Unix Job Control Cheat Sheet

Commands

• jobs: Lists all current jobs running in the background.
• fg: Brings a background job to the foreground. Usage: fg %jobnumber
• bg: Resumes a suspended job by running it in the background. Usage: bg %jobnumber
• kill: Sends a signal to a job. Commonly used to terminate jobs. Usage: kill -signal %jobnumber

Usage

• Suspend a job: Ctrl + Z
• Resume a job in foreground: fg
• Resume a job in background: bg

Notes

• Each job is referenced by a job number, shown when using the jobs command.
• Useful signals for kill: SIGKILL (terminate immediately), SIGSTOP (pause the process).