docker kill

Description

Kill one or more running containers

Usage

docker kill [OPTIONS] CONTAINER [CONTAINER...]

Extended description

The docker kill subcommand kills one or more containers. The main process inside the container is sent SIGKILL signal (default), or the signal that is specified with the --signal option. You can kill a container using the container’s ID, ID-prefix, or name.

Note

ENTRYPOINT and CMD in the shell form run as a child process of /bin/sh -c, which does not pass signals. This means that the executable is not the container’s PID 1 and does not receive Unix signals.

For example uses of this command, refer to the examples section below.

Options

Name, shorthand Default Description
--signal , -s KILL Signal to send to the container

Examples

Send a KILL signal to a container

The following example sends the default KILL signal to the container named my_container:

$ docker kill my_container

Send a custom signal to a container

The following example sends a SIGHUP signal to the container named my_container:

$ docker kill --signal=SIGHUP  my_container

You can specify a custom signal either by name, or number. The SIG prefix is optional, so the following examples are equivalent:

$ docker kill --signal=SIGHUP my_container
$ docker kill --signal=HUP my_container
$ docker kill --signal=1 my_container

Refer to the signal(7) man-page for a list of standard Linux signals.

Parent command

Command Description
docker The base command for the Docker CLI.