Setting the System Time and Time Zone
Linux provides commands that let you set the current system date and time and the system time zone.
Setting the Current System Date and Time
To display the current system time, enter the date command:
debian:~# date Fri Jul 30 02:28:22 PDT 1999
To set the current system time, use the following form of the date command:
date MMDDhhmm[CC]YY[.ss]
The parts of the command argument have the following meanings:
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MM A two-digit month, 01–12.
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DD A two-digit day of month, 01–31.
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hh A two-digit hour, 00–24.
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mm A two-digit minute, 00–59.
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CC An optional two-digit century; for example, 19 or 20.
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YY A two-digit year; for example, 99 or 00.
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ss An optional two-digit second, 00–59.
The command displays the time you enter and then sets the system time:
debian:~# date 073010411999 Fri Jul 30 10:41:00 PDT 1999
When you power down or reboot your system, the system date and time will revert to the values held in non-volatile (CMOS) memory. To store the Linux date and time in CMOS, issue the following command:
hwclock --systohc
If you set your clock to UTC rather than local time, issue the command:
hwclock --systohc --utc
Setting the Time Zone
To set the time zone, use the tzconfig command. The command initiates a dialog that displays the current time zone and asks if you want to change it. If you reply yes, the command prompts you to choose from a list of geographical areas and then cities. Based on your choices, the command sets and displays the current time zone. A ...