Remove-Job

Applies To: Windows PowerShell 2.0

Deletes a Windows PowerShell background job.

Syntax

Remove-Job [-Id] <Int32[]> [-Force] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]

Remove-Job [-Command <string[]>] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]

Remove-Job [[-InstanceId] <Guid[]>] [-Force] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]

Remove-Job [-Job] <Job[]> [-Force] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]

Remove-Job [[-Name] <string[]>] [-Force] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]

Remove-Job [-State {<NotStarted> | <Running> | <Completed> | <Failed> | <Stopped> | <Blocked>}] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Remove-Job cmdlet deletes Windows PowerShell background jobs that were started by using Start-Job or the AsJob parameter of any cmdlet.

You can use this cmdlet to delete all jobs or delete selected jobs based on their name, ID, instance ID, command, or state, or by passing a job object to Remove-Job. Without parameters or parameter values, Remove-Job has no effect.

Before deleting a running job, use the Stop-Job cmdlet to stop the job. If you try to delete a running job, the command fails. You can use the Force parameter of Remove-Job to delete a running job.

If you do not delete a background job, the job remains in the global job cache until you close the session in which the job was created.

Parameters

-Command <string[]>

Removes jobs that include the specified words in the command.

-Force

Deletes the job even if the status is "Running". Without the Force parameter, Remove-Job will not delete a running job.

-Id <Int32[]>

Deletes background jobs with the specified IDs.

The ID is an integer that uniquely identifies the job within the current session. It is easier to remember and type than the instance ID, but it is unique only within the current session. You can type one or more IDs (separated by commas). To find the ID of a job, type "Get-Job" without parameters.

-InstanceId <Guid[]>

Deletes jobs with the specified instance IDs.

An instance ID is a GUID that uniquely identifies the job on the computer. To find the instance ID of a job, use Get-Job or display the job object.

-Job <Job[]>

Specifies the jobs to be deleted. Enter a variable that contains the jobs or a command that gets the jobs. You can also use a pipeline operator to submit jobs to the Remove-Job cmdlet.

-Name <string[]>

Deletes only the jobs with the specified friendly names. Wildcards are permitted.

Because the friendly name is not guaranteed to be unique, even within the session, use the WhatIf and Confirm parameters when deleting jobs by name.

-State <JobState>

Deletes only jobs with the specified status. Valid values are NotStarted, Running, Completed, Stopped, Failed, and Blocked. To delete jobs with a status of Running, use the Force parameter.

-Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before executing the command.

-WhatIf

Describes what would happen if you executed the command without actually executing the command.

<CommonParameters>

This command supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug, ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, OutBuffer, OutVariable, WarningAction, and WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.

Inputs and Outputs

The input type is the type of the objects that you can pipe to the cmdlet. The return type is the type of the objects that the cmdlet returns.

Example 1

C:\PS>$batch = get-job -name BatchJob

C:\PS> $batch | remove-job

Description

-----------

These commands delete a background job named BatchJob from the current session. The first command uses the Get-Job cmdlet to get an object representing the job, and then it saves the job in the $batch variable. The second command uses a pipeline operator (|) to send the job to the Remove-Job cmdlet.

This command is equivalent to using the Job parameter of Remove-Job, for example, "remove-job -job $batch".

Example 2

C:\PS>get-job | remove-job

Description

-----------

This command deletes all of the jobs in the current session.

Example 3

C:\PS>remove-job -state NotStarted

Description

-----------

This command deletes all jobs from the current session that have not yet been started.

Example 4

C:\PS>remove-job -name *batch -force

Description

-----------

This command deletes all jobs with friendly names that end with "batch" from the current session, including jobs that are running.

It uses the Name parameter of Remove-Job to specify a job name pattern, and it uses the Force parameter to ensure that all jobs are removed, even those that might be in progress.

Example 5

C:\PS>$j = invoke-command -computername Server01 -scriptblock {get-process} -asJob

C:\PS> $j | remove-job

Description

-----------

This example shows how to use the Remove-Job cmdlet to remove a job that was started on a remote computer by using the AsJob parameter of the Invoke-Command cmdlet.

The first command uses the Invoke-Command cmdlet to run a job on the Server01 computer. It uses the AsJob parameter to run the command as a background job, and it saves the resulting job object in the $j variable.

Because the command used the AsJob parameter, the job object is created on the local computer, even though the job runs on a remote computer. As a result, you use local commands to manage the job.

The second command uses the Remove-Job cmdlet to remove the job. It uses a pipeline operator (|) to send the job in $j to Remove-Job. Note that this is a local command. A remote command is not required to remove a job that was started by using the AsJob parameter.

Example 6

C:\PS>$s = new-pssession -computername Server01

C:\PS> invoke-command -session $s -scriptblock {start-job -scriptblock {get-process} -name MyJob}

C:\PS> invoke-command -session $s -scriptblock {remove-job -name MyJob}

Description

-----------

This example shows how to remove a job that was started by using Invoke-Command to run a Start-Job command. In this case, the job object is created on the remote computer and you use remote commands to manage the job.

The first command uses the New-PSSession cmdlet to create a PSSession (a persistent connection) to the Server01 computer. A persistent connection is required when running a Start-Job command remotely. The command saves the PSSession in the $s variable.

The second command uses the Invoke-Command cmdlet to run a Start-Job command in the PSSession in $s. The job runs a Get-Process command. It uses the Name parameter of Start-Job to specify a friendly name for the job.

The third command uses the Invoke-Command cmdlet to run a Remove-Job command in the PSSession in $s. The command uses the Name parameter of Remove-Job to identify the job to be deleted.

Example 7

C:\PS>$j = start-job -script {get-process powershell}

C:\PS> $j | format-list -property *

C:\PS> remove-job -instanceID dce2ee73-f8c9-483e-bdd7-a549d8687eed

C:\PS> $j = start-job -script {get-process powershell}

C:\PS> $j | format-list -property *

HasMoreData   : False
StatusMessage :
Location      : localhost
Command       : get-process powershell
JobStateInfo  : Failed
Finished      : System.Threading.ManualResetEvent
InstanceId    : dce2ee73-f8c9-483e-bdd7-a549d8687eed
Id            : 1
Name          : Job1
ChildJobs     : {Job2}
Output        : {}
Error         : {}
Progress      : {}
Verbose       : {}
Debug         : {}
Warning       : {}
StateChanged  :

C:\PS> remove-job -instanceID dce2ee73-f8c9-483e-bdd7-a549d8687eed

Description

-----------

This example shows how to remove a job based on its instance ID.

The first command uses the Start-Job cmdlet to start a background job. The command saves the resulting job object in the $j variable.

The second command uses a pipeline operator (|) to send the job object in $j to a Format-List command. The Format-List command uses the Property parameter with a value of * (all) to display all of the properties of the job object in a list.

The job object display shows the values of the ID and InstanceID properties, along with the other properties of the object.

The third command uses a Remove-Job command to remove the job from the current session. To generate the command, you can copy and paste the InstanceID value from the object display.

To copy a value in the Windows PowerShell console, use the mouse to select the value, and then press Enter to copy it. To paste a value, right-click.

See Also

Concepts

about_Jobs
about_Job_Details
about_Remote_Jobs
Start-Job
Get-Job
Receive-Job
Wait-Job
Stop-Job
Invoke-Command