Show Uptime in Pretty Format with uptime -p

Use uptime -p to print a concise human-readable uptime line such as 'up 3 days, 4 hours, 12 minutes' on Linux.

Linuxclisystem-infouptimeLow risk

Run `uptime -p` to print system uptime in a plain human-readable phrase instead of the tabular one-line output.

01Command

Command

$ uptime -p

02What it does

Bare `uptime` shows current time, users, and load averages, and many people forget it also has a -p flag. With -p it prints only the pretty duration, for example "up 2 weeks, 3 days, 5:14". Use -s (uptime -s) when you want the boot timestamp instead of the duration.

03Risk

RiskLow risk

Requirementsprocps package; preinstalled on virtually all Linux distributions.

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

uptime(1) - Linux man page
Ubuntu Manpages · technical · 2026-09-17
Evidence: -p, --pretty: show uptime in pretty format.

Last verified: 2026-09-17 · Category: System & Settings