Miscellaneous
date
Display or set the system date and time with customizable formatting.
Synopsis
syntax
date [OPTION]... [+FORMAT]
Examples
Show current date and time
date
Print date in YYYY-MM-DD format
date +%Y-%m-%d
Show current UTC time
date -u
Show date one week from now
date -d '+1 week'
Print Unix epoch timestamp
date +%s
Common options
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| -u | Display or set UTC time |
| -d | Display time described by string |
| -s | Set time |
| -I | ISO 8601 format |
| -R | RFC 2822 format |
About date
The `date` command display or set the system date and time with customizable formatting. Utility commands cover a broad range of everyday tasks from date manipulation and arithmetic to terminal control and system documentation.
These tools fill in the gaps between major categories and are frequently used in shell scripts, cron jobs, and interactive sessions. The command accepts 5 commonly used flags shown above, though the full set of options is available in the man page (`man date`).
The 5 examples on this page cover typical real-world usage patterns that you can copy and adapt for your own workflows.
Related commands
More Miscellaneous Commands
Other commands in the Miscellaneous category