In computing, TIME is a command in DEC RT-11,[1] DOS, IBM OS/2,[2] Microsoft Windows[3] and a number of other operating systems that is used to display and set the current system time.[4] It is included in command-line interpreters (shells) such as COMMAND.COM, cmd.exe, 4DOS, 4OS2 and 4NT.
Implementations

TIME command of RT-11SJ displayed on a VT100.The command is also available in the Motorola VERSAdos,[5] Intel iRMX 86,[6] PC-MOS,[7] SpartaDOS X,[8] ReactOS,[9] SymbOS, and DexOS operating systems as well as in the EFI shell.[10] On MS-DOS, the command is available in versions 1 and later.[11]
In Unix, the date command displays and sets both the time and date, in a similar manner.
Syntax
The syntax differs depending on the specific platform and implementation:
DOS

TIME.COM (among other commands) in IBM PC DOS 1.0.TIME [time]
OS/2 (CMD.EXE)
TIME [hh-mm-ss] [/N]
Note: /N means no prompt for TIME.
Windows (CMD.EXE)
TIME [/T | time]
When this command is called from the command line or a batch script, it will display the time and wait for the user to type a new time and press RETURN. Pressing RETURN without entering a new time will keep the current system time. The parameter ‘/T’ will bypass asking the user to reset the time. The ‘/T’ parameter is supported in Windows Vista and later and only if Command Extensions are enabled.[4]
4DOS, 4OS2 and 4NT
TIME [/T] [hh[:mm[:ss]]] [AM | PM]
/T: (display only)
hh: The hour (0–23).
mm: The minute (0–59).
ss: The second (0–59), set to 0 if omitted.
Examples
OS/2 (CMD.EXE)
- Display the current system time:
[C:\]TIME
Current time is: 3:25 PM
Enter the new time:
Windows (CMD.EXE)
- To set the computer clock to 3:42 P.M., either of the following commands can be used:
C:\>TIME 15:42
C:\>TIME 3:42P
4DOS, 4OS2 and 4NT
- Display the current system time:
C:\SYS\SHELL\4DOS>TIME /T
19:30:42
Related commands
w32tm
w32tm is a command-line tool of Microsoft Windows used to diagnose problems occurring with time setting or to troubleshoot any problems that might occur during or after the configuration of the Windows Time service.[12] It was introduced as a standard feature of Windows 2000.[13]
The command can be used to convert an NTTE or NTP formatted date into a readable format.[14]
As an example of using the command, the current time zone settings can be displayed using the /tz parameter:
>w32tm /tz
See also
References
- ^ “RT-11 HELP FILE”. paleoferrosaurus.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17.
- ^ “JaTomes Help – OS/2 Commands”. www.jatomes.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-14.
- ^ Microsoft TechNet Time article
- ^ a b MS-DOS and Windows command line time command
- ^ M68000 Family VERSAdos System Facilities Reference Manual
- ^ iRMX™86 INTRODUCTION AND OPERATOR’S REFERENCE MANUAL For Release 6
- ^ PC-MOS User Guide
- ^ SpartaDOS X 4.48 User Guide
- ^ “Reactos/Time.c at master · reactos/Reactos”. GitHub. 19 February 2022.
- ^ “EFI Shells and Scripting”. Intel. Retrieved 2013-09-25.
- ^ Wolverton, Van (2003). Running MS-DOS Version 6.22 (20th Anniversary Edition), 6th Revised edition. Microsoft Press. ISBN 0-7356-1812-7.
- ^ How do I use the Windows Time Service?
- ^ Saarinen, Juha (December 2001). “Time is of the essence”. Australian PC World. IDG Publications. p. 140 – via Gale.
- ^ “W32TM.exe”. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
Further reading
- Wolverton, Van (1990). MS-DOS Commands: Microsoft Quick Reference, 4th Revised edition. Microsoft Press. ISBN 978-1-55615-289-4.
- Kathy Ivens; Brian Proffit (1993). OS/2 Inside & Out. Osborne McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-881871-4.
- Frisch, Æleen (2001). Windows 2000 Commands Pocket Reference. O’Reilly. ISBN 978-0-596-00148-3.