What Is a Subreaper Process in Linux?
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What is Subreaper process?

A subreaper fulfills the role of init(1) for its descendant processes. When a process becomes orphaned (i.e., its immediate parent terminates) then that process will be reparented to the nearest still living ancestor subreaper.

What causes a defunct process on the Linux system?

Defunct processes may also be known as “zombie” processes. They do not use any system resources – CPU, memory etc. … The reason a user may see such entries in the operating system’s process table, is simply because the parent process has not read the status of the process.

Sarah Jenkins

Sarah Jenkins

Senior Technology Editor & AI Specialist

Sarah Jenkins is a veteran tech journalist with over 12 years of experience covering artificial intelligence, mobile innovations, and digital ethics. Her insights have appeared in leading technology publications worldwide.

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