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Linux timedatectl Guide

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Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025 · 2 revisions

Linux timedatectl Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to timedatectl on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including time management, timezone configuration, and system time control.

Table of Contents

  1. Understanding timedatectl
  2. timedatectl Basics
  3. Time Management
  4. Timezone Configuration
  5. Troubleshooting

Understanding timedatectl

What is timedatectl?

timedatectl controls system time and date (systemd).

Uses:

  • View time: Show system time information
  • Set timezone: Configure timezone
  • Time synchronization: Control NTP
  • System time: Manage system time

Why it matters:

  • Time management: Manage system time
  • Timezone: Configure timezone
  • NTP control: Control time synchronization

timedatectl Basics

View Status

Basic usage:

# View time status
timedatectl

# Shows time information

Time Information

Complete info:

# All time information
timedatectl status

# Shows:
# - Local time
# - Universal time
# - RTC time
# - Time zone
# - NTP sync

⏰ Time Management

Set Time

Set system time:

# Set time
sudo timedatectl set-time "2024-01-15 10:30:00"

# Sets system time

Enable NTP

Time synchronization:

# Enable NTP
sudo timedatectl set-ntp true

# Enables automatic time sync

Timezone Configuration

Set Timezone

Change timezone:

# Set timezone
sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/New_York

# Changes timezone

List Timezones

Available timezones:

# List timezones
timedatectl list-timezones

# Shows all available timezones

Troubleshooting

timedatectl Not Found

Check systemd:

# timedatectl is part of systemd
# Usually pre-installed on systemd systems

# Check systemd
systemctl --version

Summary

This guide covered timedatectl usage, time management, and timezone configuration for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions.

Next Steps

This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.

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