disown:tldr:b6c0e

The disown -a command is a command used in Unix-like operating systems, such as Linux. It is used to disown all active (running) background processes from the current shell session.

When a command or process is started, it typically runs in the foreground, meaning it ties up the terminal and waits for its completion before returning control to the user. However, when a command is run with an ampersand (&) at the end, it runs in the background, allowing the user to continue using the terminal.

The disown command detaches a running job from the current shell, meaning it no longer depends on the shell and can continue running even after the shell session is terminated. By default, the disown command only affects the most recently active job.

The -a option with the disown command is used to disown all background processes, rather than just the most recently active one. So, when you execute disown -a, all background jobs running in the current shell session are disowned, and they will continue executing even if you close the terminal.

This command can be useful when you have started multiple processes in the background and want them to continue running even after logging out of the current shell session.