--- 
canonical: 'https://mwop.net/blog/2026-05-04-reboot-required.html'
title: 'Determining if a reboot is required on Linux'
author: "[Matthew Weier O'Phinney](https://mwop.net)"
created: '2026-05-04T08:35:08-05:00'
updated: '2026-05-04T08:35:08-05:00'
tags:
  - linux
  - til

---
I've been using the construct `sudo run-parts /etc/update-motd.d/` to determine if recent system updates required a reboot.

Today I learned I can simply check for the existence of the file `/var/run/reboot-required`.