How to use the Time command in Linux

The terminal is one of the most powerful tools in all of computing. In it, we can execute several important administrative operations. Also, we can measure how long a command takes to execute. So that you can make the most of it, we have brought you this post, in which we will teach you how to use the Time command in Linux.

What is the Linux Time command?

The Linux Time command is a command used to determine the execution time of a specific operation. Thanks to this command, we can know the exact duration of a process in any Linux operating system.

In addition, we can know its execution in the processor. Typically, the Time command is used to measure the performance of those associated with network-managed services.

First, we have to connect to our using SSH. If you have problems, check out our !

Then we can run the following command to display the command information in the terminal.

man time

The basic syntax of the Linux Time command is as follows:

time command

It looks the same on any Unix-based system. Let’s analyze the syntax:

• time – indicates the use of the command
• – allows us to add modifiers to the command
• command – is where we write what we want to inspect

To check the time it takes to run the root folder content check command, for example, we write by typing this string on the command line:

time ls -l /

If you do it in your terminal you will get three results:

• Real: refers to the elapsed time between execution and completion of the process.
• user: is the amount of CPU time spent on user mode code (outside the kernel) during the execution of the process.
• sys: is the amount of CPU time spent in the kernel executing the process.

There are several options that modify the behavior of the time command. A useful option is to export the results to a text file. We can do this with the option -either. First, though, we’ll need to create the . To do this we use the command touch:

touch output.txt

Next, run the time command with the -o option.

time ls -l / -o output.txt

With this method, you can closely examine how long a command takes to execute.

conclusion

The Time command is an easy to use command that lets you know how long a process takes to run. This utility gives us valuable information about the performance of our servers, networks or machines. It is an essential tool in the arsenal of any network expert or system administrator.

If you want to learn about the Linux Time command, we recommend reading the manual available in the terminal. Good luck!

Deyi is a digital marketing enthusiast, with a background in web design, content creation, copywriting, and SEO. She is part of ‘s SEO & Localization team. In her free time, she likes to develop projects, read a book or watch a good movie.