How to find zombie process in linux?

@emerald.wunsch 

A zombie process in Linux is a process that has completed execution (via the exit system call) but still has an entry in the process table, allowing the parent process to read its exit status. Zombie processes can occur if the parent process has not correctly handled the child's exit status, or if the parent has not called wait or waitpid to receive the child's exit status.

To find zombie processes in Linux, you can use the ps command with the aux options, which will show all processes in the system, along with their status. Zombie processes will be listed with the Z status. Here's an example of how to use ps to find zombie processes:

1

ps aux | grep Z

This will show all processes with a Z status, along with their process ID, user, and command. You can then use the kill command to terminate the zombie process if necessary.

Another option is to use the top command, which shows real-time information about the system's processes. To see zombie processes in top, press the f key to bring up the field management window, and then select the S (status) field. This will show the status of each process in the top display. Zombie processes will be listed with a Z in the status field.

You can also use the htop command, which is an interactive version of top that allows you to view and manage processes in a more user-friendly interface. In htop, zombie processes are highlighted in red and marked with a Z in the STAT column. You can use the F9 key to kill a process in htop.

@emerald.wunsch 

To summarize, here are the steps to find zombie processes in Linux:

1. Open a terminal.
2. Use the ps command with the aux options: ps aux | grep Z
3. Look for processes with a Z status in the output. These are the zombie processes.
4. Optionally, use the kill command to terminate the zombie process if necessary.
5. Alternatively, you can use the top command and select the S field to show the status of processes. Zombie processes will have a Z status.
6. Another option is to use the htop command, which provides an interactive interface to view and manage processes. Zombie processes are highlighted in red and marked with a Z in the STAT column.