ones vanish)
disown -a # Detach all jobs

command &
disown -h %1 # Marks job; visible in jobs but ignores SIGHUP

Bash builtin since version 1.14 (1994); enhanced in bash-2.0 (1996) with -h option for better job control integration.

jobs(1), bg(1), fg(1), nohup(1)