Linux shutdown: commands for shutting down and restarting Linux (2024)

FAQs

Linux shutdown: commands for shutting down and restarting Linux? ›

Command for restarting Linux immediately

To reboot or shut down a Linux machine, we'll often use the systemctl (system control) command. Some commands require system administrator privileges. The root user has such privileges. So we can reboot a machine by simply typing systemctl reboot .

The most straightforward way to reboot a Linux system from the command line is by using the sudo reboot command. This command will immediately restart your system. In this example, we use the sudo reboot command to initiate an immediate system reboot.

You can also use the systemctl command to shut down the system. For example, type systemctl halt or systemctl poweroff to achieve similar results to the shutdown command.

To shut down the system from a terminal session, sign in or "su" to the "root" account. Then type ``/sbin/shutdown -r now''. It may take several moments for all processes to be terminated, and then Linux will shut down. The computer will reboot itself.

Both ` reboot` and ` shutdown -r now` commands can be used to reboot the system immediately. However, ` shutdown -r now` provides additional options for scheduling reboots in the future or sending warning messages to users before rebooting.

You can also restart your PC from Ctrl+Alt+Del, or with the shutdown /r command.

A graceful shutdown is when a computer is turned off by software function and the operating system (OS) is allowed to perform its tasks of safely shutting down processes and closing connections. A hard shutdown is when the computer is forcibly shut down by interruption of power.

/r—the local or remote computer is restarted. /p—powers off the computer after the shutdown completes. /f—forces all running programs to close without warning.

The most straightforward way to use the shutdown command to reboot a Linux system is the following. All you need to do is use “ sudo “, followed by “ shutdown “, and finally the “ -r ” option. Using the shutdown command this way the system will schedule a restart 1 minute from when you ran the command.

How to check shutdown status in Linux? ›

In this article, we've explored two different approaches for checking the scheduled time of a delayed shutdown in Linux. The first method involves inspecting the /run/systemd/shutdown/scheduled file, while the second approach uses busctl to retrieve the necessary timestamp for the scheduled shutdown.

There is no Shutdown log as such. Once the local files system is shutdown no further log entries are saved. What there is will most likely be found in /var/log/kernel. log or /var/log/syslog .

Use who command to find last system reboot time/date

The last command searches back through the file /var/log/wtmp and displays a list of all users logged in (and out) since that file was created. The pseudo user reboot logs in each time the system is rebooted.

Use reboot button

The reboot button is, of course, the easiest and quickest method to reboot Ubuntu. The 'Power Off / log Out' option may be found by clicking on the top right corner of your Ubuntu-powered device. Click on this option and find the Power Off option at the end of the list.

A restart and reboot are the same thing… the computer shouts down and then restarts/reboots (same-same) without user intervention. What is the difference between logging out and restarting in Ubuntu (16.04)? Logging out basically means that you get out from your user account.