Linux (Ubuntu): safely remove a USB flash disk via the command line [closed]

You can do this using udisks. It is not installed by default, but it is easy enough to install (the package is like a megabyte in size once installed)...

sudo apt-get install udisks

Once installed, you can detach a USB drive with the following commands...

sudo udisks --unmount /dev/sdb1
sudo udisks --detach /dev/sdb

The first line unmounts it. Just like any other partition you can still remount it at this point. The second line detaches it. After this it is powered down and you have to remove/reinsert it to remount.

To clarify, sdb is the device and sdb1, sdb2, sdb3, etc. are partitions on the device. Also, you will need to unmount all mount points before you attempt to detach the device. Usually with a USB stick/drive there is only one but it is a warning you should know about none the less.

Getting the device name from the mount point would require you pull it from mount or something.