3 Ways to Schedule Shutdown Timer on Mac

Step 3: Select the Schedule option.

Step 4: Specify the day, time, and action to be executed.

Step 5: Finally, click Apply.

That’s it. You have successfully scheduled your Mac to shut down at a specified time. If you feel that the steps are too long to follow, there are some handy applications such as Timer Clock (paid) and Almighty- Powerful tweaks (freemium) that get the job done relatively easily.

That said, if you are on macOS Ventura or want to execute the same without touching the Energy Saver option, move to the next method.

Method 2: Using Terminal

Step 1: Press the Command Space key, type Terminal, and press the Return key.

Step 2: Type the below command and press Return.

<span data-preserver-spaces="true">sudo shutdown -h +30</span>

Note: -h lets you set a timer, while 30 is the number of minutes after which your Mac will shut down. You can add any number of hours, but make sure you convert it to minutes. 

Step 3: Enter your user password for authentication and press Return.

Note: When you type your password it won’t be displayed.

There you have it. The terminal will acknowledge and set your shutdown timer if you have done everything right.

It will also assign the process with a process ID (PID) number. Note the ID number as it will be useful when disabling the shutdown timer. If the steps are too complicated for you, there are third-party apps that will ease up the process. Keep reading. 

Method 3: Creating a Desktop Shortcut

Step 1: Press the Command Space key, type TextEdit, and press the Return key.

Step 2: Click on New Document.

It will open a blank text document into view.

Step 3: Press Command Shift T to access the plaintext field.

Step 4: Type the below command and press the Return key twice.

<span data-preserver-spaces="true">#!/bin/bash</span>

Step 5: Type the below command.

<span data-preserver-spaces="true">sudo shutdown -h +30</span>

Note: -h lets you set a timer, while +30 is the number of minutes after which your Mac will shut down. You can add any number of hours, but make sure you convert it to minutes. 

Step 6: Finally, press Command+S to save the file with a simple name and destination (preferred Desktop). Uncheck the If no extension is provided, use .”txt”. options and click on Save.

Now, to make the file executable, continue following the steps below.

Step 7: Press the Command + Space key, type Terminal, and press the Return key.

Step 8: Drag and drop the .txt file you created onto the Terminal and press Return.

The terminal will auto-fetch the file location for you to quickly execute.

Step 9: Enter your user password and press Return.

Note: When you type your password, it won’t be displayed.

After which, the shutdown timer will begin, and your Mac will shut down after the set time.

Now that you know how to enable a shutdown timer, it is equally important to know how to disable it. Continue reading.

How to Disable a Shutdown Timer on Mac

Turning off the shutdown timer is easy and only involves a few steps. All you have to do is kill the Process ID (PID). Follow the steps below.

Step 1: Press the Command + Space, type Terminal, and press the Return key.

Step 2: Type the below command and press Return.

<span data-preserver-spaces="true">sudo kill [pid number]</span>

Note: If you don’t remember the PID number, type sudo killall shutdown. It will disable all the active shutdown timers on your Mac.

Step 3: Enter your user password and press Return.

Note: When you type your password, it won’t be displayed.

There you have it. You have disabled a scheduled shutdown of your Mac. If you have any queries, check out the FAQ section below.

FAQs on Scheduled Shutdown on Mac

1. What happens if you don’t shut down your Mac?

Leaving your Mac on for extended periods is generally not a problem as long as you are using it regularly and it is in good working condition.

2. How do I turn off my Mac after 1 hour?

Open Terminal > type sudo shutdown -h 60 > press Return > enter your user password (it won’t be displayed) > press Return again. There you go, you have scheduled a shutdown.

3. Can you set a timer for Mac to sleep?

Yes, you can use the ‘pmset’ command in Terminal to set a timer for your Mac to sleep. However, you will need to have administrator privileges to use the pmset command.

Step 1: Open Terminal
Step 2: Type the command sudo pmset sleep [time]
Replace [time] with the number of seconds you want to set the timer for.
Step 3: Enter your password when prompted and press Return.

To cancel the timer, follow the above steps and type sudo pmset sleep cancel. This will cancel the sleep timer and your Mac will stay awake.

Whether you want to set up a daily shutdown timer or a one-time event, the methods mentioned in this article will help you do it.

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