topic Re: How to kill a notebook process in ArcGIS Pro Questions

How to kill a notebook process

ChrisCowin — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 20:50:30 GMT

I've tried everything I can think of to kill a running notebook that is stuck in a loop and nothing works. The Interrupt Kernel button is always grayed out, tried restarting the kernel through the command prompt (P Key) but this doesnt seem to do anything either. The only way I've figured out how to stop the process is to kill the entire application in task manager.

Re: How to kill a notebook process

jcarlson — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 21:10:12 GMT

In the task manager, can you see and kill the python process specifically? Still not a pretty solution, but perhaps better than killing the entire application.

Re: How to kill a notebook process

ChrisCowin — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 21:22:42 GMT

Also gave this a shot, but it doesn't work. The process doesn't stop the loop.

Re: How to kill a notebook process

DanPatterson — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 22:06:22 GMT

esc P

does it look like this?

Re: How to kill a notebook process

ChrisCowin — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 16:35:19 GMT

@DanPatterson, Yeah I tried the "confirm restart kernel" and on the notebook it seemed like it stopped but the code was still selecting features after it was restarted.

Re: How to kill a notebook process

FFollett — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 23:56:59 GMT

Chris, did you ever figure this issue out? I've got similar behavior. My interrupt kernel button is always greyed out when the kernel is busy. I've tried using the keyboard shortcut (I, I) as Dan recommended, and this does get rid of the asterisk next to a cell denoting that it's running, but the kernel itself doesn't stop, meaning I still can't run any other cells.

Re: How to kill a notebook process

RBCopland — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 18:18:57 GMT

I have been checking this thread for a while and it seems there is still no solution?

Re: How to kill a notebook process

KeithDesertspring — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 02:05:25 GMT

Can confirm this is still an issue as of 3.1. Up late on a Sunday night waiting for it to unfreeze.

Re: How to kill a notebook process

B_Brooks — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 14:14:30 GMT

This might not be the solution you are looking for, but if you use the menu "Cell > Current Outputs > Clear" it interrupts the current process and resets the in-progress marker to ready to run again.

Re: How to kill a notebook process

B_Brooks — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 14:50:48 GMT

There is also the interrupt Kernel button in the ribbon. I think this is even more effective and cutting off the process.

Re: How to kill a notebook process

edward33 — Fri, 24 May 2024 17:17:45 GMT

In the notebook tab in the top banner you can click "interrupt kernel". I've done this a few times with success, unless ArcPro isn't responding at all, then I find this button can be greyed out.

Re: How to kill a notebook process

EugeneSosnin_GSI — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 20:59:01 GMT

You could run a command in CMD:

Taskkill /IM ArcGISPro.exe /F

It will instantly close ArcGIS PRO, with running Python too. You could save Notebook and Project when script is running, and then run the command.

Re: How to kill a notebook process

HenriBrillon — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 07:05:10 GMT

I am still experiencing this instability. Can we expect Esri to introduce reliable interrupt kernel functionality soon?

Re: How to kill a notebook process

chris_del101 — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 21:21:33 GMT

Me too. I run a notebook and it freezes and there is no way to unfreeze. Open and closing an application is not a legitimate solution to this problem.

Interrupt kernel button is greyed out. Ending task does not work.

Re: How to kill a notebook process

Kopczyknj_CDMSmith — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 14:40:09 GMT

Running 3.4.0 still a problem for me. For those screenshotting the ribbon, here is what it looks like no matter which window you have active during the process.

Re: How to kill a notebook process

Kopczyknj_CDMSmith — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 15:06:18 GMT

OK, I made a little headway troubleshooting. For me, I was copy/pasting paths from the catalog tab over to the python window. I noticed if I did the path copy/paste from a text file that I create before running the script and NOT the catalog window (while the script was running) I was able to maintain the Kernel interruption option. I'm sure this has something to do with lock file management but maybe it will help others.

Re: How to kill a notebook process

JeffKaplan_Boston — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 15:07:52 GMT

2025, and I am running into this issue as well. I am trying to write a notebook script that iterates through around 500 features with a searchcursor, and had to use task manager to end an accidental infinite loop.

The Interrupt Kernel button is greyed out for the whole time and the shortcut command doesn't do anything.

I am working in ArcGIS Pro 3.3, it would be great to know if this is an active bug, has been fixed in a later release, or is something Esri is looking into.

Re: How to kill a notebook process

Melissa_B — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 21:35:31 GMT

2025 and running ArcGIS Pro 3.5.2 - the interrupt kernel button is still greyed out during certain operations requiring Task Manager to end the process for the whole project. I've gotten into the habit of testing all my loops with a break at the end so I can evaluate the first result before setting it loose completely. It would still be nice to be able to stop the occasional accidental infinite loop or unexpectedly long process though. Did come across this bug in searching for a solution though: https://support.esri.com/en-us/bug/when-using-arcgis-notebooks-in-arcgis-pro-interrupting-bug-000132278 Since the interrupt kernel button is in the ribbon, maybe the issue is related?

Re: How to kill a notebook process

OscarFitzpatrick — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 11:43:34 GMT

Running 3.5.0, and still experiencing this issue in almost 2026! (Happy 4 year anniversary of this post 🙂)

Re: How to kill a notebook process

JorgeAntunes — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 22:19:16 GMT

This is obviously not the desired solution and it's a bit ridiculous, but... it works.

While running an infinite while loop script in ArcGIS Pro, the only solution I came up with for stopping the script was creating a specific file in a specific folder and having the script check for its presence during the loop. If the file is present, the script halts.

I tried all the tips here and elsewhere without success. The thing is, the UI doesn't respond to any interaction during the script execution besides panning and zooming the map. So this is what I came up with, and although it is not perfect, it's way better than terminating the application—which, by the way, sometimes isn't even possible without forcing it via the Task Manager.

To make it a little more practical, I have a simple batch file in the same folder that creates the OINK.txt file, which I just double-click to stop the Python script. Other dynamics could be used to address this, just make sure you trigger the specific file that halts the script, or... wait for ESRI to fix this UI blocking issue.

import os import time # --- Setup Kill Switch (OINK) --- # Gets the current directory where the script is running current_folder = os.getcwd() kill_file = os.path.join(current_folder, "OINK.txt") # Clean up the file from previous runs, if it exists if os.path.exists(kill_file): try: os.remove(kill_file) except Exception: pass print(f"[SYSTEM] Process started.") print(f"To gracefully stop the script, create an empty file named 'OINK.txt' in:") print(f"-> {current_folder}\n") # --- Execution --- elapsed_seconds = 0 interval_seconds = 3 try: while True: # 1. Main task execution (e.g., printing the timer) print(f"Running... {elapsed_seconds} seconds have passed.") elapsed_seconds += interval_seconds # 2. The Kill Switch Logic # Breaks down the wait time into 1-second chunks to check for the file frequently stop_requested = False for _ in range(interval_seconds): if os.path.exists(kill_file): stop_requested = True break time.sleep(1) # 3. Break the infinite loop if the file is detected if stop_requested: print("\n[SYSTEM] OINK file detected! Executing ridiculous aborting operation...") break # 4. Clean exit and remove the trigger file if os.path.exists(kill_file): try: os.remove(kill_file) except Exception: pass print("[SYSTEM] Script terminated safely.") except KeyboardInterrupt: print("\n[SYSTEM] Forced stop via keyboard (Ctrl+C).")