Chrony Time Synchronization: Fix Linux Clock Drift
Oct 03, 2026
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by John Britto
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1 min read
Quick Linux Tip #88 :
Question: My server clocks drift. How do I get millisecond-accurate time sync?
Try: chronyc tracking
Info: chrony replaces legacy ntpd with faster clock convergence and better accuracy on VM/cloud instances. Running chronyc tracking monitors stratum, offset, and real-time sync performance.
Examples:
$ sudo chronyc sourcestats # View drill-down statistics for active time sources
$ sudo chronyc makestep # Force instant clock correction by stepping the time
$ timedatectl status # Inspect overall systemd time synchronization state
Note: Install via sudo apt install chrony. In chronyc sources, * indicates the active synchronized NTP peer, while + denotes viable candidate sources.
LinuxTeck.com
linuxteck:~$ chronyc tracking
Reference ID : A1B2C3D4 (time.google.com)
Stratum : 2
Ref time (UTC) : Fri Oct 10 09:23:45 2026
System time : 0.000234567 seconds slow of NTP time
Last offset : -0.000123456 seconds
RMS offset : 0.000345678 seconds
Frequency : 12.345 ppm slow
Residual freq : +0.023 ppm
Skew : 0.567 ppm
Root delay : 0.023456 seconds
Root dispersion : 0.001234 seconds
Update interval : 1024.3 seconds
Leap status : Normal
linuxteck:~$ chronyc sources -v
MS Name/IP address Stratum Poll Reach LastRx Last sample
===============================================================================
^* time.google.com 1 10 377 237 -12us[- 23us] +/- 456us
^+ time.cloudflare.com 1 10 377 123 +34us[+ 45us] +/- 789us
linuxteck:~$
About John Britto
John Britto Founder & Chief-Editor @LinuxTeck. A Computer Geek and Linux Intellectual having more than 20+ years of experience in Linux and Open Source technologies.
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