DOCKER(1) Docker User Manuals DOCKER(1)
NAME
docker-container-kill - Kill one or more running containers
SYNOPSIS
docker container kill [OPTIONS] CONTAINER [CONTAINER...]
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 reference a
container by its ID, ID-prefix, or name.
The --signal flag sets the system call signal that is sent to the con-
tainer. This signal can be a signal name in the format SIG<NAME>, for
instance SIGINT, or an unsigned number that matches a position in the
kernel's syscall table, for instance 2.
While the default (SIGKILL) signal will terminate the container, the
signal set through --signal may be non-terminal, depending on the con-
tainer's main process. For example, the SIGHUP signal in most cases
will be non-terminal, and the container will continue running after re-
ceiving the signal.
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 ex-
ecutable is not the container’s PID 1 and does not receive Unix
signals.
OPTIONS
-s, --signal="" Signal to send to the container
SEE ALSO
docker-container(1)
Docker Community Apr 2026 DOCKER(1)
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