---
name: "shutdown"
section: "3p"
platform: "linux"
package: "man-pages"
version: "6.19-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/shutdown/3p"
---

# shutdown(3p)

shut down socket send and receive operations

## PROLOG

This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.

## NAME

shutdown — shut down socket send and receive operations

## SYNOPSIS

```
#include <sys/socket.h>
```

int shutdown(int *socket*, int *how*);

## DESCRIPTION

The *shutdown*() function shall cause all or part of a full-duplex connection on the socket associated with the file descriptor *socket* to be shut down.

The *shutdown*() function takes the following arguments:

- *socket*

  Specifies the file descriptor of the socket.

- *how*

  Specifies the type of shutdown. The values are as follows:

  - SHUT\_RD

    Disables further receive operations.

  - SHUT\_WR

    Disables further send operations.

  - SHUT\_RDWR

    Disables further send and receive operations.

The *shutdown*() function disables subsequent send and/or receive operations on a socket, depending on the value of the *how* argument.

## RETURN VALUE

Upon successful completion, *shutdown*() shall return 0; otherwise, -1 shall be returned and *errno* set to indicate the error.

## ERRORS

The *shutdown*() function shall fail if:

- **EBADF**

  The *socket* argument is not a valid file descriptor.

- **EINVAL**

  The *how* argument is invalid.

- **ENOTCONN**

  The socket is not connected.

- **ENOTSOCK**

  The *socket* argument does not refer to a socket.

The *shutdown*() function may fail if:

- **ENOBUFS**

  Insufficient resources were available in the system to perform the operation.

*The following sections are informative.*

## EXAMPLES

None.

## APPLICATION USAGE

None.

## RATIONALE

None.

## FUTURE DIRECTIONS

None.

## SEE ALSO

*getsockopt()*, *pselect()*, *read()*, *recv()*, *recvfrom()*, *recvmsg()*, *send()*, *sendto()*, *setsockopt()*, *socket()*, *write()*

The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017, ***\<sys\_socket.h\>***

## COPYRIGHT

Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source files to man page format. To report such errors, see https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting\_bugs.html .