exit(2)                       System Calls Manual                      exit(2)

NAME
       exit - terminate the calling thread

LIBRARY
       Standard C library (libc, -lc)

SYNOPSIS
       #include <sys/syscall.h>  /* Definition of SYS_* constants */
       #include <unistd.h>

       [[noreturn]] long syscall(SYS_exit, int status);

DESCRIPTION
       exit() terminates the calling thread.

       By contrast with _exit(3), the exit() system call terminates only the
       calling thread, and actions such as reparenting child processes or
       sending SIGCHLD to the parent process are performed only if this is the
       last thread in the thread group.

RETURN VALUE
       exit() does not return.

STANDARDS
       Linux.

HISTORY
       Linux.

SEE ALSO
       exit_group(2), _exit(3), exit(3), pthread_exit(3)

Linux man-pages 6.19              2026-06-05                           exit(2)