Shutdown PC Automatically after Media or Playlist Ends in VLC

If you want your Windows PC to automatically shut down after your current media or playlist ends then there is a simple trick to do so. First, you have to configure VLC to exit after the current media or playlist finishes. Then you need Windows to detect that VLC has exited and follow up with the shutdown or even hibernation process.

The shutdown feature isn’t inbuilt in VLC but it can exit after a playlist ends. A simple .bat file can be used to turn off the PC after VLC has exited.

Here are the detailed steps:

Part I: Configuring VLC to Exit after Playlist ends

• Go to Tools > Preferences [CTRL + P].
• Click on All under Show settings.
• Click on Playlist on the left.
• Check the option that says Play and exit.
• Click Save.

Part II: Shutting Down PC after VLC Exits

• Open up your notepad or any other text editor.
• Copy and paste the following text in the file

START /WAIT "C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" %1 vlc://quit shutdown -s -t 60

• You want to save it as a .bat file like vlc.bat.
• Click and drag your media files or playlist on top of the bat file.

VLC will launch, play every item from your playlist, exit when at the end of the list and initiate a windows shutdown process after 60 seconds.

Alternative bat file: You can also try this other bat file that requires you to input the full path to your individual media files. Here’s an example of the .bat file.

START /WAIT "C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" D:\movies\video.mp4 D:\series\series.mp4 vlc://quit shutdown -s -t 30

If you need to cancel the shutdown process then:

• Press Windows Key + R
• Type cmd and press enter.
• Input shutdown -a to abort the process.