How to Shut Down Ubuntu

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By Oluwaseun Bamisile

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Do you want to learn various methods to shut down your Ubuntu system? You have arrived at the right place as this guide teaches numerous ways to shut down Ubuntu.

Option 1: Shut Down Through the GUI

One of the quickest ways to turn off your Ubuntu system is through the GUI (Graphical User Interface). In order to accomplish that, observe the following procedures and screenshots below.

  1. Click the quick access menu at the top right corner of the Ubuntu desktop.
  1. Following that, select Power Off/Log Out from the options that appear.
Shut Down Ubuntu Through The GUI
  1. Under Power Off/Log Out, click Power Off….
  1. Accordingly, you will receive a prompt with a 60 seconds countdown for your Ubuntu system to automatically shut down. If you want to turn off your Ubuntu system instantly, select the Power Off option in the prompt.
Shut Down Ubuntu Through The GUI

Option 2: Power Off Using the Search Feature

Interestingly, you can also turn off your Ubuntu system using the search feature. Follow the procedures below to learn how to achieve that.

  1. Click the Show applications button at the bottom of the Ubuntu taskbar.
Shut Down Ubuntu Using The Search Feature
  1. After that, type “power off” (without the quotes) in the search box, then select Power Off from the search result.
  1. Consequently, you will receive a prompt with a 60 seconds countdown for your Ubuntu system to automatically shut down – you can click the Power Off button to turn off your Ubuntu system instantly.
Shut Down Ubuntu Using The Search Feature

Option 3: Turn Off via the Terminal

If you are a terminal-savvy person or comfortable running commands, you can also turn off Ubuntu by running command lines in the terminal. The following steps and screenshot demonstrate how to accomplish that.

  1. Right-click any free area on your Ubuntu desktop and select Open in Terminal from the displayed options.
You can also use the Ctrl + Alt + T keyboard shortcut to open the terminal in Ubuntu.
  1. When the terminal opens, input the command below and press the enter key to shut down.
shutdown
Shut Down Ubuntu Via Terminal
  1. After doing that, the shutdown will be scheduled automatically. Basically, Ubuntu will give you a bit of time – usually one minute – to save anything you are working on before shutting down.
You can run the shutdown -c command to cancel the shutdown command.

Nonetheless, if you wish to turn off your Ubuntu system instantly, execute the following command. Then, input your system password and press the enter key on your keyboard.

sudo shutdown now
When typing your password, the character won’t be visible
Shut Down Ubuntu Via Terminal

Interestingly, you can also manually schedule a shutdown in Ubuntu through the terminal. Basically, input the command below in the terminal and press the enter key on your keyboard.

shutdown +minutes

However, before running the command, replace “minutes” with the amount of minute you want to schedule your Ubuntu system to turn off. For instance, if I want to schedule my Ubuntu system to turn off in the next 5 minutes, below is what the command will look like.

shutdown +5

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the command to turn off Ubuntu?

The command to turn off your Ubuntu system through the terminal is “shutdown” (without the quotes).

2. Who developed Ubuntu?

Ubuntu was developed by a British company known as Canonical. The founder and CEO of this company is Mark Richard Shuttleworth.

3. How can I shut down Ubuntu via the GUI?

a) Click the quick access menu at the top right corner of your Ubuntu desktop.
b) Following that, select Power Off/Log Out from the options that appear.
c) Under Power Off/Log Out, click Power Off….
d) Then, you will receive a prompt with a 60-second countdown for your Ubuntu system to automatically shut down. If you want to turn off your Ubuntu system instantly, select the Power Off option in the prompt.

4. When was Ubuntu introduced?

The Ubuntu OS was introduced on October 20, 2004.

5. Is Ubuntu open-source?

Yes, Ubuntu is an open-source operating system.

Conclusion

After a long day of work, you are most likely to turn off your Ubuntu system, if you use one. Gladly, this guide provided numerous methods to turn off a Ubuntu system.

Specifically, we learned how to perform this task through the GUI and search feature. This guide also taught us how to shut down Ubuntu by running a couple of command lines in the terminal.

I hope you found the methods in this guide helpful and easy to understand. If you did find them helpful, click on “Yes” beside the “Was this page helpful” question below.

You may also express your thoughts and opinions by using the “Leave a Comment” form at the bottom of this page.

Finally, visit our Linux how-to page to get more Linux guides.

About the Author

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Oluwaseun Bamisile

Oluwaseun is the Lead Content Editor at Itechguides.com. He holds a National Diploma in Computer Science (currently studying part-time for his Higher National Diploma). An internet geek with a love for automobiles, he writes product reviews, tech articles, and how-to guides on the site.

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