systemctl-kill

Send SIGTERM to unit

$ systemctl kill [unit]

$ systemctl kill -s [SIGNAL] [unit]

$ systemctl kill -s SIGHUP --kill-whom main [unit]

$ systemctl kill -s help

systemctl kill [OPTIONS] PATTERN...

systemctl kill sends a signal to one or more processes of a unit. By default, it sends SIGTERM to all processes in the unit's cgroup. This provides more control than `systemctl stop`, which follows the unit's configured stop behavior.
The `--kill-whom` option controls which processes receive the signal: main (the main process), control (control processes), or all (every process in the cgroup).

-s, --signal= SIGNAL

Signal to send (name or number, default: SIGTERM)

Which processes to kill: main, control, or all (default: all)

Kill user service processes

Bypasses the unit's configured ExecStop commands. Killing main process may leave child processes orphaned depending on unit configuration. SIGKILL cannot be caught or ignored by processes.

The kill subcommand provides direct signal delivery to unit processes, useful when the normal stop procedure is insufficient or when specific signals are needed (like SIGHUP for config reload).

systemctl-stop(1), kill(1), signal(7)