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2 Ways to check timezone in Linux

In this blog post, we will discuss two ways to check the timezone in Linux. The first way is to use the date command, and the second way is to use the timedatectl command. Both commands are useful for checking the timezone on your system, and they both have their own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a closer look at each of these commands!

Check timezone with date command in Linux

The best way to check timezone in Linux is using date command. It will display the current date, time and timezone. To use the date command, all you need to do is type “date” into your terminal. The output of the date command will look something like this:Thu Apr 21 09:11:45 EDT 2022

As you can see, the output of the date command includes the current date, time, and timezone. The output of the date command is very straightforward and easy to understand. However, one downside of the date command is that it does not allow you to change the timezone. If you want to change the timezone, you will need to use the timedatectl command (which we will discuss next).

If you only want to display the timezone, you can use date command + %Z or %z option.

date ‘+%Z’
EDT
date ‘+%z’
-0400

Check timezone with timedatectl command in Linux

The timedatectl command is a more advanced command that allows you to both view and change the timezone on your system in Linux. To use the timedatectl command, type “timedatectl” into your terminal. The output of the timedatectl command will look something like this:

timedatectl
Local time: Thu 2022-04-21 09:09:50 EDT
Universal time: Thu 2022-04-21 13:09:50 UTC
RTC time: Thu 2022-04-21 09:09:43
Time zone: America/New_York (EDT, -0400)
System clock synchronized: yes
NTP service: active
RTC in local TZ: yes

As you can see, the output of the timedatectl command is much more detailed than the output of the date command. The timedatectl command not only displays the current date and time, but it also displays the time zone, whether or not NTP is enabled.

In addition, the timedatectl command allows you to change the timezone on your system. To do this, simply use the “timedatectl set-timezone” command followed by the desired timezone. For example, to set the timezone to America/New_York, you would type the following into your terminal: timedatectl set-timezone America/New_York

Is it possible to list all of the available timezones with timedatectl?

Yes, it is possible to list all available timezones with timedatectl. To do this, use the “timedatectl list-timezones” command.

What is the easiest way to check the timezone in Linux?

The easiest way to check the timezone in Linux is using date command. It will display the current date,time and timezone.

How to change timezone in Linux?

To change the timezone in Linux, use the “timedatectl set-timezone” command followed by the desired timezone. For example, to set the timezone to America/New_York, you would type “timedatectl set-timezone America/New_York” into your terminal.

How to use the date command to only display timezone information?

To use the date command to only display timezone information, use date command + %Z or %z option. For example, “date ‘+%Z'” will output “EDT” and “date ‘+%z'” will output “-0400”.

What is the output of the timedatectl command if NTP is not enabled?

If NTP is not enabled, the output of the timedatectl command will be “NTP service: inactive”.

What are some of the other options that can be used with timedatectl?

Some of the other options that can be used with timedatectl include “set-ntp”, “status”, and “list-timezones”.

How to use the timedatectl command to check if the system clock is synchronized?

To check if the system clock is synchronized, use the “timedatectl status” command. If the system clock is synchronized, it will output “System clock synchronized: yes”. If the system clock is not synchronized, it will output “System clock synchronized: no”.

How to check time in Linux?

To check the time in Linux, you can use the date command or the timedatectl command. The date command will display the current date, time and timezone, while the timedatectl command will display additional information such as the time zone and whether or not NTP is enabled.

Both the date and timedatectl commands are useful for checking the timezone on your system. The date command is a simple command that only displays the current date and time. However, the date command does not allow you to change the timezone. The timedatectl command is a more advanced command that allows you to both view and change the timezone on your system. If you want to simply check the current date and time, use the date command. If you want to be able to view and change the timezone on your system, use the timedatectl command.

Do you have any tips for using the date or timedatectl commands? Let us know in the comments below! And, as always, if you found this blog post helpful, please share it with your friends and colleagues! Thanks for reading!”