PowerShell Stop-Process
last modified February 15, 2025
In this article, we will cover the Stop-Process cmdlet in
PowerShell. This cmdlet terminates running processes on a system. It is
a powerful tool for process management and troubleshooting.
Process termination basics
Process termination is the act of stopping a running program instance.
The Stop-Process cmdlet sends a termination signal to one or
more processes. Processes can be identified by name or process ID (PID).
Termination can be forced if a process doesn't respond to normal shutdown.
Basic Stop-Process usage
The simplest way to use Stop-Process is with the -Name parameter.
This stops all processes matching the specified name. Wildcards are supported
for partial matching. The command requires administrative privileges for
some processes.
Stop-Process -Name "notepad"
This command terminates all running instances of Notepad. If no Notepad processes are running, no action is taken. The command runs silently unless errors occur.
Stop process by ID
Processes can be precisely terminated using their unique process ID (PID). This is useful when you need to target a specific instance. Use the -Id parameter followed by the PID. You can find PIDs using Get-Process.
Stop-Process -Id 1234
This command terminates the process with ID 1234. Only one process will be stopped since PIDs are unique. The command fails if the PID doesn't exist.
Forcefully stop a process
Some processes may resist normal termination attempts. The -Force parameter can be used to compel termination. This bypasses any confirmation prompts. Use with caution as it may cause data loss in applications.
Stop-Process -Name "hangapp" -Force
This command forcefully terminates all instances of "hangapp". The -Force parameter ensures the process is killed immediately. No save prompts are shown to the user.
Stop multiple processes
Multiple processes can be stopped at once by providing multiple names or IDs. Separate the values with commas. This is efficient for batch termination of related processes. Wildcards can be used with process names.
Stop-Process -Name "chrome","firefox","edge"
This command terminates all instances of Chrome, Firefox, and Edge browsers. Each process name is treated separately. The command attempts to stop all matching processes.
Confirm before stopping
The -Confirm parameter adds a safety check before process termination. This prompts the user to confirm each process stop. It's useful when you want to prevent accidental termination. The prompt shows the process name and ID.
Stop-Process -Name "importantapp" -Confirm
This command prompts for confirmation before stopping "importantapp". The user must explicitly approve each termination. This adds a layer of protection against mistakes.
Stop processes using pipeline
Stop-Process can accept process objects from the pipeline.
This allows combining with Get-Process for powerful filtering. You can
first select processes then terminate them. This method is very flexible.
Get-Process -Name "oldapp*" | Stop-Process
This command finds all processes starting with "oldapp" and stops them. The pipeline passes the process objects directly to Stop-Process. No intermediate variables are needed.
Stop processes with WhatIf
The -WhatIf parameter shows what would happen without actually stopping processes. This is useful for testing commands. It displays which processes would be terminated. No changes are made to the system.
Stop-Process -Name "testapp" -WhatIf
This command simulates stopping "testapp" processes. The output shows what would occur if executed. It's a safe way to verify command behavior before running it for real.
Stop processes by window title
While not directly supported, you can stop processes by window title using a combination of cmdlets. This requires filtering processes by their MainWindowTitle property. It's useful for GUI applications.
Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.MainWindowTitle -like "*Untitled*" } | Stop-Process
This command finds processes with "Untitled" in their window title and stops them. The Where-Object cmdlet filters by window title. This approach works best for applications with visible windows.
Source
In this article, we have covered the Stop-Process cmdlet in PowerShell.
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