UNIX Date Command Examples

How do I view and set date under UNIX operating systems?

The date command under UNIX display date. It is also used to set date and time. You must be the super-user (root) to change the date and time.

UNIX Date Command Syntax

date
date "+format"

Task: Display Current Date and Time

Type the following command:

date

Sample outputs:

Tue Oct 27 15:35:08 CDT 2009

Task: Set The Current Time

To set the current time to 05:30:30, enter:

date 0530.30

Task: Set Date

Set the date to Oct 25, 12:45 a.m., enter:

date 10250045

Another example - set the current date and time to Oct 15, 2009 04:30 you type:

date --set="20091015 04:30"

Task: Generating Output

WARNING! These examples may not work on Linux computer running GNU/coreutiles date command. All examples are tested on HP-UX, AIX, Sun Solaris and other proprietary UNIX operating systems only.

Type the following command:

date '+DATE: %m/%d/%y%nTIME:%H:%M:%S'

Sample outputs:

DATE: 10/27/09
TIME:15:50:44

Try the following examples:

date "+%m/%d/%y"
date "+%Y%m%d"
date +'%-4.4h %2.1d %H:%M'

Unix Command Help

Type the following command to read the date command man page:

man date