How to Set the Time zone in Debian 11

Linux is a system that we can modify at will, and one of the configurations that we can change is the Time Zone. That is why in this post, you will learn how to define the Time Zone in Debian 11. This simple process can be useful in networks.

What is the Time Zone?

The Time Zone is a system configuration value that tells us where the system is located. Many times when we are installing a system, we do not realize to place the correct one and problems can occur in configurations with diverse applications.

It also happens that, if you are a person who travels frequently, modifying the time Zone can help you to define the correct one.

Debian, like any Linux distribution, is effortless to configure. The procedure is simple. Let’s go for it.

Check the current Time Zone

Before starting, it is a good idea to check the current Time Zone of the system. So, there is the timedatectl command for this purpose.

timedatectl

You will get a screen output similar to this:

               Local time: Tue 2022-05-24 20:54:23 UTC
           Universal time: Tue 2022-05-24 20:54:23 UTC
                 RTC time: Tue 2022-05-24 20:54:23    
                Time zone: Etc/UTC (UTC, +0000)       
System clock synchronized: yes                        
              NTP service: active                     
          RTC in local TZ: no  

In this case, the timezone is set to UTC. You can also get it by using the date command.

date

Sample Output:

Tue May 12 20:11:11 UTC 2022

Now that we know what it is, we can change it to the new one or the one you prefer.

How to set the Time Zone in Debian 11

To define the Time Zone, we have to know the ones we have available according to the format in which Debian groups them. To list them all, we have to run.

sudo timedatectl list-timezones

There you will get a long list where you will have to locate yours or the closest one.

You can filter the output thanks to the grep command

sudo timedatectl list-timezones | grep -i america

Once you have it, we have to run this command:

sudo timedatectl set-timezone [your-timezone].

For example:

sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/Toronto

And when you run the timedatectl command again, the changes should take effect.

Conclusion

Setting the Time Zone in Debian 11 is a simple process that is necessary for some applications and for internal networks.

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