4 Linux commands for managing time (and why that’s important)

The proper time helps programs talk and ensures you may full duties — and with Linux, there are just a few instructions for managing time in your system.

Every of the next instructions I am going to present you has a special goal, however all of them serve time. Though it’s possible you’ll by no means use these instructions, it is good to know them, particularly in the event you ever intend on utilizing Linux as greater than only a desktop working system.

Let me introduce you to the instructions you want to know to work with time on Linux.

1. date

With date, you may print out or set the system time in your Linux machine. In case you run the date command with none arguments, it’s going to print out the date within the format:

Mon Jul 15 08:53:41 AM EDT 2024

You can too set the time and date with this command. The syntax of such a command can be one thing like this:

sudo date -s "15 July 2024 08:53:00"

You can too simply set the date like this:

date +%Ypercentmpercentd -s "20240715"

Or set the time with:

2. timedatectl

The timedatectl command ensures your Linux machine is about to the best time zone. You can too use the command to set the time. In case your Linux desktop or server would not have the best time (by just a few hours), the timezone could possibly be improperly set. 

Due to timedatectl, setting the timezone is not all that arduous. The trick is to know your timezone. You could be in America/New_York, America/Toronto, or America/Kentucky/Louisville. To seek out out what timezones can be found, subject the command:

timedatectl list-timezones

As soon as you recognize your timezone, subject a command like this:

sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/Kentucky/Louisville

You can too set the date and time with this command like so:

timedatectl set-time 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS'

For instance:

timedatectl set-time '2024-07-15 08:53:00'

3. hwclock

Subsequent, we now have a command that may manipulate the {hardware} clock. The {hardware} clock is called the Actual-Time Clock (RTC), a battery-powered clock in your pc’s motherboard that retains time, even when the system is powered off. Your pc’s BIOS manages the RTC.

Ought to you want to change the {hardware} clock, Linux has a command for that goal. 

You possibly can view the {hardware} clock with the command:

In case you discover the {hardware} clock is mistaken, you may set it with a command like this:

sudo hwclock --set --date="YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS"

For instance:

sudo hwclock --set --date="2024-07-15 09:15:00"

4. ntp

Now let’s return to timedatectl as a result of the command features a function that works with Community Time Protocol (ntp) and retains your pc in sync with a extra dependable networked server. This function does two issues: it ensures your pc has the best time, and retains you from coping with time manually.

You possibly can allow NTP in your system with the command:

sudo timedatectl set-ntp sure

Different instruments assist you to make use of NTP. For instance, you need to use timesyncd, which most definitely is not enabled by default. To allow timesyncd, subject the command:

systemctl allow --now systemd-timesyncd

Now, your system will all the time have the proper time. 

To be taught extra about these instructions, make certain to learn the person pages, with the next instructions:

• man date
• man timedatectl
• man hwclock

You will not discover a man web page for systemd-timesyncd, however you may be taught extra concerning the command from the official Arch Linux Wiki web page.