« Back to Systemd: Frequently Asked Questions

How to see active systemd timers

The systemctl command can be used to show the state of units, including timers. For timers, there is a specific subcommand list-timers available.

The information that is presented, includes:

  • Next run of the timer
  • How much time is left before this next run occurs
  • Last time the timer was active
  • Time passed since this last active run
  • Timer unit name
  • Related service unit that will be triggered

Usage

# systemctl list-timers

NEXT                        LEFT        LAST                        PASSED       UNIT                         ACTIVATES                     
Thu 2024-11-21 10:58:24 CET 43min left  Wed 2024-11-20 10:58:24 CET 23h ago      systemd-tmpfiles-clean.timer systemd-tmpfiles-clean.service
Thu 2024-11-21 18:01:44 CET 7h left     Thu 2024-11-21 08:05:28 CET 2h 9min ago  apt-daily.timer              apt-daily.service
Fri 2024-11-22 00:00:00 CET 13h left    Thu 2024-11-21 00:00:24 CET 10h ago      dpkg-db-backup.timer         dpkg-db-backup.service
Fri 2024-11-22 00:00:00 CET 13h left    Thu 2024-11-21 00:00:24 CET 10h ago      logrotate.timer              logrotate.service
Fri 2024-11-22 04:37:08 CET 18h left    Thu 2024-11-21 06:42:28 CET 3h 32min ago man-db.timer                 man-db.service
Fri 2024-11-22 06:10:48 CET 19h left    Thu 2024-11-21 06:48:24 CET 3h 26min ago apt-daily-upgrade.timer      apt-daily-upgrade.service
Sun 2024-11-24 03:10:56 CET 2 days left Sun 2024-11-17 03:10:24 CET 4 days ago   e2scrub_all.timer            e2scrub_all.service
Mon 2024-11-25 01:13:09 CET 3 days left Mon 2024-11-18 01:12:54 CET 3 days ago   fstrim.timer                 fstrim.service

8 timers listed.
Pass --all to see loaded but inactive timers, too.

Learn more about systemctl

This article uses the systemctl command to achieve its tasks. For this popular tool there is a cheat sheet available!

» Mastering the tool: systemctl

systemctl cheat sheet

Other questions related to systemd

Feedback

Is the described answer not working or incorrect, got another tip or question? Share your thoughts!