Set it once and your PC takes care of the rest. Shut down, restart, sleep, hibernate, sign out or lock at a set time, after a period of inactivity, or the moment a long download or render finishes. It warns before it acts, lives in the tray using only a few megabytes, and keeps your schedules on your PC.
Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) · installer about 5 MB
8 actions
Shut down, restart, sleep, hibernate, sign out, lock, turn off display, screen saver
6 ways to say when
Once, daily, weekly, monthly, when idle, or when CPU load drops
Quick timer
"Shut down in 30 minutes" in two clicks; it removes itself after it runs
Always in control
A countdown with snooze and cancel, skip once, pause all and a full history
A PC that never gets a bedtime
Nobody decides to waste that electricity. People simply forget, or the right moment to shut down arrives when they are not there.
A desktop PC left on but unused keeps drawing power all night and all weekend, across one PC or twenty.
How Auto Shutdown Genius helps
Shut down, sleep or hibernate on a schedule, or after a period of inactivity.
Fans, drives and power supplies age with runtime, whether anyone is using the machine or not.
How Auto Shutdown Genius helps
Weekly and daily schedules switch the PC off at the same time every evening.
A signed-in, unlocked computer in an empty room is an open door.
How Auto Shutdown Genius helps
Lock or sign out on a schedule, or after a few minutes without keyboard or mouse input.
Sticky notes and good intentions do not shut anything down at 23:30.
How Auto Shutdown Genius helps
Tell it what to do and when, and it does it every time.
The command line needs a one-time delay typed in by hand and does not repeat.
How Auto Shutdown Genius helps
Once, daily, weekly and monthly schedules, including the last Friday of the month.
It can do almost anything, but only after a multi-screen wizard that most people never finish.
How Auto Shutdown Genius helps
The main window shows what runs next, and your first schedule takes two clicks.
An illustration, not a measurement: a PC that draws 80 W and runs 10 unneeded hours a day uses about 292 kWh a year, roughly $44 at $0.15 per kWh. Substitute your own numbers; a 20-PC office would waste about 20 times as much. Sleep and hibernate cut consumption further when a full shutdown is not wanted.
Up and running in three minutes
Common choices are in front of you; less common options are folded away until you need them.
The installer is about 5 MB. When setup finishes the program starts and puts an icon in the notification area next to the clock.
Click New task, pick what should happen and when, or try the Quick timer for a one-off such as "shut down in 30 minutes".
The icon stays in the tray and your PC is on schedule. Start with Windows is on from the first run, so schedules survive restarts.
Eight actions, six ways to say when
Actions
| Once | A date and a time: "Shut down tonight at 23:30." |
|---|---|
| Daily | A time, every day or every few days. |
| Weekly | Weekdays, weekends or any days you pick, every week or every few weeks. |
| Monthly | On a day of the month (in shorter months, the last day), or on a weekday such as the last Friday, in the months you choose. |
| When idle | After N minutes without keyboard or mouse input. |
| CPU load | When CPU usage stays below (or above) a level for N minutes: "when CPU stays below 10% for 5 minutes, shut down." |
The CPU load trigger deserves a special mention. Instead of guessing how long a download, render, backup or update will take, you tell the PC what finished looks like, and it leaves when the work is done, not a minute earlier or hours later.
Features
Automation people cannot stop is automation people will not use, so the safeguards are built into every task.
Safeguards
Save your work: shutting down, restarting and signing out close all programs.
Power options
Settings
Why not just use Windows?
| shutdown command | Task Scheduler | Auto Shutdown Genius | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy to set up | Command line | Complex wizard | Two clicks |
| Repeating schedules | No | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly "last Friday" | No | Yes, but hard to find | Yes |
| Run when idle | No | Limited | Yes |
| Run when CPU load is low | No | No | Yes |
| Countdown with snooze and cancel | No | No | Yes |
| Skip one run, pause all | No | Manual | Yes |
| Clean-up before shutdown | No | No | Yes |
| History of what ran | No | Hidden in logs | Yes |
Use cases
The PC goes off at bedtime, or after an overnight download. The kids' computer is locked at 21:30 on school nights.
Sleep or shut down after a large update or upload completes, and power the workstation off when a long render finishes.
