MPI_ABORT(3)

💅 MPI_ABORT(3) — Open MPI

okay bestie, welcome to the MPI_ABORT(3) page from the Open MPI crew 💖 this is THE panic button of the MPI world and honestly? it's giving dramatic exit. let's go 🦋

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✨ NAME ✨

MPI_Abort — Terminates MPI execution environment. (yes. the WHOLE thing. we'll get to that.) 💀

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🌸 SYNTAX 🌸

C Syntax

#include <mpi.h>

int MPI_Abort(MPI_Comm comm, int errorcode)

Fortran Syntax

USE MPI
! or the older form: INCLUDE 'mpif.h'
MPI_ABORT(COMM, ERRORCODE, IERROR)
     INTEGER         COMM, ERRORCODE, IERROR

Fortran 2008 Syntax

USE mpi_f08
MPI_Abort(comm, errorcode, ierror)
     TYPE(MPI_Comm), INTENT(IN) :: comm
     INTEGER, INTENT(IN) :: errorcode
     INTEGER, OPTIONAL, INTENT(OUT) :: ierror

look at her, three whole languages, she's multilingual and iconic for it 💅✨

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🎀 INPUT PARAMETERS 🎀

• comm — Communicator of tasks to abort. like, the friend group you're dragging down with you bestie 🫶
• errorcode — Error code to return to invoking environment. your little note to the outside world 📝

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🦋 OUTPUT PARAMETER 🦋

• ierror — Fortran only: Error status (integer). for the Fortran girlies only ✨

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🔥 DESCRIPTION 🔥

so this routine makes a "best attempt" to abort all tasks in the group of comm. and no, she does not require that the invoking environment take any action with the error code. like, the environment can just... not. rude but valid 🙈

that said — a UNIX or POSIX environment should handle this as a return errorcode from the main program or an abort (errorcode). should, bestie. we can only ask so nicely.

the long-term goal of the Open MPI implementation is to terminate all processes in all tasks that contain a process in comm, and the error code is not returned to the invoking environment. but at the moment, this isn't fully implemented and MPI_Abort will terminate the entire job. 😭 so like, plan accordingly fr fr

Note: All associated processes are sent a SIGTERM. everyone's getting the signal, no cap 💀

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👑 ERRORS 👑

almost all MPI routines return an error value; C routines as the return result of the function and Fortran routines in the last argument. classic.

before the error value is returned, the current MPI error handler associated with the communication object (e.g., communicator, window, file) is called. if no communication object is associated with the MPI call, then the call is considered attached to MPI_COMM_SELF and will call the associated MPI error handler. when MPI_COMM_SELF is not initialized (i.e., before MPI_Init <#mpi-init>/MPI_Init_thread <#mpi-init-thread>, after MPI_Finalize <#mpi-finalize>, or when using the Sessions Model exclusively) the error raises the initial error handler. the initial error handler can be changed by calling MPI_Comm_set_errhandler <#mpi-comm-set-errhandler> on MPI_COMM_SELF when using the World model, or the mpi_initial_errhandler CLI argument to mpiexec or info key to MPI_Comm_spawn <#mpi-comm-spawn>/MPI_Comm_spawn_multiple <#mpi-comm-spawn-multiple>. if no other appropriate error handler has been set, then the MPI_ERRORS_RETURN error handler is called for MPI I/O functions and the MPI_ERRORS_ABORT error handler is called for all other MPI functions. phew. got all that? 🧚

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🌈 Open MPI includes three predefined error handlers that can be used:

• MPI_ERRORS_ARE_FATAL — Causes the program to abort all connected MPI processes. everyone. connected. gone. 💀
• MPI_ERRORS_ABORT — An error handler that can be invoked on a communicator, window, file, or session. When called on a communicator, it acts as if MPI_Abort was called on that communicator. If called on a window or file, acts as if MPI_Abort was called on a communicator containing the group of processes in the corresponding window or file. If called on a session, aborts only the local process. (<- the one chill version, kind of)
• MPI_ERRORS_RETURN — Returns an error code to the application. the "we'll handle it ourselves" option, very independent of her 💅

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🌸 MPI applications can also implement their own error handlers by calling:

• MPI_Comm_create_errhandler <#mpi-comm-create-errhandler> then MPI_Comm_set_errhandler <#mpi-comm-set-errhandler>
• MPI_File_create_errhandler <#mpi-file-create-errhandler> then MPI_File_set_errhandler <#mpi-file-set-errhandler>
• MPI_Session_create_errhandler <#mpi-session-create-errhandler> then MPI_Session_set_errhandler <#mpi-session-set-errhandler> or at MPI_Session_init <#mpi-session-init>
• MPI_Win_create_errhandler <#mpi-win-create-errhandler> then MPI_Win_set_errhandler <#mpi-win-set-errhandler>

note that MPI does not guarantee that an MPI program can continue past an error. so, like, don't count on it bestie 😭

see the MPI man page <#open-mpi> for a full list of MPI error codes <#open-mpi-errors>.

see the Error Handling section of the MPI-3.1 standard for more information. 📚

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💜 Copyright 💜

2003-2026, The Open MPI Community

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and that's the whole page, babe 🫶 this was MPI_ABORT(3) from Open MPI, dated Sep 10, 2026, and honestly she ate. go forth and abort responsibly — or don't, but the SIGTERM is coming either way 💅🌸✨