NTP_WAIT(8)

📦 version 4.2.8p15, in ubuntu jammy

💖 NTP_WAIT — bestie edition 💖

okay so this is NTP_WAIT(8), a System Manager's Manual page, and it's literally about the one thing every server girlie needs: waiting for the clock to chill out. let's get into it 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

ntp-wait — wait for ntpd to stabilize the system clock

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

ntp-wait [-flags] [-flag [value]] [--option-name[[=| ]value]]
All arguments must be options. no positional args allowed, periodt. 💅

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so here's the vibe: ntp-wait sends at most num-tries queries over to ntpd(8), and after every single status return that says ntpd(8) has not yet produced a synchronized and stable system clock, it sleeps for secs-between-tries and tries again. it's giving "are we there yet" but make it daemon. 😭

and it does all of this quietly — no yapping — unless you hand it the -v flag. 💅

why would you even want this? bestie, boot time. you can use it at boot time to delay the boot sequence until after ntpd -g has set the time. it's the "wait for the glow-up to finish before you walk in" of init scripts. iconic. 👑

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • -n number, --tries=number — how many times we go check on ntpd. this option takes an integer as its argument. the default number for this option is:
100

the maximum number of times we will check ntpd to see if it has been able to synchronize and stabilize the system clock. that's the whole thing. 100 chances, no more. 🍓

  • -s secs-between-tries, --sleep=secs-between-tries — how long we nap between tries. this option takes an integer as its argument. the default secs-between-tries for this option is:
6

we will sleep for secs-between-tries after each query of ntpd that returns "the time is not yet stable". it's a lil power nap between vibe checks. 😴✨

  • -v, --verbose — be verbose. 🗣️

by default, ntp-wait is silent. with this option, ntp-wait will provide status information. so if you're nosy (respectfully), this is your flag.

  • -?, --help — display usage information and exit. the "explain urself" button. 💖
  • -!, --more-help — pass the extended usage information through a pager. for when the short version wasn't enough and you need the full lore drop. 📖
  • -v [{v|c|n --version [{v|c|n}]}] — output version of program and exit. the default mode is v, a simple version. the c mode will print copyright information and n will print the full copyright notice. yes, -v is doing double duty on this page — verbose in one spot, version in the other. she contains multitudes. 💀

🔥 EXIT STATUS 🔥

one of the following exit values will be returned:

  1. 0 (EXIT_SUCCESS) — successful program execution. ate. ✅
  2. 1 (EXIT_FAILURE) — the operation failed or the command syntax was not valid. 🚩
  3. 70 (EX_SOFTWARE) — libopts had an internal operational error. please report it to autogen-users@lists.sourceforge.net. thank you. 🙈

💜 AUTHORS 💜

Harlan Stenn

🌈 NOTES 🌈

  • this document corresponds to version 4.2.8p15 of NTP.
  • this manual page was AutoGen-erated from the ntp-wait option definitions.

and that's the page!! shoutout to Debian, June 23 2020, and the System Manager's Manual for bringing us this absolute banger. go forth and wait for your clock, bestie — she'll stabilize eventually. 🧚✨💖

📦 where this page comes from