Shutdown causes for macOS

Question

After upgrading to Sierra I cannot seem to locate shutdown causes via Console. Has anyone been able to find previous shutdown causes or an alternate option possibly with the command line (e.g. grep).

In earlier versions of macOS I could search "Sleep" and "Shutdown" and see their corresponding code.

Examples:

• shutdown cause: 3
• shutdown cause: 5
• sleep cause: -128

Answer 1

I could compose the right command to display the shutdown causes in Sierra:

log show --predicate 'eventMessage CONTAINS "shutdown cause"'

Answer 2

The precise meaning of the codes is not publicly documented, although according to @grgarside's website for Shutdown Causes, the causes for the ones listed in the question are:

• 3

Hard shutdown. Check power button.

• 5

Correct Shut-Down. Shutdown was initiated, from the OS X Shut Down menu or other shutdown commands. This normally does not indicate an issue with your system.

• Shut-Down cause: -128

  In general, -128 is an unknown hardware problem, but commonly it can be related either to memory issue or to the battery time span (at the end of its useful life).

  • See also: Tracking down hard shutdown cause—software? hardware? overheat?

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Here are a number of questions related to other shutdown causes:

• Shut-Down cause: -60

  Bad master directory block (badMDBErr).

• Shut-Down cause: -62

  Watchdog timer detected unresponsive application, restarting the system.

• Shut-Down cause: -64

• Shut-Down cause: -104

  Possibly linked to a battery issue.

• Shut-Down cause: -108

  Likely memory issue.

• Shut-Down cause: -112

  Restart cause logged when it freezes in a hard manner.

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For a full up-to-date list, see Shutdown Causes.

If you've got negative numbers very often, Apple is more keen to get your Mac to the repair, as it usually indicates problem with your hardware.

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General suggestions in case of further problems:

• Reset the SMC and Reset NVRAM (which you did).
• Run an Apple Hardware Test.
• Log a kernel panic.
• Install EtreCheck app to find serious problems on your Mac.