NAME

       xkill - kill a client by its X resource

SYNOPSIS

       xkill [-display displayname] [-id resource] [-button number] [-frame] [-all] [-version]

DESCRIPTION

       Xkill  is  a  utility  for  forcing  the  X server to close connections to clients.  This program is very
       dangerous, but is useful for aborting programs that have displayed undesired windows on a user's  screen.
       If no resource identifier is given with -id, xkill will display a special cursor as a prompt for the user
       to select a window to be killed.  If a pointer button is pressed over a non-root window, the server  will
       close its connection to the client that created the window.

OPTIONS

       -display displayname
               This option specifies the name of the X server to contact.

       -id resource
               This  option  specifies  the X identifier for the resource whose creator is to be aborted.  If no
               resource is specified, xkill will display a special cursor with which you should select a  window
               to be kill.

       -button number
               This  option  specifies the number of pointer button that should be used in selecting a window to
               kill.  If the word "any" is specified, any button on the pointer may be used.   By  default,  the
               first button in the pointer map (which is usually the leftmost button) is used.

       -all    This  option  indicates  that  all clients with top-level windows on the screen should be killed.
               Xkill will ask you to select the root window with each of the currently defined buttons  to  give
               you several chances to abort.  Use of this option is highly discouraged.

       -frame  This  option  indicates  that  xkill should ignore the standard conventions for finding top-level
               client windows (which are typically nested inside a window manager window),  and  simply  believe
               that you want to kill direct children of the root.

       -version
               This option makes xkill print its version and exit without killing anything.

CAVEATS

       This  command  does  not  provide  any  warranty that the application whose connection to the X server is
       closed will abort nicely, or even abort at all. All this command does is to close the connection to the X
       server.  Many  existing applications do indeed abort when their connection to the X server is closed, but
       some can choose to continue.

XDEFAULTS

       Button  Specifies a specific pointer button number or the word "any" to use when selecting windows.

SEE ALSO

       X(7), xwininfo(1), XKillClient(3), XGetPointerMapping(3), KillClient in the X Protocol Specification

AUTHOR

       Jim Fulton, MIT X Consortium
       Dana Chee, Bellcore