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Sleep screen from terminal on Linux

To turn off screen immediately use:

xset dpms force off

where:

  • xset is a user preference utility for X
  • dpms manages power saving behaviour of monitors when the computer is not in use

More info on DPMS can be found on excellent Arch wiki.

elementary OS hint

On elementary OS, screen might get turned on after a few seconds with login prompt. To disable it, turn off “Lock after screen turns off” in the Security & Privacy -> Locking preferences.