---
title: "kill"
description: "The kill command description and usage"
keywords: ["container, kill, signal"]
---

<!-- This file is maintained within the docker/docker Github
     repository at https://github.com/docker/docker/. Make all
     pull requests against that repo. If you see this file in
     another repository, consider it read-only there, as it will
     periodically be overwritten by the definitive file. Pull
     requests which include edits to this file in other repositories
     will be rejected.
-->

# kill

```markdown
Usage:  docker kill [OPTIONS] CONTAINER [CONTAINER...]

Kill one or more running containers

Options:
      --help            Print usage
  -s, --signal string   Signal to send to the container (default "KILL")
```

The main process inside the container will be sent `SIGKILL`, or any
signal specified with option `--signal`.

> **Note:**
> `ENTRYPOINT` and `CMD` in the *shell* form run as a subcommand 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.