- How to use jobs command in Linux
- What is jobs command in Linux
- States of jobs in Linux
- Syntax of jobs command in Linux
- Options of the jobs command in Linux
- How to use jobs command for checking jobs status in Linux
- How to run a job in the background in Linux
- How to use jobs command for listing jobs in Linux
- How to use jobs command for displaying the running jobs in Linux
- How to use jobs command for displaying the stopped jobs in Linux
- How to resume a job in Linux
- How to move a job to foreground in Linux
- How to terminate a job in Linux
- Conclusion
- What should I do when I get ‘There are stopped jobs’ error?
- 3 Answers 3
- How do I find running jobs in Unix?
- How do I see stopped jobs in Linux?
- How do I check if a Linux server is running?
- How do I find the process ID in Unix?
- How do I know if Oracle jobs are running?
- How can I check my job status?
- How do you use disown?
- How do you stop a Unix job from running?
- How do you quit a job in Linux?
How to use jobs command in Linux
Similar to other operating systems, Linux can handle multiple tasks simultaneously. Although the single processor of your system can only run one job at a time; however, the Linux kernel manages to assign a turn to each job, which gives the impression that they are running at the same time. Various job control commands are used in Linux-based systems, and “jobs” is the one that is mainly used. This write-up will guide you to use the jobs command in Linux. Moreover, the procedure of starting a job, running it in the background, then moving it to the foreground will be provided. So, let’s start!
What is jobs command in Linux
A “job” is a set of instructions or a unit of work that is assigned to an operating system for execution. In Linux, the “jobs” command permits you to interact with the system jobs through the terminal directly. This command is also used to check the states of the jobs and list them with their detailed information. Only the bash, ksh, csh, and tcsh shells support “jobs” command execution.
States of jobs in Linux
A job in a Linux-based system can be found in one of these given states:
–Foreground: A job is in a foreground state when it occupies the Linux terminal until its completion.
–Background: A job is in a background state when it runs in the system background.
–Stopped: A job gets into the stopped state when you execute a “stop” command for a background job or press “CTRL+Z” for a foreground job.
Syntax of jobs command in Linux
Check out the below-given syntax of the “jobs” command:
Options of the jobs command in Linux
Here is the list of options you can add in the “jobs” command:
Option | Description |
-l | The “-l” option is utilized in the “jobs” command to list the jobs’ additional information, such as their Process IDs. |
-p | The “-p” option is utilized in the “jobs” command for only listing the Process IDs of the jobs. |
-n | The “-n” option is utilized in the “jobs” command for listing the jobs that have changed their state. |
-s | The “-s” option is utilized in the “jobs” command for restricting the “jobs” command to only list the stopped jobs. |
-r | The “-r” option is utilized in the “jobs” command for restricting the “jobs” command to only list the running jobs. |
How to use jobs command for checking jobs status in Linux
The terminal tracks the jobs whether they are running or have stopped and stores their status in a table. The primary purpose of the “jobs” command is to show the status of jobs in the Linux terminal. For instance, to check the job status table of our system, we will execute the simple “jobs” command in the following way:
The output states that currently, two jobs are running, and the remaining are stopped:
Note: Now, we have terminated “gnome-calculator &” and the “inkscape &” jobs for the demonstration purpose, so that we can show you how to run both of these jobs in the next section.
How to run a job in the background in Linux
Want to start a job and run it in the system background? Yes, you can perform this operation in your Linux terminal. For running a job in your system background, write out the command and add an ampersand (&) sign at the end of it:
For instance, to run the “Inkscape” application in the background, we will type “inkscape &” and then hit “Enter”:
Now execute the “jobs” commands with the “-n” option to check the status of the job which have changed since the last notification:
You can utilize the “Command &” format for running any application or command in the background of your Linux system. For instance, the below-given command will start a new “Calculator” job:
Again execute the “jobs” command with the “-n” option to check the changes added to the job status table:
How to use jobs command for listing jobs in Linux
The jobs command also lets you view the detailed information of the system jobs. This information comprises jobID, process ID (PID), jobs name, and status. Now add the “-l” option in the “jobs” command for listing the jobs with the specified information:
You can also retrieve specific entries of the jobs table based on job names. For instance, you want to view the PID, the state of the jobs whose name starts with the “i”. To do so, write out the “jobs” command and then add “i” with the “%” character in the following way:
How to use jobs command for displaying the running jobs in Linux
The “-r” option of the “jobs” command restricts it to output only the running jobs of your system:
From the below-given output, you can see that the “inkscape &” and “gnome-calculator &” jobs are currently running:
How to use jobs command for displaying the stopped jobs in Linux
To only list the stopped system jobs, add the “-s” option in the “jobs” command and then execute in the Linux terminal:
How to resume a job in Linux
The “bg” is an acronym for “Background”. The “bg” command is used for resuming the suspended jobs and running them in the background by adding a “%” character at the end of the bg command:
In the following example, we will resume the “sudo systemctl status cron.service &” job by adding its jobID “1” in the bg command:
How to move a job to foreground in Linux
The “fg” is an acronym for “Foreground”. The “fg” command brings a background job into the foreground through the Linux terminal. You can use the jobID to specify the job you want to run in the foreground. In case if you have not typed out any jobID, the “fg” command will consider the most recent suspended job and then place it in the background:
To move our Inkscape job to the foreground, we will add the jobID “2” in the following fg command:
How to terminate a job in Linux
Now, the Inkscape job will be running into the foreground. For terminating this job, press “CTRL+ALT+Z” to stop it:
Next, specify the jobID in the “kill” command to complete the procedure of terminating the job:
Conclusion
Learning job control permits you to handle several tasks simultaneously. Job control is defined as the capability to suspend or halt the executions of jobs and resume their execution as needed. In Linux, “jobs” commands are used for this purpose, and it allows having a direct interaction with the specified job through the terminal. This write-up has discussed jobs commands, its syntax, jobs states, and jobs command options. Moreover, the procedures of using “jobs” commands for listing the jobs and checking their states are also provided.
