halt Command: Tutorial & Examples

Shut down the system

The halt command is used to shut down the system. This command can be executed by a user with root or superuser privileges. It sends an instruction to the Linux kernel to stop all processes and services, and then power off the system. This command is similar to the "power off" button on a physical machine. The halt command can also be used with options such as -f (force) and -p (power off) to force a halt or power off the system, respectively. If you want to halt the system without logging out, you can use the shutdown -h now command.