Update Server Time/Date from Linux Command Line (SSH)

by Geoff Jackson · Published October 10, 2014 · Updated May 26, 2015

Quite often, you’ll notice the time stamp (and maybe even the dates tamp) incorrect on entries in the log which can sometimes prove a frustrating experience trying to identify when exactly various errors occurred.

From the Linux command line, you can check the server time/date with date to confirm what the server things the current time/date is. And usually, you’ll be able to modify this with:-

date --set="STRING"

So, for example, if you wanted to update the date to 10/10/2014 15:09, you would use:-

date --set="10 OCT 2014 15:09:00"

But sometimes, you won’t be permitted to change the date (often with VPS’s) and you’ll receive the following error:-

date: cannot set date: Operation not permitted

What you can do instead (with root privileges), is remove the existing localtime and then recreate the symbolic link for the timezone.

Say for example, you want to set it to Greenwich Meantime, you could carry out the following:-

rm /etc/localtime

ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/GMT /etc/localtime

Or if the clocks have gone forward (UK) and you find setting it to GMT sets the time an hour in front, you can set it to Europe/London:-

rm /etc/localtime

ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/London /etc/localtime

Listed below are the symbolic links you would need to create the for each country:-

United Kingdom
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/GMT /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/London /etc/localtime

United States
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/EST /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Alaska /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Aleutian /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Arizona /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Central /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Eastern /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/East-Indiana /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Hawaii /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Indiana-Starke /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Michigan /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Mountain /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Pacific /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Pacific-New /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Samoa /etc/localtime

Tags: server date server time ssh

Geoff Jackson

Geoff Jackson (more commonly known by his online pseudonym zigojacko) is the founder of Design Haven and The Clubnet Group which hosts numerous agencies including the most widely recognised of them, Clubnet Digital, a full service digital marketing and creative design/development agency. He also has a personal blog but it doesn't get updated as much as he'd like.