self-terminate

Self-Terminate Skill

This skill enables Claude to gracefully terminate its own session by sending a SIGINT signal to its process.

When to Use This Skill

• When the user explicitly asks Claude to exit or terminate
• When Claude needs to restart with a fresh session (e.g., after configuration changes)
• When running Claude Code Web and you make a change that requires a session restart
• When testing process management or signal handling

Automatic Git State Validation

This plugin includes a PreToolUse hook that automatically validates git state before termination:

✅ Automatically checks:

1. No uncommitted changes (staged or unstaged)
2. No unpushed commits
3. No untracked files

❌ Blocks termination if:

• Working directory is dirty
• Commits haven't been pushed
• Untracked files exist

The hook provides clear error messages explaining what needs to be resolved before termination can proceed.

How It Works

Claude runs as a process that spawns shell subprocesses for Bash commands. The parent PID ($PPID) of any spawned shell is the Claude process itself.

Sending SIGINT (signal 2) to the Claude process triggers a graceful shutdown, similar to pressing Ctrl+C.

Quick Method: Use the Script

The easiest way is to execute the provided script:

/path/to/plugins/self-terminate/bin/self-terminate.sh

Or if the plugin is installed:

~/.claude/plugins/self-terminate/bin/self-terminate.sh

Manual Method

If the script is unavailable, Claude can terminate itself manually:

Step 1: Identify the Claude Process

echo "Shell PID: $$"
echo "Claude PID (parent): $PPID"
ps -o pid,ppid,comm -p $$ -p $PPID

Step 2: Verify It's Claude

ps -o comm= -p $PPID

This should output claude or similar.

Step 3: Send SIGINT

kill -INT $PPID

Process Tree Context

A typical Claude Code process tree looks like:

iTerm/Terminal
└── shell (user's interactive shell)
    └── claude (PID: XXXXX)  ← Target this
        └── /bin/zsh (spawned for Bash commands)
            └── (your command)

Safety Notes

• SIGINT causes graceful termination - Claude can clean up
• SIGTERM also works for graceful shutdown
• SIGKILL (-9) should be avoided - no cleanup opportunity
• The script verifies the parent is actually Claude before sending the signal

What Happens After

After termination:

1. The Claude session ends immediately
2. Any in-progress work is interrupted
3. The user returns to their shell
4. A new session can be started with claude

Troubleshooting

Script says parent is not Claude: You may be running in a nested shell or different environment. Check pstree -p $$ to see the full process tree.

Signal ignored: Some environments may mask signals. Try kill -TERM $PPID as an alternative.

Stop Hooks (Claude Code Web)

In Claude Code Web environments, stop hooks may validate state before shutdown:

• Checks for uncommitted changes
• Checks for untracked files
• Checks for unpushed commits
• Blocks shutdown (exit 2) if validation fails
• Allows shutdown (exit 0) if clean

Example stop hook location: ~/.claude/stop-hook-git-check.sh

Environment Detection

Environment Variable	Purpose
CLAUDE_CODE_REMOTE	Set to "true" in Claude Code Web
CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR	Repository root (available in hooks)
CLAUDE_CODE_SESSION_ID	Current session UUID

Alternative Methods (Claude Code Web Only)

For Claude Code Web sessions, you can also terminate by:

1. Idle timeout - Stop sending messages and wait for auto-shutdown
2. Close browser tab - Session terminates gracefully
3. UI controls - Use session management UI if available