Linux bg Guide

⏸ Linux bg Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to bg on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including sending jobs to background, job control, and background process management.

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Table of Contents

1. Understanding bg
2. bg Basics
3. Sending to Background
4. Job Control
5. Troubleshooting

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Understanding bg

What is bg?

bg (background) sends jobs to background.

Uses:

• Background job: Send job to background
• Job control: Control jobs
• Process management: Manage processes
• Continue stopped: Resume stopped jobs

Why it matters:

• Job control: Control background jobs
• Multitasking: Run multiple jobs
• Process management: Manage processes

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⏸ bg Basics

Send to Background

Basic usage:

# Send job to background
bg

# Sends most recent stopped job

Specific Job

Job number:

# Send specific job
bg %1

# Or
bg 1

# %1 = job number 1

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Sending to Background

Resume Stopped

Resume in background:

# Resume stopped job in background
bg %1

# Continues job in background

Start Background

Start in background:

# Start command in background
command &

# Automatically runs in background

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Job Control

Job Numbers

Reference jobs:

# Job numbers
bg %1    # Job 1
bg %2    # Job 2
bg %+    # Most recent
bg %-    # Previous job

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Troubleshooting

No Such Job

Check jobs:

# List jobs first
jobs

# Verify job number exists

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Summary

This guide covered bg usage, job control, and background process management for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions.

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Next Steps

• fg Guide - Foreground jobs
• jobs Guide - List jobs
• nohup Guide - Detached jobs
• bg Documentation: man bg

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This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.