[HOW TO] kill any process immediately

Tutorials & Guides
1

Zorin OS should come with xkill already installed. However, if you need to install it for whatever reason:

sudo apt install xorg-xkill

Now that you have it, you can ensure you have fast access to it for those times of need.
Zorin OS Lite:
Open the App Menu and navigate to Settings > Keyboard
On the Keyboard settings manager window that opens, select the tab Application Shortcuts.
On the Bottom Toolbar, click the Add button.
In the entry of the popover window, input xkill
Click the "OK" button.
Now a new Pop Over window will appear that asks you to press the Shortcut you want to use. I prefer ctrl+alt+k
Once done, it is all set up.
If you do not get the popover window for the keyboard shortcut- click the 'xkill' entry listed in the shortcuts and click edit on the bottom toolbar.

In Zorin OS Core (Or other Gnome D.E.):
https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubuntu-help/keyboard-shortcuts-set.html.en

It's that easy. Now, if a misbehaving app needs the axe, hit ctrl_alt_k on the keyboard, then Click the Window of the process you need killed. It's gone.

3 Likes
2

Hello, @Aravisian!

I was trying to intall that aplication, but after I typed it:

This error message was displayed:

E: Unable to find xorg-xkill package

What should I do?

Greetings,

jonatas.rocha

2 Likes
3

It really should already be installed. Create the shortcut with the command and test on a blank Text editor or something.

Otherwise, if the above command is returning that error, please try:

sudo apt-get install x11-utils

1 Like
4

I was so excited to install and use that on POP OS 21.04, but I discovered its not in the repo. I'm not sure if Zorin OS 16 operates the same way, but I did discover if an app is misbehaving, I can close it by holding down ALT and hitting F2. Still an awesome post though!

1 Like
5

xkill in terminal then tap with a mouse on the app you would like to terminate

1 Like
6

You can also bind the xkill command to your keys on the keyboard. CTRL + ESC is mine

Schermafdruk van 2025-01-06 19-42-43
Schermafdruk van 2025-01-06 19-42-43990×700 29.7 KB

1 Like
7

Zorin Pro. I'm trying to set this up, but can't get it to work. If I put xkill into Terminal, I get this

Screenshot from 2025-02-01 09-36-55
Screenshot from 2025-02-01 09-36-55779×179 6.56 KB
.

What do I need to do?

8

If you want to use the xkill command why did you write kill in the terminal ?.

1 Like
9

When you login are you choosing Zorin on xorg or Wayland. Xkill won't work with Wayland. When you select your username at logon, the password field becomes visible as does a cog lower right. Click on the cog and you will see two options, Wayland and Zorin on xorg. The one currently selected will have a dot to the left of it. Once you have changed to xorg it will hold that choice on every boot.

1 Like
10

mmmm i had an app freeze up on me once or twice , forgot about xkill lol
got it setup now works great. thanks for reminding me
i setup keyboard shortcut ctrl+alt+k
but i saw then ctrl+alt+esc was already setup by default

11

Something I read said this was how to test it worked, or why it wasn't working in my case

12

Are you in Wayland or xorg?

1 Like
13

I used to get a thing saying a choice of Zorin or something ending in xorg on login, but I had no idea what it was and it seems to have disappeared now..
Found it again - bottom right corner - it only appears when I go to the Pasword screen. It gives Zorin Desktop or Zorin Desktop on xorg - I'm on Zorin

14

Open a terminal and enter:

echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE

and post back the results.

1 Like
15

Wayland

16

So I should be on org?

17

yes
and the command in terminal is

xkill

, not

kill

18

Ah. Now I understand why @anon96359095 asked me why I'd typed kill!

Why do they give two options and not explain it?

19

Are you talking about Wayland and xorg?

20

Yes, and why is Zorin called Wayland?