Change Power Button Behavior in Ubuntu Linux

You can change what your Ubuntu Linux PC’s power button does when you press it while the system is running.

This lets you decide if the button should shut down, sleep, hibernate, or do nothing at all when accidentally bumped or intentionally pressed.

For example, you can set your power button to do nothing, preventing accidental shutdowns by default on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

You manage these power button actions through Ubuntu’s Settings application.

How to change power button behavior in Ubuntu Linux

Ubuntu uses a central location for settings. Note that the path may vary slightly depending on your specific version of GNOME.

Open the Activities overview and type Settings to begin %📂%LNK0%copy%.

Alternatively, click the System menu at the top-right corner of your screen and select Settings %📂%LNK1%copy%.

Once the Settings app is open, follow this path: Power > Power Button Behavior.

Power Button Behavior options

Inside the Power panel, you can choose from several actions for your power button:

• Suspend: Puts your computer into sleep mode.
• Power Off: Shuts down the computer. This is the default setting.
• Nothing: The button will not trigger any action.
• Interactive: This option triggers a pop-up menu asking you what you would like to do.
• Hibernate: This may appear as an option if you have swap space correctly configured on your system.

Your choice is applied immediately. You do not need to restart your computer for these changes to take effect.

Conclusion

Customizing your power button is a simple way to make your PC work the way you want. Whether you want to prevent accidental shutdowns or add a shortcut to sleep mode, these settings give you total control.