How to Sleep, Shut Down and Restart Your Mac Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Utilizing your keyboard-only, there are quite a few shortcuts you can learn with your Mac. Without using anything on your screen, or even your mouse, you can sleep, shut down and restart your Mac with a few simple keyboard combinations.

Available on all versions of macOS, these simple procedures are easy to learn, effective and actually quite useful.

Using Keyboard Shortcuts to Shut Down, Restart or Put Your Mac to Sleep

It goes without saying, keyboard shortcuts can be very convenient. By saving a click and combining a few specific key-presses, you can perform a wide range of tasks on your Mac. Some of the most useful and popular methods involve simple memorization of a few specific keys.

Typically, shutting off your computer, putting it to sleep or a quick restart is typically a multi-click process. Using a keyboard shortcut for each is a great way to save precious time. It’ll also may make you feel like a Mac whiz-kid! Awesome!

Although these keyboard shortcuts are not quite obvious on a Mac, they’re really not too difficult to learn. And once you master each one, you probably won’t go back to the standard way using your mouse.

Today we’re going to break down the process for each in an easy-to-read tutorial. We’ll outline each keyboard shortcut and instruct you with some very-specific steps for each one. Let’s get right into it.

Keyboard Shortcut for Shutting Down a Mac

To shut down your Mac, use the following key combinations in the precise order:

Command + Option + Control + Eject/Power

This will cause all of your currently opened apps to close. When each one auto-closes, most apps will ask if you’d like to save your progress.

Keyboard Shortcut for Sleep Mode on a Mac

To put your Mac to sleep, use the following key combinations in the precise order:

Command + Option + Eject/Power

Putting your Mac to sleep is a great way to save power while letting your computer rest. Next time you move the mouse or press the keyboard, it will wake-up. This offers a much faster way to resume using your Mac, rather than booting-up from off.

Keyboard Shortcut for Restarting a Mac

To restart your Mac, use the following key combinations in the precise order:

Control + Command + Eject/Power

This will automatically quit all of your currently open apps. When each one auto-closes, most apps will ask if you’d like to save your progress.

Keyboard Shortcut to Turn Off a Mac Display

To turn off the monitor on your Mac, use the following key combinations in the precise order:

Shift + Control + Eject/Power

This will turn off both the internal and external displays. Your Mac will stay turned-on but all screens will turn-off and go black.

Keyboard Shortcut to Lock a Mac Screen

If you leave your Mac unattended and would like to lock the screen, use the following key combinations in the precise order:

Control + Command + Q

Keep in mind, however, will need to enter your password or FaceID when unlocking your computer.

Keyboard Shortcut to Log Out of a Mac

There are two different ways to quickly log out and leave your Mac turned on; one with a prompt and one without. This is useful for switching to a different AppleID or Mac account.

Just as if you’re shutting down or restarting your Mac, it will automatically quit all of your currently open apps. When each one auto-closes, most apps will ask if you’d like to save your progress.

To log out of your Mac with a prompt, press: Shift + Command + Q

This will ask if you’d like to log out with a prompt window. A countdown will then appear and ask you if you’re sure that you’d like to quite all applications and log out. Confirm with a “yes” and it will log you out. If you let the countdown proceed, it will automatically assume “yes” and therefore log you out.

To log out of your Mac without a prompt, press: Option + Shift + Command + Q

This will not issue any sort of prompt window and will log out without any countdown or query. This offers the fastest method to log out.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are quite a few useful keyboard shortcuts for those looking to sleep, shut down and restart your Mac. We’ve also included steps on how to turn off the display, lock your screen or logout of your Apple account. Regardless of the version, year or specific model, these all work interchangeably on all Mac Operating Systems; even the most outdated versions.

We find each of these keyboard shortcuts to be quite useful. Although they’re not all that obvious to learn, memorizing them is possible and quite easy with some repetition. If you need a helpful way to master these specific keyboard shortcuts, we highly recommend printing them out and posting them near your Mac. In this digital-age, it may seem like a somewhat archaic thing to do; physically print something out and hang it up. However, in our opinion, it’s the best possible way other than continuing to use these shortcuts on a regular basis.

Have you mastered any of these keyboard shortcuts? If so, did you find any easy ways to master them? Which is your favorite shortcut to use? Let us know by dropping a comment below. We’d love to hear from you!