---
name: "nice"
section: "3"
platform: "macos"
package: "Libc"
version: "1752.120.2"
release: "macOS 26.5"
platforms: ["freebsd", "macos"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/nice/3"
---

# nice(3)

set program scheduling priority

## NAME

**nice** – set program scheduling priority

## LIBRARY

Standard C Library (libc, -lc)

## SYNOPSIS

**#include \<unistd.h\>**

*int*\

**nice**(*int incr*);

## DESCRIPTION

This interface is obsoleted by [setpriority(2)](/setpriority/2.md).

The **nice**() function obtains the scheduling priority of the process from the system and sets it to the priority value specified in *incr*. The priority is a value in the range -20 to 20. The default priority is 0; lower priorities cause more favorable scheduling. Only the super-user may lower priorities.

Children inherit the priority of their parent processes via [fork(2)](/fork/2.md).

## SEE ALSO

[nice(1)](/nice/1.md), [fork(2)](/fork/2.md), [setpriority(2)](/setpriority/2.md), [renice(8)](/renice/8.md)

## HISTORY

A **nice**() syscall appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.