WAIT(1) fish-shell WAIT(1)

# [NAME](#NAME)

wait - wait for jobs to complete

# [SYNOPSIS](#SYNOPSIS)

```
wait [-n | --any] [PID | PROCESS_NAME] ...
```

# [DESCRIPTION](#DESCRIPTION)

NOTE: This page documents the fish builtin **wait**. To see the documentation on any non-fish versions, use **command man wait**.

**wait** waits for child jobs to complete.

If a *PID* is specified, the command waits for the job that the process with that process ID belongs to.

If a *PROCESS\_NAME* is specified, the command waits for the jobs that the matched processes belong to.

If neither a pid nor a process name is specified, the command waits for all background jobs.

If the **-n** or **--any** flag is provided, the command returns as soon as the first job completes. If it is not provided, it returns after all jobs complete.

The **-h** or **--help** option displays help about using this command.

# [EXAMPLE](#EXAMPLE)

```
sleep 10 &
wait $last_pid
```

spawns **sleep** in the background, and then waits until it finishes.

```
for i in (seq 1 5); sleep 10 &; end
wait
```

spawns five jobs in the background, and then waits until all of them finish.

```
for i in (seq 1 5); sleep 10 &; end
hoge &
wait sleep
```

spawns five **sleep** jobs and **hoge** in the background, and then waits until all **sleep**s finish, and doesn't wait for **hoge**.

# [Copyright](#Copyright)

fish-shell developers

October 10, 2026 4.9

---

Document: wait(1) from fish 4.9.3-r1 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://github.com/fish-shell/fish-shell