Mac shutdown command options. On your Mac, choose Apple menu > Shut Down.
- Mac shutdown command options. On your Mac, choose Apple menu > Shut Down. The command takes a parameter -h, -r or -s to shut down, restart or sleep the Mac. Some computers also don’t show an active power light or have any fan or drive noise. Here’s how you do it! Aug 13, 2017 · Shutting Down a Mac from Command Line with ‘shutdown’ Apt for the name, the ‘shutdown’ command can shutdown a Mac as well as reboot a Mac via Terminal. Don’t hold down the Power button alone, as it will force a shutdown. . Jun 19, 2025 · The easiest way to force restart a Mac is to use the Power button. This is also useful for remote machine administration if you’re using SSH or mosh. Oct 1, 2023 · Press the power button or open the Apple Menu and click “Shut Down” to shut down your MacBook. If you don’t want app windows that are open to reopen when your Mac restarts, deselect “Reopen windows when logging back in. You can also shut down your MacBook with the key commands Control, Option, Command, and Power. For example, to use Command-C, press and hold the Command key, then the C key, then release both keys. This informs all users that the machine is going to be shutdown and tells all apps to close files etc. (On keyboards made for Windows PCs, press the Alt key instead of Option, and the Ctrl key or Windows logo key instead of Command. Dec 28, 2023 · Press the Control + Option + Command + Power button to shut down your Mac, and Press the Control + Command + Power button to restart your MacBook with the keyboard. ) Nov 18, 2023 · This article is for users who want to know how to shut down their Mac from the command line. At shutdown time a message is written in the system log, containing the time of shutdown, who initiated the shutdown and the reason. I know the topic seems pretty basic, and it is, but I was surprised to find out many colleagues of mine don Aug 17, 2024 · To safely shut down your Mac, press Control ^ + Option ⌥ + Command ⌘ + Power/Touch ID. May 2, 2022 · Learn how to shut down, restart, sleep, lock screen and log out Mac from menu, using default/custom keyboard shortcuts and from Terminal app. And while there are several other ways to shutdown, restart or put the computer to sleep, I always choose to do so using the command line. Apart from this, you can also use keyboard shortcuts, Apple menu, and Terminal commands to shut down an unresponsive or frozen Oct 26, 2019 · I spend most of the time on my Mac working from the terminal. Furthermore, this can be used in special circumstances, like in Single-user Mode or Verbose Mode or in remote administration. Whether you prefer to use the Apple menu, keyboard shortcuts, or Terminal, several methods exist for shutting down your Mac. To turn off a Mac with the shutdown command, you will use the -h flag and give the time for ‘now’ making the syntax like so: sudo shutdown -h now Jun 4, 2025 · To use a shortcut, press and hold the modifier keys, then press the last key of the shortcut. Mar 27, 2024 · Knowing how to shut down your MacBook properly is essential for maintaining your device’s performance and conserving battery life. A terminate signal is then sent to launchd to bring the system down to single-user state (depending on above options). ” A Mac is completely shut down when the screen is black. Feb 13, 2020 · If you shut down your Mac in Terminal, you get more options and flexibility than using the shutdown option in the Apple menu or the power button. rdy nledu apsde xqvjk blovv xmvj hovz gbrsp wdgkyh oswnt