How To Set or Change Timezone on Debian 9

Introduction

Before we begin talking about how to set or change timezone on Debian 9, let's briefly understand – What is Timezone?

A timezone refers to the geographical region where a computer system is located. It helps to determine the local time of the system by considering the offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Timezones play a crucial role in various operations, including scheduling tasks, timestamping files, and displaying accurate local time on the system. Understanding and correctly configuring timezones on Linux ensures accuracy in time-related operations and improves system performance.

In this tutorial, you will set or change timezone on Debian 9. We will also address a few FAQs on how to set or change timezone on Debian 9.

Advantages of Timezone

1. Accurate time representation: Timezones allow precise representation of local time on computers, ensuring accurate scheduling, logging, and synchronization.
2. Global coordination: Timezone management enables seamless collaboration and synchronization of events across different regions.
3. Efficient task scheduling: With timezones, tasks can be scheduled and executed based on local time, ensuring smooth operation irrespective of geographical locations.
4. Timestamp accuracy: Timezones aid in accurate recording of timestamps on files, emails, and other data, facilitating organization and tracking.
5. Worldwide communication: Timezone support facilitates effective communication and real-time interactions across different time zones, promoting global connectivity and collaboration.

Prerequisites

To alter the system's timezone, the user you're logged in as must have sudo access.

Checking the Current Timezone

The timedatectl command in Debian and other recent Linux distributions allows you to view and change the current system's time and timezone.

timedatectl

The system's timezone is set to "America/Chicago," as shown in the output below:

Output

Local time: Mon 2022-05-23 16:46:45 CDT
  Universal time: Mon 2022-05-23 21:46:45 UTC
        RTC time: Mon 2022-05-23 21:46:45
       Time zone: America/Chicago (CDT, -0500)
 Network time on: yes
NTP synchronized: no
 RTC in local TZ: no

Symlinking /etc/localtime to a binary timezone identifier in the /usr/share/zoneinfo directory sets the system timezone. Another way to check the timezone is to use the ls command to see the path to which the symlink points:

ls -l /etc/localtime

Output

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 37 Jan 23 03:19 /etc/localtime -> ../usr/share/zoneinfo/America/Chicago

Changing Timezone in Debian

You must first determine the lengthy name of the timezone you want to use before altering it. The "Region/City" pattern is commonly used when naming timezones.

You can either list the files in the /usr/share/zoneinfo directory or use the timedatectl command to see all available time zones.

timedatectl list-timezones

Output

...
Europe/Lisbon
Europe/Ljubljana
Europe/London
Europe/Luxembourg
Europe/Madrid
Europe/Malta
...

Run the following command as sudo user once you've determined which time zone is correct for your location:

sudo timedatectl set-timezone your_time_zone

To set the system's timezone to Europe/Ljubljana, for example, type:

sudo timedatectl set-timezone Europe/Ljubljana

Use the timedatectl command to confirm the change:

timedatectl

Output

Local time: Mon 2022-05-23 22:51:27 CET
  Universal time: Mon 2022-05-23 21:51:27 UTC
        RTC time: Mon 2022-05-23 21:51:26
       Time zone: Europe/Ljubljana (CET, +0100)
 Network time on: yes
NTP synchronized: yes
 RTC in local TZ: no

Changing the Timezone by Creating a Symlink

If you're using an older version of Debian and don't have the timedatectl command, you can change your timezone by symlinking /etc/localtime to the timezone in the /usr/share/zoneinfo directory.

Delete or symlink the current /etc/localtime file:

sudo rm -f /etc/localtime

Create a symlink for the timezone you want to configure:

sudo ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/Ljubljana /etc/localtime

By listing the /etc/localtime file or using the date command, you may verify the change:

date

Mon May 23 22:55:04 CET 2022

FAQs to Set or Change Timezone on Debian 9

Conclusion

You learned how to change the timezone of your Debian system in this tutorial.

If you have any queries, please leave a comment below and we’ll be happy to respond to them.