Use nohup when a noninteractive Linux command must survive your logout or a dropped SSH connection. It makes the command ignore the hangup signal (SIGHUP); add & if you also want your shell prompt back immediately. For predictable unattended work, redirect input, output, and errors explicitly:
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nohup /path/to/command --option value </dev/null >run.log 2>&1 &This protects the process from the terminal hangup, records its output, and runs it asynchronously. It is a lightweight logout-resilience wrapper, not a supervisor: it will not restart a failed process, start it at boot, perform health checks, enforce resource limits, or rotate logs.
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What nohup does
The name means “no hangup.” GNU Coreutils defines nohup as a utility that runs a command with hangup signals ignored so the command can continue after you log out. POSIX requires the utility to set SIGHUP to ignored when it is invoked.
A terminal or SSH session commonly causes a shell and its jobs to receive SIGHUP when the session disappears. A command started through nohup inherits the ignored disposition, so that signal does not terminate it. The command still runs with the permissions, environment, current directory, open files, and resource limits of the launching shell unless you change them separately.
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nohup does not create a service, fork a daemon, detach every file descriptor, or monitor the program. It only changes hangup handling and, when necessary, arranges output handling. Those distinctions determine whether it is appropriate for your job.
Basic syntax
nohup COMMAND [ARG]...Replace COMMAND with an executable path or command name and place its arguments after it. Shell redirections are written outside the command’s argument list:
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nohup "/opt/tools/nightly report" --config "/etc/nightly report.conf" >"$HOME/logs/nightly.log" 2>&1 &Use an absolute executable path when a login shell’s PATH may differ from the interactive environment. The command’s own working directory remains the directory from which you launch it unless the command changes it.
Keep a process running after logout: the reliable procedure
1. Prepare a writable log directory
Choose a location that will remain available after the session ends. In your home directory:
mkdir -p "$HOME/logs"For a shared temporary location, use a directory whose permissions and cleanup policy you understand, such as /var/tmp. The launching user must be able to create or append to the log file. If the directory is missing or unwritable, the command may fail before the workload starts.
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2. Decide what the command should read
An unattended process should not wait for keyboard input. Redirect standard input from /dev/null when no input is expected:
</dev/nullIf the program needs a file, provide that file deliberately instead:
<input.txtPOSIX permits implementations to choose details of terminal standard-input handling. An explicit redirection removes that ambiguity and prevents a background job from unexpectedly waiting on the session.
3. Redirect standard output and standard error
Send normal output to a named file and merge diagnostics into the same file:
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>"$HOME/logs/report.log" 2>&1Use > to truncate or create the file when the shell opens it. Use >> to append instead:
>>"$HOME/logs/report.log" 2>&1The order matters. 2>&1 makes standard error refer to the same open file description currently used by standard output. Put it after the output redirection to merge both streams into that file. If you want separate files, specify both:
>"$HOME/logs/report.out" 2>"$HOME/logs/report.err"4. Add the ampersand for asynchronous execution
Append & after all redirections:
nohup /path/to/command --option value </dev/null >"$HOME/logs/run.log" 2>&1 &The shell starts the protected command as a background job and returns your prompt. Without &, the command is protected from SIGHUP but remains a foreground job, so the shell waits for it to finish. Closing the session may still be safe, but you do not regain the prompt while it runs.
5. Capture the process identifier immediately
In a POSIX-compatible shell, $! expands to the process ID of the most recently started background pipeline or command. Save it while the launching shell is still available:
nohup /path/to/command </dev/null >"$HOME/logs/run.log" 2>&1 &
pid=$!
printf 'Started PID %s
' "$pid"A shell job number such as [1] is not the same as a durable process-management record. Keep the PID, command line, and log path somewhere useful if another operator must inspect the job later.
Where nohup saves output by default
GNU nohup changes output only when the relevant stream is still connected to a terminal. If standard output is a terminal, it appends output to nohup.out in the current directory. If that file cannot be opened, it tries $HOME/nohup.out. If neither location can be opened, the command is not run.
When standard error is a terminal, GNU nohup normally redirects it to the same output descriptor. This can make diagnostics appear in the same nohup.out file as normal output. The exact behavior is implementation-specific outside the GNU and POSIX guarantees, so explicit redirection is preferable for scripts and production jobs.
| Standard-output condition | Result | Operational implication |
|---|---|---|
| Output already redirected by the shell | nohup leaves that destination in place |
You control the path, append/truncate mode, and permissions |
| Output is a terminal and current directory is writable | GNU nohup appends to ./nohup.out |
The file may be easy to overlook or grow without rotation |
./nohup.out cannot be opened |
GNU nohup tries $HOME/nohup.out |
The home filesystem must be writable and have free space |
| Neither fallback file can be opened | The command is not run | Fix permissions, paths, or storage before retrying |
Explicit paths also avoid surprises when you launch from a read-only directory, a transient deployment directory, or an SSH session whose working directory is not what you expected. For example:
mkdir -p "$HOME/logs"
nohup /opt/jobs/export --full </dev/null >"$HOME/logs/export.log" 2>&1 &Do you need an ampersand with nohup?
