Configuring the time zone

Category: Linux Administration · Updated 2026-08-10

You can change the server's time zone to whatever is convenient for you.

Check the current time:

date

Output of the date command before changing the time zone

On systems with systemd (AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CentOS 7 and later, Ubuntu 16.04 and later) one command is enough:

timedatectl set-timezone Europe/Kyiv

To list the available zones:

timedatectl list-timezones

Older systems

Back up the current settings:

mv /etc/localtime /etc/localtime.bak

Set the Kyiv time zone:

cp /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/Kyiv /etc/localtime

Check the time again:

date

Output of the date command after changing the time zone