General

timedatectl Cheatsheet

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Basic Status

Check the current time, date, time zone, and sync state.

Command Description
timedatectl Show current time, time zone, and NTP status
timedatectl status Show the same formatted status explicitly
timedatectl show Show status in key-value format
timedatectl show --property=Timezone --value Print the current time zone only
timedatectl show --property=NTPSynchronized --value Print whether the clock is synchronized

Time Zones

List and change time zone settings.

Command Description
timedatectl list-timezones List all available time zones
timedatectl list-timezones | grep -i berlin Filter the time zone list
sudo timedatectl set-timezone Europe/Berlin Set the system time zone
sudo timedatectl set-timezone Etc/UTC Switch the system back to UTC
timedatectl show --property=Timezone --value Confirm the current time zone in scripts

NTP Synchronization

Enable, disable, and inspect time synchronization.

Command Description
sudo timedatectl set-ntp true Enable automatic time sync
sudo timedatectl set-ntp false Disable automatic time sync
timedatectl timesync-status Show the current NTP server, offset, and poll interval
timedatectl show-timesync Show timesync details in key-value format
timedatectl show --property=NTP --value Show whether NTP is enabled

Set Time and Date

Disable NTP first when setting the clock manually.

Command Description
sudo timedatectl set-ntp false Turn off NTP before manual changes
sudo timedatectl set-time '2026-04-21 14:30:00' Set both date and time
sudo timedatectl set-time '14:30:00' Set the time only
sudo timedatectl set-time '2026-04-21' Set the date only
sudo timedatectl set-ntp true Re-enable NTP after manual changes

RTC and Hardware Clock

Control whether the RTC uses UTC or local time.

Command Description
timedatectl show --property=LocalRTC --value Check whether the RTC uses local time
sudo timedatectl set-local-rtc 0 Set the RTC to UTC
sudo timedatectl set-local-rtc 1 Set the RTC to local time
sudo timedatectl set-local-rtc 1 --adjust-system-clock Switch RTC mode and adjust the system clock
timedatectl Confirm the RTC in local TZ status line

Script-Friendly Output

Extract single values for shell scripts and automation.

Command Description
timedatectl show --property=Timezone --value Get the current time zone
timedatectl show --property=LocalRTC --value Get the RTC mode
timedatectl show --property=CanNTP --value Check whether NTP is supported
timedatectl show --property=NTP --value Check whether NTP is enabled
timedatectl show --property=NTPSynchronized --value Check whether the clock is synchronized

Remote and Container Use

Run timedatectl against another host or a local container.

Command Description
timedatectl -H user@server status Check time settings on a remote host over SSH
timedatectl -H root@server set-timezone UTC Change the remote host time zone
timedatectl -M mycontainer status Check time settings in a local container
timedatectl -M mycontainer show --property=Timezone --value Print the container time zone only

Quick Fixes

Use these when timedatectl does not behave as expected.

Command Description
sudo timedatectl set-ntp false Fix Automatic time synchronization is enabled before set-time
timedatectl timesync-status Check which server is syncing the clock
timedatectl --no-pager Print directly without opening a pager
sudo date -s '2026-04-21 14:30:00' Set the clock on non-systemd systems where timedatectl does not work

Related Guides

Use these articles for deeper explanations and step-by-step instructions.

Guide Description
How to Set or Change the Time Zone in Linux Change the system time zone with timedatectl, tzdata, or /etc/localtime
date Command in Linux Read and set the system clock with the traditional date command
journalctl Cheatsheet Inspect time sync and service logs from the systemd journal
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