One of the strengths of Linux is the vast number of small, niche utilities that are made available under an open source license.
One of the most basic utilities supplied with any operating system is a clock utility. The clock typically resides in the taskbar /menubar, showing the current system time. Nothing very exciting there.
However, the clocks featured in this article are more sophisticated than the basic tray clock. In this article we pick the finest analog clock, timezone clocks, and alarm clocks that are available for Linux. They are all small, well-crafted, unobtrusive utilities that are released under an open source license, and add the perfect finishing touch to a well designed desktop environment.
To provide an insight into the quality of software that is available, we have compiled a list of 13 high quality Linux clock utilities. Hopefully, there will be something of interest for anyone who wants more functionality offered by the standard clock featured in desktop environments.
Here’s our verdict captured in a LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion.
Let’s explore the 13 clock utilities at hand. For each title we have compiled its own portal page, providing a screenshot of the tool in action, a full description with an in-depth analysis of its features, together with links to relevant resources.
| Clocks | |
|---|---|
| Digital Clock 5 | Modern digital clock application |
| KClock | Convergent clock application for KDE Plasma |
| GNOME Clocks | Stopwatch, timer, alarms, and multiple clocks |
| Peaclock | Customizable clock, timer, and stopwatch for the terminal |
| tty-clock | Terminal digital clock |
| talking-clock | Highly configurable talking clock |
| shalarm | Bash script that functions like an alarm clock |
| QTalarm | Qt based alarm clock |
| mongoclock | Humongous clock for the terminal |
| clock-tui | Clock app in terminal which supports local clock, timer and stopwatch |
| catclock | xclock with an enhanced cat mode |
| svg-clock | Analog clock using Scalable Vector Graphics |
| Alarm Clock | Fully-featured alarm clock for your GNOME panel or equivalent |
This article has been revamped in line with our recent announcement.
 Read our complete collection of recommended free and open source software. Our curated compilation covers all categories of software. The software collection forms part of our series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. There are hundreds of in-depth reviews, open source alternatives to proprietary software from large corporations like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. There are also fun things to try, hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. |