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What should I do when I get ‘There are stopped jobs’ error?
I face this type of situation many times. For example, whenever I try to open some file in emacs with sudo rights using: sudo emacs tet.c & Instead of asking me for the password Ubuntu just starts emacs process without any emacs window or any output on terminal (except for the pid) see the image (if I don’t use ‘&’ then it will ask me for the password): I have two questions related with this:
- What should I do when I get error that ‘There are stopped jobs’? How do I identify all such stopped jobs and kill them? Once I clear the terminal I won’t have pids of these stopped processes.
- Why is Ubuntu/emacs behaving like this? Why doesn’t it ask me for the password?
3 Answers 3
There are stopped jobs message is far, far away to be an error. It’s just a notification telling you that you attempt to exit from the shell, but you have one or more suspended jobs/programs (in your case emacs which you putted in background using & at the end of your command). The system doesn’t let you to exit from the shell and kill the jobs unless you mean to. You can do a couple of things in response to this message:
- use jobs command to tell you what job(s) you have suspended
- you can choose to add the job(s) in the foreground using fg command
- if you don’t care if the job(s) will terminate, you can just type exit again; typing exit a second time with or without an intervening jobs command will result in the termination of all suspended jobs.
To answer the second question, I will tell you that not Ubuntu or emacs behaving like this. This is a normal behavior when you put an application to run in background. In this case sudo is asking for password, but is asking in background, so you can’t see this fact. To see it, you should bring back the job in foreground using fg command:
radu@Radu: ~ $ sudo emacs tet.c & [1] 7732 radu@Radu: ~ $ # now sudo emacs run in background so you can't see nothing about what's happening radu@Radu: ~ $ fg [sudo] password for radu:
After this you can type Ctrl + Z to put again the job in background if you want. Then you can run again ‘fg’ command to bring back the job in foreground and so on.
How do I find running jobs in Unix?
The most common way to list processes currently running on your system is to use the command ps (short for process status). This command has a lot of options that come in handy when troubleshooting your system. The most used options with ps are a, u and x.
How do I see stopped jobs in Linux?
type jobs –> you will see the jobs with stopped status. and then type exit –> you can get out of the terminal.
…
You can do a couple of things in response to this message:
- use jobs command to tell you what job(s) you have suspended.
- you can choose to add the job(s) in the foreground using fg command.
How do I check if a Linux server is running?
First, open the terminal window and then type:
- uptime command – Tell how long the Linux system has been running.
- w command – Show who is logged on and what they are doing including the uptime of a Linux box.
- top command – Display Linux server processes and display system Uptime in Linux too.
How do I find the process ID in Unix?
How do I get the pid number for particular process on a Linux operating systems using bash shell? The easiest way to find out if process is running is run ps aux command and grep process name. If you got output along with process name/pid, your process is running.
How do I know if Oracle jobs are running?
SELECT job_name, session_id, running_instance, elapsed_time, cpu_used FROM dba_scheduler_running_jobs; Also one can use the following view to find the history details of job that has run.
How can I check my job status?
First, check the job listing, as well as any emails or other contacts you’ve had with the hiring manager or employer. See if any of that correspondence includes information on when you can expect to hear back from the company. If they give you a date, be sure to wait until after that date to follow up.
How do you use disown?
The disown command is a built-in that works with shells like bash and zsh. To use it, you type “disown” followed by the process ID (PID) or the process you want to disown.
How do you stop a Unix job from running?
You can terminate Unix jobs in different ways. A simple way is to bring the job to foreground and terminate it, with control-c for example. If the -2 signal does not work, the process may be blocked or may be executing improperly. In this case, use -1 (SIGHUP), -15 (SIGTERM), and then at last resort -9 (SIGKILL).
How do you quit a job in Linux?
- Use the ps command to get the process id (PID) of the process we want to terminate.
- Issue a kill command for that PID.
- If the process refuses to terminate (i.e., it is ignoring the signal), send increasingly harsh signals until it does terminate.