time(1) manual page

The time utility executes and times the specified utility. After the utility finishes, time writes to the standard error stream, (in seconds): the total time elapsed, the time used to execute the utility process and the time consumed by system overhead.

The following options are available:

-a

If the -o flag is used, append to the specified file rather than overwriting it. Otherwise, this option has no effect.

-h

Print times in a human friendly format. Times are printed in minutes, hours, etc.amp; as appropriate.

-l

The contents of the rusage structure are printed as well.

-o file

Write the output to file instead of stderr. If file exists and the -a flag is not specified, the file will be overwritten.

-p

Makes time output POSIX.2 compliant (each time is printed on its own line).

Some shells may provide a builtin time command which is similar or identical to this utility. Consult the builtin(1) manual page.

If time receives a SIGINFO (see the status argument for stty(1)) signal, the current time the given command is running will be written to the standard output.

Manual Pages — TIME

NAME

CONTENTS

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

ENVIRONMENT

EXIT STATUS

SEE ALSO

STANDARDS

HISTORY

-a
	If the -o flag is used, append to the specified file rather than overwriting it. Otherwise, this option has no effect.
-h
	Print times in a human friendly format. Times are printed in minutes, hours, etc.amp; as appropriate.
-l
	The contents of the rusage structure are printed as well.
-o file
	Write the output to file instead of stderr. If file exists and the -a flag is not specified, the file will be overwritten.
-p
	Makes time output POSIX.2 compliant (each time is printed on its own line).