For home servers and test environments, resource saving is important: containers can be stopped and system powered off during nights or off-hours. This guide describes a safe method with state preservation and automatic recovery.

💡 Method suits OrangePI, Raspberry Pi, old PCs, and any systems where power efficiency matters.

📦 Container shutdown script

Create script

# File: /usr/local/bin/stop_containers_and_shutdown.sh
cat > /usr/local/bin/stop_containers_and_shutdown.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
#
# Script saves running container IDs,
# stops them, and initiates system shutdown.
#

CONTAINERS_FILE="/etc/active_containers.txt"

echo "=== $(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') ==="
echo "Starting container shutdown and system power-off script"

# Get list of running containers (by ID)
RUNNING_CONTAINERS=$(docker ps -q)

if [ -n "${RUNNING_CONTAINERS}" ]; then
    echo "Saving running containers to ${CONTAINERS_FILE}"
    echo "${RUNNING_CONTAINERS}" > "${CONTAINERS_FILE}"
    docker stop ${RUNNING_CONTAINERS}
    echo "Containers stopped."
else
    echo "No running containers."
    [ -f "${CONTAINERS_FILE}" ] && rm -f "${CONTAINERS_FILE}"
fi

sleep 10

echo "Shutting down system."
/sbin/shutdown -h now
EOF

Make executable

chmod +x /usr/local/bin/stop_containers_and_shutdown.sh

How it works

StepDescription
docker ps -qGets IDs of all running containers
> /etc/active_containers.txtSaves list for recovery
docker stopGracefully stops containers (SIGTERM)
sleep 10Allows time for operations to complete
shutdown -h nowPowers off the system

Why this way:

  • Saving IDs allows restoring the same containers
  • docker stop gives containers time for graceful shutdown
  • sleep 10 ensures all data is written to disk

🚀 Container startup script

Create script

# File: /usr/local/bin/start_containers.sh
cat > /usr/local/bin/start_containers.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
#
# Script reads container list from file,
# starts them, then removes the file.
#

CONTAINERS_FILE="/etc/active_containers.txt"

echo "=== $(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') ==="
echo "Starting container startup script"

if [ ! -f "${CONTAINERS_FILE}" ]; then
    echo "File ${CONTAINERS_FILE} not found. No startup needed."
    exit 0
fi

CONTAINERS=$(cat "${CONTAINERS_FILE}")
if [ -n "${CONTAINERS}" ]; then
    echo "Found container list: ${CONTAINERS}"
    for cid in ${CONTAINERS}; do
        docker start "${cid}"
        if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
            echo "Container ${cid} started."
        else
            echo "Error starting container ${cid}."
        fi
    done
else
    echo "File empty. No containers to start."
fi

rm -f "${CONTAINERS_FILE}"
echo "File ${CONTAINERS_FILE} removed."
EOF

Make executable

chmod +x /usr/local/bin/start_containers.sh

How it works

StepDescription
File checkIf missing - containers weren’t stopped by script
docker startStarts containers by saved IDs
rm -fRemoves file after successful startup

Why remove file:

  • One-time marker - containers won’t restart accidentally
  • After reboot without script - system runs in normal mode

⏰ Schedule setup (cron)

Shutdown (night)

# crontab -e (as root)
# Shutdown at 00:00 daily
0 0 * * * /usr/local/bin/stop_containers_and_shutdown.sh >> /var/log/docker-shutdown.log 2>&1

Startup (morning)

# crontab -e (as root)
# Startup at 08:00 daily
0 8 * * * /usr/local/bin/start_containers.sh >> /var/log/docker-startup.log 2>&1

Important notes

ParameterDescription
>> /var/log/...Logging for debugging
2>&1Redirect errors to same log
As rootRequired for docker and shutdown

Verify cron:

# Ensure cron is running
systemctl status cron

# View logs
tail -f /var/log/docker-shutdown.log
tail -f /var/log/docker-startup.log

🔧 Alternative: systemd timer (modern method)

Shutdown timer

# /etc/systemd/system/docker-shutdown.timer
[Unit]
Description=Daily Docker shutdown timer

[Timer]
OnCalendar=*-*-* 00:00:00
Persistent=true

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target

Shutdown service

# /etc/systemd/system/docker-shutdown.service
[Unit]
Description=Stop Docker containers and shutdown
After=docker.service

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/stop_containers_and_shutdown.sh

Activate

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable docker-shutdown.timer
systemctl start docker-shutdown.timer

# Check status
systemctl list-timers | grep docker-shutdown

systemd timer advantages:

  • Precise timing (not affected by cron load)
  • Built-in logging via journalctl
  • Persistent=true - runs missed execution after downtime

🛡 Safety and reliability

Exclude critical containers

If some containers must run continuously:

# Modify shutdown script
RUNNING_CONTAINERS=$(docker ps -q --filter "label=shutdown=false")

# In docker-compose.yml add label
services:
  critical-service:
    image: ...
    labels:
      - "shutdown=false"

Pre-shutdown check

# Add to shutdown script
ACTIVE_CONNECTIONS=$(netstat -an | grep ESTABLISHED | wc -l)
if [ "$ACTIVE_CONNECTIONS" -gt 10 ]; then
    echo "Active connections detected. Cancelling shutdown."
    exit 1
fi

UPS integration

# Integration with NUT (Network UPS Tools)
# /etc/nut/upsmon.conf
MONITOR ups@localhost 1 admin password slave
SHUTDOWNCMD "/usr/local/bin/stop_containers_and_shutdown.sh"

📊 Monitoring and debugging

Check logs

# Script logs
tail -50 /var/log/docker-shutdown.log
tail -50 /var/log/docker-startup.log

# Systemd logs (if used)
journalctl -u docker-shutdown.service -n 50
journalctl -u docker-startup.service -n 50

Check status

# Which containers are running
docker ps --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}"

# Timer status
systemctl list-timers | grep docker

# State file (if exists)
cat /etc/active_containers.txt 2>/dev/null || echo "File not found"

⚠️ Common issues

# Script not running via cron
→ Check permissions: ls -la /usr/local/bin/*.sh
→ Check cron: grep CRON /var/log/syslog
→ Ensure cron is running: systemctl status cron

# Containers not starting
→ Check Docker: systemctl status docker
→ Check logs: docker logs <container_id>
→ Verify file exists: cat /etc/active_containers.txt

# System not shutting down
→ Check shutdown available: which shutdown
→ Check permissions: script must run as root
→ View logs: journalctl -b -1 (previous boot)

# File not removed after startup
→ Check file permissions: ls -la /etc/active_containers.txt
→ Remove manually: rm -f /etc/active_containers.txt

🗂 Pre-deployment checklist

  • Tested scripts manually before cron setup
  • Verified logging: /var/log/docker-*.log
  • Ensured critical services excluded (if needed)
  • Confirmed container data on persistent volumes
  • Configured startup/shutdown notifications (optional)
  • Created config backup