date command

The date command displays or sets the date and time.

Enter the following command to determine what your system recognizes as the current date and time:
/usr/bin/date
Attention: Do not change the date when the system is running with more than one user.

The following formats can be used when setting the date with the Date parameter:

  • mmddHHMM[YYyy] (default)
  • mmddHHMM[yy]
The variables to the Date parameter are defined as follows:
Item Description
mm Specifies the number of the month.
dd Specifies the number of the day in the month.
HH Specifies the hour in the day (using a 24-hour clock).
MM Specifies the minute number.
YY Specifies the first two digits of a four-digit year.
yy Specifies the last two numbers of the year.
With root authority, you can use the date command to set the current date and time. For example:
date 021714252002
Sets the date to Feb. 17, 2002, and time to 14:25.