Kill Process

Interactive process management plugin inspired by Raycast. Search and kill running processes with live fuzzy search, multi-select support, and cross-platform compatibility.

Kill Process Plugin

Interactive process manager that lets you search and terminate processes with a powerful fuzzy search interface.

Features

• Live Fuzzy Search - Real-time filtering that updates as you type
• Full-Screen Terminal UI - Instant process filtering with interactive display
• Arrow Key Navigation - Navigate through filtered results easily
• Multi-Select Support - Select multiple processes to terminate
• Smart Ranking - Results ordered by fuzzy match score
• Process Details - View PID, name, CPU usage, and memory
• Force Kill Support - SIGKILL on Unix, /F on Windows
• Cross-Platform - Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows
• High Performance - Handles 1000+ processes efficiently
• Safety Confirmations - Confirmation dialogs before terminating

Installation

The kill_process plugin is included with lla's first-party plugins:

lla install

Or enable it if already installed:

lla use  # Interactive plugin manager

Usage

Interactive Fuzzy Search

Launch the interactive process manager with live fuzzy search:

lla plugin kill_process kill

Controls:

• Type to filter processes in real-time
• ↑/↓ - Navigate through results
• Space - Select/deselect process for termination
• Enter - Confirm selection and return to action menu
• Esc - Cancel and exit

The fuzzy search ranks processes by match score, showing the most relevant results first.

Force Kill (Interactive)

Same interactive experience but uses force kill (SIGKILL/taskkill /F):

lla plugin kill_process force-kill

Use this when processes are frozen and won't respond to normal termination.

List All Processes

Display all running processes:

lla plugin kill_process list

Shows a formatted table with:

• Process name
• PID
• CPU usage
• Memory usage

Kill by Name Pattern

Kill processes matching a name pattern:

lla plugin kill_process kill-by-name chrome

Force kill by name:

lla plugin kill_process force-kill-by-name chrome

Kill by PID

Terminate a specific process ID:

lla plugin kill_process kill-by-pid 1234

Force kill specific PID:

lla plugin kill_process force-kill-by-pid 1234

Positional Syntax

Use the shorter positional syntax (v0.5.0+):

# Interactive kill
lla plugin kill_process kill
 
# Interactive force kill
lla plugin kill_process force-kill
 
# Kill by name
lla plugin kill_process kill-by-name "node"
 
# Kill by PID
lla plugin kill_process kill-by-pid 5678

Plugin Aliases

Create a short alias in your config for even faster access:

# ~/.config/lla/config.toml
[plugin_aliases]
k = "kill_process"

Then use:

lla plugin k kill
lla plugin k force-kill
lla plugin k kill-by-name "firefox"

Shortcuts

Create shortcuts for common process management tasks:

# Interactive process killer
lla shortcut add kill kill_process kill -d "Kill processes interactively"
 
# Force kill
lla shortcut add fkill kill_process force-kill -d "Force kill processes"
 
# Kill by name
lla shortcut add pkill kill_process kill-by-name -d "Kill process by name"

Usage:

lla kill                 # Launch interactive mode
lla fkill                # Launch force kill mode
lla pkill "chrome"       # Kill all Chrome processes

Actions Reference

Process Information

Each process entry shows:

• PID - Process identifier
• Name - Process name/command
• CPU Usage - Current CPU consumption (%)
• Memory - Memory usage (MB/GB)

Safety Features

Confirmation Dialogs

Before terminating processes, you'll see:

• List of selected processes
• Option to confirm or cancel
• Clear warning messages for force kill

Protected Processes

Some system-critical processes may be protected by the OS and cannot be killed without elevated permissions.

Force Kill Warning

The force kill actions send:

• Unix/macOS: SIGKILL (signal 9) - immediate termination
• Windows: /F flag - forced termination

Use with caution as force-killed processes cannot clean up resources.

Platform-Specific Behavior

macOS/Linux

• Uses process info from system APIs
• Sends SIGTERM (15) by default, SIGKILL (9) for force
• May require sudo for certain processes

Windows

• Uses Windows API for process enumeration
• Terminates with standard close, uses /F with force
• May require Administrator privileges

Examples

Interactive Process Management

# Launch interactive mode
lla plugin kill_process kill
 
# Type "chrome" to filter Chrome processes
# Use arrow keys to navigate
# Press Space to select multiple processes
# Press Enter to confirm
# Confirm the kill operation

Kill All Node Processes

lla plugin kill_process kill-by-name "node"

Force Kill Frozen Application

# Find the PID first
lla plugin kill_process list | grep "frozen-app"
 
# Force kill by PID
lla plugin kill_process force-kill-by-pid 1234

Quick Workflow with Shortcuts

# Create shortcuts
lla shortcut add k kill_process kill -d "Kill processes"
lla shortcut add kn kill_process kill-by-name -d "Kill by name"
 
# Use them
lla k                    # Interactive
lla kn "electron"        # Kill all Electron apps

Troubleshooting

Permission Denied

If you can't kill a process:

1. Check if it's owned by another user
2. Try with sudo/admin privileges
3. Verify process ID is correct

Process Not Found

If a process doesn't appear:

1. It may have already terminated
2. Check if running under different user
3. Verify process name spelling

Force Kill Not Working

If force kill fails:

1. Process may be protected by OS
2. Requires elevated permissions
3. May be a system-critical process

Best Practices

1. Use Interactive Mode - Safer than pattern matching
2. Verify Before Killing - Check process details before termination
3. Avoid Force Kill - Unless process is truly frozen
4. Use Specific Patterns - Avoid overly broad name matches
5. Create Shortcuts - For frequently managed processes

See Also

• Plugin Concepts - Understanding lla plugins
• Shortcuts - Create command shortcuts
• CLI Reference - Complete command reference