System and processes

The date command

Shows the current date and time. With +FORMAT you can extract just the part you need for file names or reports.

Syntax

date [+FORMATO]

Most useful options

+%FDate as YYYY-MM-DD
+%TTime HH:MM:SS
-uShows UTC time

Copy-ready examples

$ dateFull date and time
$ date +%FJust the date, ideal for a file name

You can try them in the browser terminal: it does not touch your computer.

Typical mistakes

  • In a +FORMAT the case matters: %m is the month and %M the minutes.

Related commands

caluptimetimedatectl

FAQ

How do I use the date in a file name?

With date +%F, for example backup-$(date +%F).tar.

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