What is the method for retrieving a timestamp in Linux?

6 months ago

2 minutes

In the Linux system, there are typically two ways to retrieve a timestamp (also known as Unix timestamp or Epoch time).

You can use the date command to obtain the current timestamp. Input the following command in the terminal to get the current timestamp:

date +%s

This will return the current timestamp in seconds.

Utilizing other programming languages or tools: Apart from the date command, it is also possible to obtain a timestamp using other programming languages (such as Python, Perl, C, etc.) or tools (such as awk, sed, etc.). For instance, one can use Python’s time module to retrieve the current timestamp, with sample code provided below:

import time
timestamp = int(time.time())
print(timestamp)

These are two common methods that you can choose from based on your needs to obtain a timestamp.