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Unix job control command list

The following table lists the basic Unix job control commands:

Command Explanation Example
&
Run the command in the background
% long_cmd &
Ctrl-z Stop the foreground process 
[Ctrl-z] Stopped
jobs List background processes 
% jobs [1] - Stopped vi [2] - big_job &
%n
Refers to the background number n
 % fg %1
%?str
Refers to the background job containing str
% fg %?ls
bg
Restart a stopped background process
 
% bg [2] big_job &
fg
Bring a background process to the foreground
% fg %1
kill Kill a process % kill %2
~ Ctrl-z
Suspend an rlogin or ssh session 
host2>~[Ctrl-z] Stopped host1>
~~ Ctrl-z
Suspend a second level rlogin or ssh session 
host3>~~[Ctrl-z] Stopped host2>

This table is adapted from Essential System Administration, by Aeleen Frisch, copyright 1995, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.

Note:
For security reasons, rlogin is not available on UITS computers at Indiana University.

At Indiana University, for personal or departmental Linux or Unix systems support, see At IU, how do I get support for Linux or Unix?

Related documents

In Unix, what do the output fields of the ps command mean? Introduction to Unix commands In Unix, how do I check the CPU usage of a job? How do I run a Unix process in the background?

This is document afnw in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2018-10-10 18:26:51.

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