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RDATE(8) System Manager's Manual RDATE(8)

rdateset the system's date from a remote host

rdate [-46acnpsv] host

rdate displays and sets the local date and time from the host name or address given as the argument. The time source is an RFC 5905 protocol SNTP/NTP server.

The options are as follows:

Forces rdate to use IPv4 addresses only.
Forces rdate to use IPv6 addresses only.
Use the adjtime(2) call to gradually skew the local time to the remote time rather than just hopping.
Correct leap seconds. This should be used only when synchronizing to a server which does not correctly account for leap seconds.
Use SNTP (RFC 5905). This is the default. This protocol counts 32 bits of seconds from January 1, 1900 and will handle rollover to a new NTP era in February 2036.
Do not set, just print the remote time.
Do not print the time.
Verbose output. Always show the adjustment.

/var/log/wtmp
record of date resets and time changes

date(1), adjtime(2), inetd(8), ntpd(8)

OpenBSD-current March 27, 2026 RDATE(8)