Windows Taskkill Command Guide | Generated by AI
In Windows, taskkill is a built-in command-line tool you can use to stop (kill) processes by their process ID (PID) or image name (executable name).
Basic Syntax
taskkill /PID <process_id> [/F]
taskkill /IM <image_name> [/F]
/PID <process_id>→ Kill by process ID./IM <image_name>→ Kill by process name (e.g.,notepad.exe)./F→ Forcefully terminate the process./T→ Kill the specified process and all child processes.
Examples
- Kill a process by PID:
taskkill /PID 1234
This will try to stop the process with PID 1234.
- Force kill a process by PID:
taskkill /PID 1234 /F
- Kill a process by name:
taskkill /IM notepad.exe
- Force kill by name:
taskkill /IM notepad.exe /F
- Kill a process and its children:
taskkill /IM cmd.exe /T /F
Finding the PID
If you don’t know the PID:
tasklist
This lists all running processes with their PIDs. You can then use taskkill /PID on the right one.
⚠️ Notes
- Some system processes can’t be killed.
- You may need to run Command Prompt as Administrator to terminate protected processes.
Do you want me to also show you how to combine tasklist and taskkill in one command (e.g., kill all processes matching a name automatically)?