How to reduce systemd stop timeouts

If you’re running a systemd-based Linux distribution, such as Arch, you might have came across this weird glitch - a 90-second countdown when you try to turn off the machine.

Ctrl-C, Ctrl-D don’t work, you either wait, invoke REISUO, or hold the power switch. If you’re sick of this ritual, this article may have a solution for you.

Open the /etc/systemd/system.conf file with your favourite editor (you need sudo), and look for a (commented out) line with DefaultTimeoutStopSec.

#DefaultTimeoutStopSec=90s

Uncomment the line (remove the # symbol), and change the time to whatever you like. It might be sensible to keep some timeout. Perhaps 10s.

After saving the file and reboot, the problem should be fixed!