times MacOS command

The times command in MacOS is a built-in utility that displays the accumulated user and system times for the shell and its children. It is often used by system administrators and developers to monitor the resource usage of processes. With the times command, you can track how much CPU time a process has consumed, helping you optimize your system’s performance and troubleshoot any issues related to resource utilization. This command provides valuable insights into the resource allocation of processes, making it a handy tool for managing system resources efficiently.

times Syntax:

times

Options:

Option	Description
-h	Display help message
-p	Output information in POSIX format

Parameters:

None

Caution

Caution: The times command displays system resource usage for the shell and its children processes. Incorrect interpretation of the output can lead to misinformed decisions regarding system resource allocation.

times bash Examples:

Measure Execution Time of a Command

times ls

This command will measure the execution time of the “ls” command.

Measure Execution Time of a Process

times sleep 5

This command will measure the execution time of the “sleep 5” process.

Measure User and System Time Separately

times (sleep 2; ls)

This command will measure the user and system time separately for the “sleep 2” and “ls” commands.

Get Detailed User and System Time Information

times { sleep 3; echo "Finished"; }

This command will provide detailed information about user and system time for the commands within the curly brackets.

Monitor Execution Time in Real-Time

times watch -n 1 ls

This command will continuously monitor and display the user and system time for the “ls” command with a 1-second interval.

Measure Time with Multiple Nested Commands

times { echo "Start"; { sleep 2; ls; }; echo "End"; }

This command will measure the user and system time for multiple nested commands within curly brackets.

Tip

When using the times command in MacOS, make sure to include the necessary option or argument to get the desired output. Check the command’s manual page for more detailed information on how to use different options.

times Command Help Center:

How can I display the user and system times for the command executed in MacOS?

To display the user and system times for the command executed in MacOS, use the following command:

times

How do I use times in MacOS to get information on the resources used by a command?

To use the times command in MacOS to get information on the resources used by a command, execute the following command:

/usr/bin/time -l <command>

How can I measure resource usage with times in MacOS?

To measure resource usage with the times command in MacOS, simply run the command followed by the execution of the process you want to measure, like so:

/usr/bin/time <command>

How do I show the runtime statistics of a command in MacOS using times?

To show the runtime statistics of a command in MacOS using the times command, use the following syntax:

/usr/bin/time -p <command>

How to use the times command in MacOS to get both the user and system times?

To get both the user and system times using the times command in MacOS, run the command without any additional options:

times

How can I format the output of the times command in MacOS?

To format the output of the times command in MacOS, you can specify the format string using the following command:

times -f "User: %U, System: %S"

How do I use times in MacOS to get the timing statistics for a process?

To get the timing statistics for a process using the times command in MacOS, execute the following command:

/usr/bin/time -v <command>

Applications of the times command

• Measure the amount of time a process takes to execute
• Evaluate the performance of a command or script
• Monitor resource usage such as CPU time and memory consumption