How to force an immediate time correction from the command line on Linux. 09.12.2025 | reading time: 3 min Clocks drift and network services can misbehave when the system time is wrong; here is how an administrator quickly forces a correct time from the command line and verifies the result. Quick Hands-On A common case: the admin notices logs and authentication failing and checks the clock, then forces an immediate correction using the installed sync tool. ```bash $ timedatectl status Local time: Fri 2025-12-12 09:15:42 UTC Universal time: Fri 2025-12-12 09:15:42 UTC RTC time: Fri 2025-12-12 09:15:40 Time zone: Etc/UTC (UTC, +0000) System clock synchronized: no NTP service: inactive RTC in local TZ: no ``` If the host uses chrony he can force a step immediately: ```bash $ sudo chronyc makestep 200 OK $ timedatectl status System clock synchronized: yes NTP service: active ``` If chrony is not available he can fall back to ntpdate after stopping a conflicting service: ```bash $ sudo systemctl stop systemd-timesyncd $ sudo ntpdate -u pool.ntp.org 16 Dec 12:34:56 ntpdate[1234]: adjust time server 91.189.94.4 offset 2.345678 sec ``` What to Watch Tell, do not just explain: check which service controls NTP on the machine before forcing changes; step adjustments apply immediately and may break time-sensitive apps, slewing is safer for small drifts, and he must update the hardware clock with `sudo hwclock --systohc` if the hardware clock should match the system clock. Options and Permissions Manual sync requires root privileges and may require temporarily disabling a running time service; use `chronyc makestep`, `ntpd -gq` or `ntpdate` depending on what is installed, and remember that `timedatectl` shows state but does not itself force a sync on all implementations. Other Tools in the Toolbox Besides chrony and ntpd, systemd offers systemd-timesyncd for lightweight syncs; `hwclock` manages the hardware clock, and network diagnostics like checking NTP server reachability are part of good troubleshooting. Final Step After a manual sync he should re-enable or restart the appropriate time service so the clock stays correct, monitor logs for repeated drift which points to deeper issues, and keep learning about time on Linux to avoid production incidents; consider pursuing CompTIA Linux+ or LPIC-1 certification and intensive exam preparation at bitsandbytes.academy to deepen operational skills. Join Bits & Bytes Academy First class LINUX exam preparation. network troubleshooting utilities infrastructure boot-process
