CTRLALTDEL(8)

✨ ctrlaltdel — the manual page 💅

okay bestie, so ctrlaltdel is a lil command from the util-linux fam that sets what the Ctrl-Alt-Del key combo actually does. yes, the three-finger salute. it's giving main character energy for real. 🎀

---

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

ctrlaltdel hard|soft

that's it. two vibes only. pick one. 🦋

---

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so like, based on reading through the linux/kernel/reboot.c code (no cap, that's literally what the page says), there are two supported functions the <Ctrl-Alt-Del> sequence can pull off. only two. the kernel said pick your fighter. 🔥

• hard — immediately reboot the computer, without calling sync(2) and without any other preparation whatsoever. just... yeet. this is the default. 💀
• soft — makes the kernel send the SIGINT (interrupt) signal to the init process (and that's always the process with PID 1, periodt). if you use this option, the init(8) program must support this feature. and since there are now several init(8) programs hanging out in the Linux community, pls go consult the documentation for whichever version you're currently running. do your research bestie 🙈

when you run the command with no arguments at all, it'll just show you the current setting. a little vibe check, if you will. ✨

and fyi, the function of ctrlaltdel is usually set in the /etc/rc.local file. that's the spot. 🫶

---

👑 OPTIONS 👑

• -h, --help — displays the help text and dips. bye! 💅
• -V, --version — displays the version and dips. also bye! 💅

---

🎀 FILES 🎀

• /etc/rc.local

---

🌈 AUTHORS 🌈

Peter Orbaek <poe@daimi.aau.dk> — shoutout to the icon who made this 🫡

---

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

• init(8)
• systemd(1)

---

💀 REPORTING BUGS 💀

got a bug to report? for bug reports, use the issue tracker: <https://github.com/util-linux/util-linux/issues>. they'll handle it, bestie. not me being the middleman fr fr 😭

---

⭐ AVAILABILITY ⭐

the ctrlaltdel command is part of the util-linux package, which you can download from the Linux Kernel Archive: <https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/>. go get it. slay. 💜

---

okay that's the whole page, you ate that fr 🍓

and hey, this whole thing is util-linux 2.42.4, dated 2026-09-21 — so if you're reading this from the future (you literally are), that's the tea. bye babe! 💖✨🌸