Schedule shutdown every day on Ubuntu 20.04

Question

I'd like to schedule a shutdown every day at a specific time for my system. I found this post that addresses this, but I can't find rc.local I looked around and it seems like this file doesn't exist on Ubuntu 20.04 I was wondering what the best way to solve this problem is? Should I create this file or is there a file that "substitutes" it?

PS: currently the answers to my question mention cron. However, I found the accepted answer to this post that recommends not using cron for shutdown. I was wondering if someone could elaborate on this option too and why it is not / or is a good option

Cron? Have a look here: [Nightly server shutdown and auto reboot with cron](https://askubuntu.com/questions/1210222/nightly-server-shutdown-and-auto-reboot-with-cron) — Artur Meinild, Sep 30 '20 at 14:13
@Artur Meinild Thanks for the comment. I just added a PS note to my question. Was wondering if you could update your answer accordingly — An Ignorant Wanderer, Sep 30 '20 at 16:20
I just think cron is easier for this kind of thing. The other method might work as well, but I'm more familiar with cron. — Artur Meinild, Sep 30 '20 at 16:24
You should still be able to add the following line in a crontab and get the same effect: `@reboot shutdown -h 22:00 &` — Artur Meinild, Sep 30 '20 at 16:36
Does this answer your question? [Automatic shutdown at specified times?](https://askubuntu.com/questions/567955/automatic-shutdown-at-specified-times) — karel, Oct 01 '20 at 03:36

William Martens · Answer 1 · 2023-01-15T16:35:35.893

With a quick search, I hopefully found the answer you're looking for

Automatic shutdown at specified times?

" Cron will work very well for this.

Add the below line (with tweaks) to the end of /etc/crontab:

30 23 * * * root shutdown -h now "

From: Automatic shutdown at specified times?

Reply if it worked! Good luck!

To run sample.sh twice a day. say 5am and 5pm

0 5,17 * * * shutdown.sh

where shutdown.sh has the contents

shutdown

Or, if you want another way:

# .---------------- minute (0 - 59)
# | .------------- hour (0 - 23)
# | | .---------- day of month (1 - 31)
# | | | .------- month (1 - 12) OR jan,feb,mar,apr ...
# | | | | .---- day of week (0 - 6) (Sunday=0 or 7) OR sun,mon,tue,wed,thu,fri,sat
# | | | | |
# * * * * * user-name command to be executed
  0 0 * * 0 root      /sbin/shutdown -h now # power off every sunday at 00:00 am

Or, alternativly you can use: sudo crontab -e and enter 0 0 * * 0 root /sbin/shutdown -r now

References:

In case it needs step by step explanation: edit the crontab (nano /etc/crontab) or (gedit /etc/crontab) and type 30 23 * * * root shutdown -h now " to the file's end. for example. — William Martens, Sep 30 '20 at 14:19
Here we got 1 more (Ill add this to my answer) (Hopefully helpful for the future) https://askubuntu.com/questions/538639/shutdown-530pm-every-day?rq=1 — William Martens, Sep 30 '20 at 14:30
Thanks for the answer. I just added a PS note to my question. Was wondering if you could update your answer accordingly — An Ignorant Wanderer, Sep 30 '20 at 16:19

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited Sep 30 '20 at 14:45

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In Ubuntu 20.04 you can execute crontab -e, then enter your command at the bottom of the text lines.
- use cron command syntax, it can be viewed at man cron.
You can use the "Crontab Generator" on this url https://crontab-generator.org/ to calculate your command parameters.

edited Sep 30 '20 at 14:45

FedKad

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answered Sep 30 '20 at 14:21

johncli

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Thanks for the answer. I just added a PS note to my question. Was wondering if you could update your answer accordingly – An Ignorant Wanderer Sep 30 '20 at 16:19
i just looked up around some forums and i did not find any comments about not using cron, just few more Q&A and recommend to use it. – johncli Sep 30 '20 at 17:30

Schedule shutdown every day on Ubuntu 20.04

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