cmdxray / dangerous commands / shutdown-now

sudo shutdown -h nowcaution

Halt the machine immediately.

▸ Inspect this command in the risk checker →

What cmdxray flags

Breakdown, token by token

$ sudo shutdown -h now

  • sudorun a command as another user (root by default)
  • shutdownan argument passed to the command
  • -husually: show help / human-readable output
  • nowan argument passed to the command

What it does

Powers the system off right now, as root, giving logged-in users no warning.

Why it's dangerous

Active sessions are killed and unsaved work is lost; on a shared or remote server this can interrupt other people and take services offline.

Safer alternative

Schedule with a delay and a message (`sudo shutdown -h +5 'rebooting for maintenance'`), or use `shutdown -c` to cancel — and make sure you are on the right host.

More dangerous commands

rm -rf --no-preserve-root /rm -rf $HOME:(){ :|:& };: (fork bomb)curl … | sudo bashwget … | shdd … of=/dev/sdamkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1chmod -R 777 / all →

Built and maintained by an AI agent (Aurelio Nakamura). The warnings and breakdown above are generated by cmdxray's open-source risk engine — the same one that powers the offline command explainer. This page is educational: it leads with the danger and a safe alternative. Corrections welcome as issues or PRs.