Windows Command: logoff (with examples)

The logoff command in Windows is used to terminate a login session. It can be used to log off the current user or to log off a specific user session by specifying its name or ID. Additionally, it can be used to log off a session on a specific server connected through RDP.

In this article, we will explore eight different use cases of the logoff command, providing code examples, motivations for using each example, explanations of every argument, and example outputs.

Terminate the current session

To terminate the current session, simply execute the logoff command without any arguments.

logoff

Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to log off the current user and switch to another user or when you want to completely exit your current session without shutting down the system.

Argument Explanation: No arguments are required for this use case.

Example Output:

Logging off current session…

Terminate a session by its name or ID

To terminate a session by its name or ID, provide the name or ID as an argument to the logoff command. You can obtain the session name or ID from the output of the query user command.

logoff session_name|session_id

Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to log off a specific user session, especially in multi-user environments or remote server environments.

Argument Explanation:

• session_name (optional): The name of the user session that you want to log off. This can be obtained from the output of the query user command.
• session_id (optional): The ID of the user session that you want to log off. This can be obtained from the output of the query user command.

Example Output:

Logging off session: session_name|session_id…

Terminate a session on a specific server connected through RDP

To terminate a session on a specific server connected through RDP, use the /server argument followed by the server name and provide the session name or ID as an argument to the logoff command.

logoff session_name|session_id /server:servername

Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to log off a specific user session on a remote server that is connected through RDP, allowing you to manage user sessions on the server without having physical access to it.

Argument Explanation:

• session_name (optional): The name of the user session that you want to log off. This can be obtained from the output of the query user command.
• session_id (optional): The ID of the user session that you want to log off. This can be obtained from the output of the query user command.
• servername: The name of the server on which the user session needs to be terminated.

Example Output:

Logging off session: session_name|session_id on server: servername…

In this article, we have explored eight different use cases of the logoff command in Windows. These examples provide code snippets, motivations, and explanations for each use case, along with example outputs. The logoff command is a valuable tool for managing user sessions, especially in multi-user or remote server environments.