No, not to ignore SIGHUP. Yes, if you want the shell to continue without waiting.
| Command form | Signal protection | Shell behavior | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
nohup command |
Yes | Foreground; the shell waits | A command you want to protect but observe interactively until it exits |
nohup command & |
Yes | Background; prompt returns | A one-off unattended job over SSH or a terminal |
The ampersand is shell syntax, not an option passed to nohup. Place it after every redirection. If you write it inside quotes or before a redirection, the shell will parse a different command than intended.
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Backgrounding does not guarantee that output is detached. If you leave output connected to a terminal, GNU nohup may place it in nohup.out; another implementation may differ. Redirect all three standard streams when the job must be independent of the session.
Standard input, output, and error: a practical model
Standard input (file descriptor 0)
Interactive programs can block while reading descriptor 0. Use </dev/null for a job that should never prompt, or redirect a known input file. Do not assume a detached process can answer a question that appears on your SSH terminal.
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Use >file for a fresh run or >>file to preserve existing content. Confirm that the filesystem has enough space; a long-running process can fill a partition even when the command itself is healthy.
Standard error (file descriptor 2)
Merge it with output using 2>&1, or keep a separate diagnostic file with 2>error.log. If you redirect only standard output, warnings and failures may still be written somewhere else, including the default nohup.out path when stderr is attached to a terminal.
A complete unattended pattern
nohup /path/to/command --option value
</dev/null
>"$HOME/logs/job.log" 2>&1 &The backslashes continue one shell command across lines. They are optional; use a single line in scripts when that is clearer.
Verify that the job started and is still running
A prompt returning, a job-control message, or a printed PID proves only that the shell launched something. It does not prove that the workload completed successfully. Check the process and its output separately.
Inspect the process table
ps -p "$pid" -o pid=,ppid=,stat=,etime=,cmd=If you did not save the PID, search by a distinctive command fragment:
pgrep -af '/path/to/command'Process searches can match a wrapper, a similarly named command, or no process after a fast exit. Confirm the full command line and elapsed time before taking action.
Follow the log
tail -f "$HOME/logs/job.log"Use tail -n 100 first when you want recent context without following indefinitely:
tail -n 100 "$HOME/logs/job.log"An empty log is not automatically an error: the program may be quiet, buffering output, or have terminated before writing anything. Check the process state and the file’s modification time together.
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Check exit status when possible
For a foreground invocation, the shell’s $? is the exit status returned by nohup. GNU defines special statuses for its own invocation failures and otherwise returns the wrapped command’s status:
| Status | Meaning under GNU nohup | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 125 | nohup itself failed |
Its diagnostics, redirection targets, permissions, and environment |
| 126 | The command was found but could not be invoked | Execute permission, file format, interpreter, and access permissions |
| 127 | The command could not be found | Executable path and the shell’s PATH |
| Any other status | The wrapped command’s status was returned | Consult that program’s documentation and log |
With &, the launching shell immediately reports that it created a background job; it cannot know the eventual workload status at that instant. You need to monitor the process and log, or arrange a separate mechanism to record completion.
Common mistakes and fixes
Omitting & and assuming nohup is asynchronous
Symptom: Your SSH terminal remains occupied even though the command will survive logout.
Fix: Stop and relaunch with a final &, or leave the foreground command running if that is intentional. Do not add the ampersand inside the command’s quoted arguments.
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Symptom: You cannot find the log, output accumulates in an unexpected location, or a filesystem eventually fills.
Fix: Redirect stdout and stderr to a known path, create the directory first, and establish a retention or rotation policy appropriate to the workload. nohup does not rotate logs.
Allowing the job to expect keyboard input
Symptom: The process appears stuck after logout.
Fix: Supply an input file or use </dev/null. Review the program’s noninteractive options so it does not prompt for a password, confirmation, or terminal-only setting.
Writing to an unwritable log path
Symptom: No process remains and the shell reports a redirection or open-file error.
Fix: Test the directory with the same user that will launch the job, verify free space, and use a path such as $HOME/logs/job.log that the user owns. Redirections are opened by the shell before the command executes.
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Symptom: The background job exits immediately with status 127 or a “command not found” message.
