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I'm trying to schedule shutdown of PC using at command like this:

echo "systemctl poweroff" | at -M now +1 minute

or like this:

echo "sudo systemctl poweroff" | at -M now +1 minute

but nothing happens. Why?

atd is running and the command below works fine just to check it out:

echo "echo Hello 2>&1 > /home/<user_name>/at-test.txt" | at -M now +1 minute

I know that shutdown can be scheduled using shutdown -P TIME but please answer my question first instead of pointing out some alternatives. So what am I doing wrong?

Jeff Schaller
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folivore
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  • Are you sure `systemctl` or `sudo` doesn't try to ask for your password when the time comes? If it does then this won't work because there is no tty available to it, I think. – Kamil Maciorowski Sep 29 '18 at 07:31
  • Even in cases where `sudo` doesn't require a password (tag `NOPASSWD`), it might still check that there's a, roughly speaking, interactive session (i.e. option `requiretty`). Defaults on that seem to vary between distros, though, but `sudo -l` should list the explicitly set options that apply to you. – Ulrich Schwarz Sep 29 '18 at 07:59
  • @KamilMaciorowski, yes I'm sure, I checked this out several times. As I had already mentioned - nothing happens, literally nothing. – folivore Sep 30 '18 at 17:35
  • @UlrichSchwarz, I'm using Ubuntu though I'm not fond of it. And my user has (ALL : ALL) ALL - default 'sudo' privileges as for Ubuntu distro. – folivore Sep 30 '18 at 17:40

1 Answers1

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Policy Kit can apply rules to shutdown and poweroff (which are just the systemctl program by another name) run in non-login-session context as an at job that are different to the rules applied to shutdown run in login-session context.

sudo just over-eggs this pudding, adding unnecessary extra complication. systemd is already applying rules as to which unprivileged users, in which contexts, can successfully trigger a system shutdown. Adding sudo with its additional mechanisms on top of all that just doubles the number of access rulesets and increases the number of possible cases that one has to consider when diagnosing problems.

Further reading

JdeBP
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