How to shutdown a computer using Python

Question

I've written a Python script which should eventually shutdown the computer.

This line is a part of it :

os.system("shutdown /p")

It makes some sort of a shutdown but remains on the turn-on Windows control pannel (where the user can switch the computer users).

Is there a way to fully shutdown the computer?

I've tried other os.system("shutdown ___") methods with no success.

Is there another method which might help?

Answer 1

import os
os.system('shutdown -s')

This will work for you.

Answer 2

For Linux:

import os
os.system('sudo shutdown now')

or: if you want immediate shutdown without sudo prompt for password, use the following for Ubuntu and similar distro's:

os.system('systemctl poweroff') 

Answer 3

Using ctypes you could use the ExitWindowsEx function to shutdown the computer.

Description from MSDN:

Logs off the interactive user, shuts down the system, or shuts down and restarts the system.

---

First some code:

import ctypes

user32 = ctypes.WinDLL('user32')

user32.ExitWindowsEx(0x00000008, 0x00000000)

Now the explanation line by line:

• Get the ctypes library
• The ExitWindowsEx is provided by the user32.dll and needs to be loaded via WinDLL()
• Call the ExitWindowsEx() function and pass the necessary parameters.

Parameters:

All the arguments are hexadecimals.

The first argument I selected:

shuts down the system and turns off the power. The system must support the power-off feature.

There are many other possible functions see the documentation for a complete list.

The second argument:

The second argument must give a reason for the shutdown, which is logged by the system. In this case I set it for Other issue but there are many to choose from. See this for a complete list.

Making it cross platform:

This can be combined with other methods to make it cross platform. For example:

import sys

if sys.platform == 'win32':

    import ctypes
    user32 = ctypes.WinDLL('user32')
    user32.ExitWindowsEx(0x00000008, 0x00000000)

else:

    import os
    os.system('sudo shutdown now')

---

This is a Windows dependant function (although Linux/Mac will have an equivalent), but is a better solution than calling os.system() since a batch script called shutdown.bat will not conflict with the command (and causing a security hazard in the meantime).

In addition it does not bother users with a message saying "You are about to be signed out in less than a minute" like shutdown -s does, but executes silently.

As a side note use subprocess over os.system() (see Difference between subprocess.Popen and os.system)

---

As a side note: I built WinUtils (Windows only) which simplifies this a bit, however it should be faster (and does not require Ctypes) since it is built in C.

^Example:

import WinUtils
WinUtils.Shutdown(WinUtils.SHTDN_REASON_MINOR_OTHER)

Answer 4

Python doc recommends using subprocess instead of os.system. It intends to replace old modules like os.system and others.

So, use this:

import subprocess
subprocess.run(["shutdown", "-s"])

And for linux users -s is not required, they can just use

import subprocess
subprocess.run(["shutdown"])

Answer 5

The only variant that really workes for me without any problem is:

import os
os.system('shutdown /p /f')

Answer 6

Try this code snippet:

import os 

shutdown = input("Do you wish to shutdown your computer ? (yes / no): ") 

if shutdown == 'no': 
    exit() 
else: 
    os.system("shutdown /s /t 1") 

Answer 7

This Python code may do the deed:

import os
os.system('sudo shutdown -h now')

Answer 8

Here's a sample to power off Windows:

import os

os.system("shutdown /s /t 1")

---

Here's a sample to power off Linux (by root permission):

import os

os.system("shutdown now -h")

Answer 9

As you wish, winapi can be used.

import win32api,win32security,winnt
win32security.AdjustTokenPrivilege(win32security.OpenProcessHandle(win32api.GetCurrentProcess(),win32security.ADJUST_TOKEN_PRIVILEGE | win32security.TOKEN_QUERY),False,[(win32security.LookupPrivilegeValue(None,winnt.SE_SHUTDOWN_NAME),winnt.SE_PRIVILEGE_ENABLE)])
win32api.InitateSystemShutdown(None,"Text",second,Force_Terminate_Apps_as_boolean,Restart_as_boolean)

Answer 10

pip install schedule

In case you also want to schedule it:

import schedule
import time
import os

when= "20:11"
print("The computer will be shutdown at " + when + "")

def job():
    os.system("shutdown /s /t 1")

schedule.every().day.at(when).do(job)

while True:
    schedule.run_pending()
    time.sleep(1)

Answer 11

In the Windows case, using os.system("shutdown /p") works but sometimes makes a quick flashing terminal window (see this precise situation).

In this case it's better to use subprocess with a process creation flag:

import subprocess
subprocess.Popen(r"C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe /p", creationflags=subprocess.CREATE_NO_WINDOW)