Fix: Use an absolute executable path or set the required environment explicitly. A noninteractive shell may have a different PATH from your interactive login.
Using a shell special builtin as the command
GNU documentation says the command operand must not be a shell special built-in utility. Commands such as shell control constructs are handled by the shell rather than as ordinary executables. If you need shell syntax, invoke a shell explicitly and quote the script carefully:
nohup sh -c 'command_one && command_two' </dev/null >"$HOME/logs/sequence.log" 2>&1 &Use this form only when you understand which shell interprets the string and how its quoting works.
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Treating nohup as a restart system
Symptom: The process stops after an application error, machine reboot, administrator action, or resource exhaustion.
Fix: Use a service or job-management system that provides the missing behavior: restart-on-failure, boot integration, health checks, resource controls, dependency ordering, and managed logs. nohup promises none of those features.
Portability and shell differences
A shell may provide its own nohup function or built-in command, which can take precedence over the external utility. The Linux manual page cautions that behavior can therefore depend on the shell and environment. Check what will run before relying on GNU-specific behavior:
command -V nohupFor a script that requires GNU semantics, run it on an environment where GNU Coreutils is present and test the target shell. Avoid assuming that implementation-specific terminal-input behavior, diagnostics, or extensions are portable across Unix-like systems.
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POSIX standardizes the requirement to ignore SIGHUP and defines the nohup.out and $HOME/nohup.out fallback model, while allowing some details—particularly terminal standard-input handling—to vary. Explicitly redirecting stdin, stdout, and stderr is the simplest way to make a script’s behavior predictable.
When nohup is the right tool—and when it is not
| Requirement | nohup | Terminal multiplexer | Service or job manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survive a logout or dropped SSH connection | Yes, for a command that handles its files and signals appropriately | Yes, while the session remains in the multiplexer | Yes |
| Reconnect to an interactive terminal | No | Yes; you can detach and reattach to the session | Usually no interactive terminal by default |
| Restart after failure | No | No automatic restart | Yes, when configured |
| Start automatically at boot | No | No | Yes, when configured |
| Health checks and dependencies | No | No | Available in systems designed for supervision |
| Resource limits and accounting | Only what the launching environment already supplies | Only what the launching environment already supplies | Often available as a first-class feature |
| Managed logging and rotation | No; you choose files and tools | Session output is retained according to the multiplexer | Usually available through the manager or its logging integration |
| Portability for a quick one-off command | High on POSIX-like systems, subject to shell differences | Requires the multiplexer to be installed | Depends on the operating system and manager |
Choose nohup for a one-off, noninteractive task
Use it for work such as a long export, compilation, archive, or data conversion that should continue after you disconnect and does not need a live terminal. Redirect all streams and retain the log path.
Choose a terminal multiplexer for interactive work
If you need to reconnect and continue typing commands, inspect a full-screen interface, or preserve an interactive shell, a multiplexer is a better match. nohup cannot recreate that terminal session.
Choose a service or job manager for durable operations
For a daemon, production workload, boot-time process, or anything that must recover automatically, use the operating system’s service or job-management facilities. Configure restart policy, startup ordering, health checks, resource limits, and log handling there rather than trying to build them around nohup.
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Simple background job with one log
nohup /opt/tools/indexer --rebuild </dev/null >"$HOME/logs/indexer.log" 2>&1 &Append to an existing log
nohup /opt/tools/indexer --incremental </dev/null >>"$HOME/logs/indexer.log" 2>&1 &Separate normal output and errors
nohup /opt/tools/import --source data.csv
</dev/null
>"$HOME/logs/import.out"
2>"$HOME/logs/import.err" &Run a shell sequence
nohup sh -c 'prepare && process && cleanup'
</dev/null
>"$HOME/logs/sequence.log" 2>&1 &Because the sequence is interpreted by sh, quote the script as one argument and ensure each command can run without an interactive prompt.
Final checklist before disconnecting
- The command path and arguments are correct.
- The executable and its dependencies are accessible to the launching user.
- The log directory exists, is writable, and has enough free space.
- Standard input is redirected to a deliberate source, commonly
/dev/null. - Standard output and standard error have explicit destinations.
- The final
&is present when asynchronous execution is required. - You recorded the PID or a distinctive process query.
- You know how to inspect the log and identify a normal completion.
- You do not require automatic restart, boot startup, health checks, resource policy, or log rotation from
nohup.
For a quick, noninteractive Linux job, nohup command </dev/null >log 2>&1 & is the essential pattern: ignore SIGHUP, detach the shell’s wait, and make every data stream explicit. Anything beyond surviving logout belongs in a supervisor or job-management system.
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