Taskkill
Updated: January 21, 2005
Ends one or more tasks or processes. Processes can be killed by
process ID or image name.
Syntax
taskkill [/s Computer [/u Domain\UserName
[/p Password]]] {[/fi Filter [/fi
Filter [ ... ]]] [{/pid ProcessID |
/im ImageName}] | /pid ProcessID | /im
ImageName} [/f] [/t]
Parameters
/sComputer
Specifies the name or IP address of a remote
computer (do not use backslashes). The default is
the local computer.
/uDomain\UserName
Runs the command with the account permissions of the
user specified by UserName or Domain\UserName.
/u can be specified only when /s is
specified. The default is the permissions of the
current logged on user on the computer issuing the
command.
/pPassword
Specifies the password of the user account that is
specified in the /u parameter.
/fiFilter
Specifies the types of process(es) to include in or
exclude from termination. You can specify more than
one filter. Use the wildcard (*) to specify
all tasks or image names. The following are valid
filter names, operators, and values.
NameOperatorsValueStatuseq, neRUNNING
| NOT RESPONDING | UNKNOWNImagenameeq,
neAny valid string.PIDeg, ne,
gt, lt, ge, leAny valid
positive integer.Sessioneg, ne, gt,
lt, ge, leAny valid session
number.CPUTimeeq, ne, gt, lt,
ge, leValid time in the format of
HH:MM:SS. The MM
and SS parameters should be between 0 and 59
and HH can be any valid unsigned numeric
value.Memusageeg, ne, gt, lt,
ge, leAny valid integer.Usernameeq,
neAny valid user name ([Domain\]UserName).Serviceseq,
neAny valid string. Windowtitleeq,
neAny valid string. Moduleseq, neAny
valid string.
/pidProcessID
Specifies the process ID of the process to be
terminated.
/imImageName
Specifies the image name of the process to be
terminated. Use the wildcard (*) to specify
all image names.
/f
Specifies that process(es) 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 which that process started.
/?
Displays help at the command prompt.
Remarks
- The "WindowTitle" and "Status" filters are not supported when a remote system is specified.
- The wildcard character (*) is accepted only when specified along with the filters.
- Termination for remote processes will always be done forcefully regardless of whether the /f parameter is specified.
- Supplying a computer name to the HOSTNAME filter will cause a shutdown and all processes will be stopped.
- Use tasklist to determine the Process ID (PID) for the process to be terminated.
- Taskkill is a replacement for the kill tool.
Examples
The following examples show how you can use the taskkill
command:
taskkill /pid 1230 /pid 1241 /pid 1253
taskkill /f /fi "USERNAME eq NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" /im notepad.exe
taskkill /s srvmain /f /im notepad.exe
taskkill /s srvmain /u maindom\hiropln /p p@ssW23 /fi "IMAGENAME eq note*" /im *
taskkill /s srvmain /u maindom\hiropln /fi "USERNAME ne NT*" /im *
taskkill /pid 2134 /t /fi "username eq administrator"
taskkill /f /fi "PID ge 1000" /im *
Formatting legend
| Format | Meaning |
| Italic | Information that the user must supply |
| Bold | Elements that the user must type exactly as shown |
| Ellipsis (...) | Parameter that can be repeated several times in a command line |
| Between brackets ([]) | Optional items |
| Between braces ({}); choices separated by pipe (|). Example: {even|odd} | Set of choices from which the user must choose only one |
| Courier font | Code or program output |