Taskkill
Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2000, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8
Ends one or more tasks or processes. Processes can be ended by process ID or image name. Taskkill replaces the kill tool.
For examples of how to use this command, see Examples.
Syntax
taskkill [/s <Computer> [/u [<Domain>\]<UserName> [/p [<Password>]]]] {[/fi <Filter>] [...] [/pid <ProcessID> | /im <ImageName>]} [/f] [/t]
Parameters
Parameter |
Description |
|---|---|
/s <Computer> |
Specifies the name or IP address of a remote computer (do not use backslashes). The default is the local computer. |
/u <Domain>\<UserName> |
Runs the command with the account permissions of the user who is specified by UserName or Domain\UserName. /u can be specified only if /s is specified. The default is the permissions of the user who is currently logged on to the computer that is issuing the command. |
/p <Password> |
Specifies the password of the user account that is specified in the /u parameter. |
/fi <Filter> |
Applies a filter to select a set of tasks. You can use more than one filter or use the wildcard character (*) to specify all tasks or image names. See the following Filter names, operators, and values, operators, and values. |
/pid <ProcessID> |
Specifies the process ID of the process to be terminated. |
/im <ImageName> |
Specifies the image name of the process to be terminated. Use the wildcard character (*) to specify all image names. |
/f |
Specifies that processes be forcefully terminated. This parameter is ignored for remote processes; all remote processes are forcefully terminated. |
/t |
Terminates the specified process and any child processes started by it. |
Filter names, operators, and values
Filter Name |
Valid Operators |
Valid Value(s) |
|---|---|---|
STATUS |
eq, ne |
RUNNING | NOT RESPONDING | UNKNOWN |
IMAGENAME |
eq, ne |
Image name |
PID |
eq, ne, gt, lt, ge, le |
PID value |
SESSION |
eq, ne, gt, lt, ge, le |
Session number |
CPUTIME |
eq, ne, gt, lt, ge, le |
CPU time in the format HH:MM:SS, where MM and SS are between 0 and 59 and HH is any unsigned number |
MEMUSAGE |
eq, ne, gt, lt, ge, le |
Memory usage in KB |
USERNAME |
eq, ne |
Any valid user name (User or Domain\User) |
SERVICES |
eq, ne |
Service name |
WINDOWTITLE |
eq, ne |
Window title |
MODULES |
eq, ne |
DLL name |
Remarks
The WINDOWTITLE and STATUS filters are not supported when a remote system is specified.
The wildcard character (*) is accepted for the /im option only when a filter is applied.
Termination of remote processes is always carried out forcefully, regardless of whether the /f option is specified.
Supplying a computer name to the HOSTNAME filter causes a shutdown and all processes are stopped.
You can use tasklist to determine the process ID (PID) for the process to be terminated.
Examples
To end the processes with process IDs 1230, 1241, and 1253, type:
taskkill /pid 1230 /pid 1241 /pid 1253
To forcefully end the process "Notepad.exe" if it was started by the system, type:
taskkill /f /fi "USERNAME eq NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" /im notepad.exe
To end all processes on the remote computer "Srvmain" with an image name beginning with "note," while using the credentials for the user account Hiropln, type:
taskkill /s srvmain /u maindom\hiropln /p p@ssW23 /fi "IMAGENAME eq note*" /im *
To end the process with the process ID 2134 and any child processes that it started, but only if those processes were started by the Administrator account, type:
taskkill /pid 2134 /t /fi "username eq administrator"
To end all processes that have a process ID greater than or equal to 1000, regardless of their image names, type:
taskkill /f /fi "PID ge 1000" /im *