killall

Terminate all processes with a specific name

$ killall [process_name]

$ killall -9 [process_name]

$ killall -s [SIGTERM] [process_name]

$ killall -u $(whoami) [process_name]

$ killall -i [process_name]

$ killall -r "[pattern]"

$ killall -v [process_name]

$ killall -w [process_name]

killall [-signal] [-eiIqrvw] [-u user] [-g group] [-o time] [-y time] [name ...]

killall sends a signal to all processes running the specified command. Unlike kill which requires process IDs, killall works with process names, making it convenient for terminating multiple instances of a program.
By default, killall sends SIGTERM (signal 15), which requests graceful termination. Processes can catch this signal and clean up before exiting. Use SIGKILL (-9) when processes don't respond to SIGTERM, but be aware this prevents cleanup.
Name matching compares against the command name (visible in ps). The -r flag enables regex matching for flexible patterns. With -i, you're prompted before each process is killed.
The -w flag makes killall wait until all processes are actually terminated before returning. This is useful in scripts where you need to ensure processes are stopped before proceeding.
Time-based filtering (-o, -y) allows killing only processes that have been running longer or shorter than specified duration (e.g., "1h" for one hour, "30m" for 30 minutes).

-e, --exact

Require exact name match (including path length).

Case-insensitive matching.

Ask for confirmation before killing.

List known signal names.

Don't complain if no processes were killed.

Interpret names as extended regular expressions.

Send specified signal (name or number).

Kill only processes owned by user.

Kill the process group instead of process.

Report if signal was successfully sent.

Wait for killed processes to terminate.

Kill processes older than specified time.

Kill processes younger than specified time.

Kill only processes with matching SELinux context.

SIGTERM (15)

Graceful termination (default).

Force kill (cannot be caught).

Hangup (often triggers reload).

Interrupt (like Ctrl+C).

Pause process.

Resume paused process.

Behavior differs between Linux (psmisc) and BSD/macOS versions. On macOS, syntax and options differ significantly. Be careful with common names - killall java might kill more than intended. Root can kill any process; users can only kill their own.

killall originated in BSD Unix. The Linux version is part of the psmisc package, maintained separately and with different features than the BSD version. The command has been a standard Unix utility for decades, though the implementation differences between systems require attention for portable scripts.

kill(1), pkill(1), pgrep(1), ps(1), signal(7)