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 12 high quality Linux GUI 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 12 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. Terminal-based clocks are now explored in a separate roundup.
| GUI Clocks | |
|---|---|
| KClock | Convergent clock application for KDE Plasma |
| GNOME Clocks | Stopwatch, timer, alarms, and multiple clocks |
| Digital Clock 5 | Modern digital clock application (no support for Wayland) |
| QTalarm | Qt based alarm clock |
| catclock | xclock with an enhanced cat mode |
| svg-clock | Analog clock using Scalable Vector Graphics |
| retro | Customizable clock widget |
| multiClock | Track the time around the world |
| Alarm Clock | Fully-featured alarm clock for your GNOME panel or equivalent |
| xdaliclock | Advanced xclock substitute |
| dclock | Displays the time in digital format only |
| Hyprclock | Customisable clock application for the Hyprland window manager |
This article has been updated to reflect the changes outlined in our recent announcement.
 Explore our comprehensive directory of recommended free and open source software. Our carefully curated collection spans every major software category.This directory is part of our ongoing series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. It features hundreds of detailed reviews, along with open source alternatives to proprietary solutions from major corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. You’ll also find interesting projects to try, hardware coverage, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Know a useful open source Linux program that we haven’t covered yet? Let us know by completing this form. |
Thanks for this compilation