Every workstation off at 19:00 on weekdays, and a restart for maintenance on the last Friday of the month.
With the background service, schedules are enforced even when no one is logged in.
Hibernate after 30 minutes of no input, or sleep after inactivity, to cut electricity use.
The quick timer: "shut down in 30 minutes", then forget about it.
| Version | 4.0 |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10 and Windows 11, 64-bit. Windows 7 and 8 are not supported |
| Installer and memory | Installer about 5 MB; a few MB of memory while running in the tray |
| Actions | Shut down, restart, sleep, hibernate, sign out, lock, turn off display, screen saver |
| Triggers | Once, daily, weekly, monthly (date or weekday), when idle, CPU load |
| Interface | English and Simplified Chinese; light and dark themes that follow Windows |
| Data | Tasks, settings and history in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Auto Shutdown Genius; history keeps the newest 10,000 entries |
| Internet | Needed only to activate a license |
| Administrator rights | Needed to install, and for the optional background service |
| License | Perpetual; one license covers two computers |
Trial and registration
Every feature works during the trial. No credit card or registration is needed to try it.
During the trial
Activated
See the activation guide for details. If you replace a computer or reinstall Windows and activation fails, contact us.
Try the full program first (15-day free trial), then choose a license. Your license key is e-mailed to you after checkout. Prices are in US dollars.
Personal License
One payment, no expiry, updates included.
Private, non-commercial use at home. One license covers 2 computers.
Commercial License
One payment, no expiry, updates included.
Use in a company or any other business. One license covers 2 computers.
Education License
One payment, no expiry, updates included.
Students, teachers and schools. One license covers 2 computers.
Several licenses, a school or a non-profit? Ask us for a quote. Already bought? See the activation guide or look up your license key. By buying you agree to the store's terms.
The latest version of Auto Shutdown Genius is v4.0 for Windows. It is free to download and includes a 15-day trial with every feature.
Requires Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) · Administrator permission to install · No Windows 7 or 8
New to the program? Read the user guide.
FAQ
A countdown window appears before every action so you can save your work, snooze or cancel. With Force apps to close turned on, programs that are still asking to save are closed anyway and unsaved work is lost; turn it off if you prefer Windows to wait.
Yes, with the optional background service. Install it from Settings, Advanced (it needs one administrator prompt) and tasks run before anyone signs in or after everyone has signed out. It is the right choice for shared PCs, front desks, kiosks and office workstations.
Yes. Use the CPU load trigger, for example "when CPU usage stays below 10% for 5 minutes", or the When idle trigger. The PC leaves when the work is done, not a minute earlier or hours later.
No. Your tasks, settings and history stay on your computer, in a plain JSON file and a small database in your user profile. There is no cloud service and no account. The program goes online only to activate a license.
Yes. One license covers two computers, for example a desktop and a laptop, or home and office. The license is perpetual, and you can use it for personal and commercial purposes.
Scheduled tasks stop running until you activate. Nothing is deleted, and you can still open the program and change settings. From the 10th day of the trial a reminder appears each time the program starts.
Check that the program is running (its icon is in the notification area, you may need to click the arrow to see it), that Start with Windows is on, that the task switch is on and not set to Skip next time, and that tasks are not paused. Open History to see whether the task was cancelled, snoozed or failed.
Hibernation may be turned off in Windows. Open a Command Prompt as administrator and run powercfg /hibernate on.
Some programs, such as video players or remote-desktop tools, keep the computer from becoming idle. Use a time-based task or a CPU load task instead.
Windows 10 and Windows 11, 64-bit. Windows 7 and Windows 8 are not supported. The installer is about 5 MB and the program uses only a few megabytes of memory in the tray.
If something does not work, or you have a suggestion, send us a message or an email.
Instead of guessing how long a download, render or backup will take, tell the PC what "finished" looks like: when CPU usage stays below 10% for 5 minutes, shut down. A step-by-step setup in Auto Shutdown Genius, with a countdown as a safety net.
Version 4 puts everyday choices up front and tucks advanced options away. Eight actions, six schedule types, a quick timer, a countdown you can snooze, optional clean-up, and a service that runs tasks with nobody signed in. One license covers two computers.