date Command in Linux

Linux date Command Syntax

The syntax for the date command is as follows:

Where:

• OPTION: The options are flags that modify the behavior of the date command.
• FORMAT: The format specifies how the date and time should be displayed. It is preceded by a '+' sign.

date Command Options:

• -d, --date=STRING: Display time described by STRING, not 'now'.
• -f, --file=DATEFILE: Parse multiple date strings in DATEFILE.
• -R, --rfc-email: Output the date in RFC 5322 format, commonly used in email headers.
• -s, --set=STRING: Set the system time to the time described by STRING.

Example Usages

• Display the current date and time:

  Output:

  Explanation: The default output displays the current date and time.

• Display the date in a custom format:

  Output:

  Explanation: The output is formatted according to the given format string.

Advanced Use Cases of date Command in Linux

• Calculate the date 7 days from now:

  Output:

  Explanation: The -d option allows us to display a future or past date based on the given STRING.

• Get the Unix timestamp:

  Output:

  Explanation: The Unix timestamp is the number of seconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC.

• Set the system time using the -s option:

  Output:

  Explanation: The system time is updated to the specified time. Note that you need root privileges to set the system time.