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TL;DR

timeout

Run a command with a time limit. More information: https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/timeout.

  • Run sleep 10 and terminate it after 3 seconds:

timeout 3s sleep 10

  • Send a [s]ignal to the command after the time limit expires (TERM by default, kill -l to list all signals):

timeout --signal INT|HUP|KILL|... 5s sleep 10

  • Send [v]erbose output to stderr showing signal sent upon timeout:

timeout --verbose 0.5s|1m|1h|1d|... command

  • Preserve the exit status of the command regardless of timing out:

timeout --preserve-status 1s|1m|1h|1d|... command

  • Send a forceful KILL signal after certain duration if the command ignores initial signal upon timeout:

timeout --kill-after=5m 30s command

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