SHUTDOWN(8)                                                        SHUTDOWN(8)



NAME
       shutdown - close down the system at a given time

SYNOPSIS
       /etc/shutdown [ -k ] [ -r ] [ -h ] [ -f ] [ -n ] time [ warning-message
       ... ]

DESCRIPTION
       _S_h_u_t_d_o_w_n provides an automated shutdown procedure  which  a  super-user
       can use to notify users nicely when the system is shutting down, saving
       them from system administrators, hackers, and gurus, who  would  other‐
       wise not bother with niceties.

       _T_i_m_e  is  the time at which _s_h_u_t_d_o_w_n will bring the system down and may
       be the word now (indicating an immediate shutdown) or specify a  future
       time  in  one  of  two  formats:  +number and hour:min.  The first form
       brings the system down in _n_u_m_b_e_r minutes and the second brings the sys‐
       tem down at the time of day indicated (as a 24-hour clock).

       At  intervals which get closer together as apocalypse approaches, warn‐
       ing messages are displayed at the terminals of all users on the system.
       Five  minutes  before  shutdown,  or immediately if shutdown is in less
       than 5 minutes, logins are disabled by creating /etc/nologin and  writ‐
       ing  a  message there.  If this file exists when a user attempts to log
       in, _l_o_g_i_n(1) prints its contents and exits.  The file is  removed  just
       before _s_h_u_t_d_o_w_n exits.

       At shutdown time a message is written in the system log, containing the
       time of shutdown, who ran shutdown and the reason.   Then  a  terminate
       signal  is  sent to _i_n_i_t to bring the system down to single-user state.
       Alternatively, if -r, -h, or -k  was  used,  then  _s_h_u_t_d_o_w_n  will  exec
       _r_e_b_o_o_t(8),  _h_a_l_t(8),  or avoid shutting the system down (respectively).
       (If it isn’t obvious, -k is to make people _t_h_i_n_k the  system  is  going
       down!)

       With  the  -f  option, _s_h_u_t_d_o_w_n arranges, in the manner of _f_a_s_t_b_o_o_t(8),
       that when the system is rebooted the file systems will not be  checked.
       The -n option prevents the normal _s_y_n_c(2) before stopping.

       The  time  of  the  shutdown  and  the  warning  message  are placed in
       /etc/nologin and should be used to inform the users about when the sys‐
       tem will be back up and why it is going down (or anything else).

FILES
       /etc/nologin   tells login not to let anyone log in

SEE ALSO
       login(1), reboot(8), fastboot(8)

BUGS
       Only allows you to kill the system between now and 23:59 if you use the
       absolute time for shutdown.



4th Berkeley Distribution        May 26, 1986                      SHUTDOWN(8)