Kill OS Processes and Docker Containers

VerifiedCaution

Terminates OS processes or Docker containers by PID, name, or container ID. Useful for freeing blocked ports, killing resource-heavy processes, or stopping lingering containers. Supports both graceful stop and force kill.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentIntermediate
406/2/2026
Claude CodeCursorWindsurf
#process-management#docker#troubleshooting#port-management

Recommended for

Our review

Terminates OS processes or Docker containers by PID, name, or container ID.

Strengths

  • Quickly frees blocked ports.
  • Handles both system processes and Docker containers.
  • Offers graceful and force termination options.

Limitations

  • Requires appropriate permissions for some system processes.
  • Can be dangerous if used without verification.
  • Does not cover other environments like Kubernetes pods.
When to use it

When a process or container blocks a port, consumes too many resources, or becomes unresponsive.

When not to use it

For fine-grained process management that requires dependency analysis or scheduled shutdown.

Security analysis

Caution
Quality score88/100

The skill grants the AI agent the ability to forcefully terminate processes and containers. While legitimate for development and system administration, these commands are powerful and could disrupt system stability if misapplied. The skill includes safety notes but the risk remains.

Findings
  • Provides direct access to kill and pkill with wildcard, which could be used to terminate critical system processes if misused.
  • Docker stop/kill can terminate containers that may be running important services.

Examples

Kill a process by PID
/kill 12345
Kill processes by name
/kill node
Free up a blocked port
/kill port 3000

name: kill description: Terminate OS processes or Docker containers by PID, name, or container ID allowed-tools:

  • Bash(kill *)
  • Bash(pkill *)
  • Bash(docker stop *)
  • Bash(docker kill *)
  • Bash(lsof *)
  • Bash(ps *)

Kill Skill

Terminate processes or Docker containers that are blocking ports, consuming resources, or otherwise interfering with development. Like a strike to a vital pressure point, this skill removes obstacles with clinical efficiency.

Capabilities

OS Process Management

  • Kill by PID: Terminate processes by PID: kill <pid> or kill -9 <pid> for force kill.
  • Kill by Name: Terminate processes by name: pkill <name> or pkill -9 <name> for force kill.
  • Find Port Owners: Find processes using a specific port: lsof -i :<port>.
  • List Processes: List running processes: ps aux or ps aux | grep <pattern>.

Docker Container Management

  • Stop Containers: Stop containers gracefully: docker stop <container>.
  • Kill Containers: Force kill containers: docker kill <container>.
  • List Containers: List running containers with docker ps to identify targets.

Usage Examples

Kill a process by PID:

/kill 12345

Kill processes by name (Area Sweep):

/kill node

Free up a blocked port (Free the Chi):

/kill port 3000

Stop a Docker container:

/kill container my-app

Safety Notes

  • Always attempt graceful termination before force kill.
  • Verify the target process/container before termination.
  • Be cautious with system processes. A true master knows which targets to avoid.
Related skills