The GNOME Time Synchronization Daemon
In Ubuntu, the GNOME Settings Daemon (GSD) handles a multitude of background tasks to keep the desktop environment running smoothly. The gsd-datetime plugin is specifically responsible for managing the system’s time and date settings through the graphical interface. If you go into the GNOME Settings and enable “Automatic Date & Time” or “Automatic Time Zone,” it is this daemon that interacts with the underlying systemd-timesyncd service and GeoIP services to figure out where you are and set your clock accordingly.
For standard laptop users who travel frequently, this automatic synchronization is highly convenient. However, if you are running a static desktop PC, or more importantly, a headless Linux server where absolute time precision is managed strictly via dedicated NTP (Network Time Protocol) servers like chrony or ntpd, you do not want a graphical daemon interfering with your system clock. If your time management is handled strictly at the systemd or kernel level, having GNOME occasionally attempt to assert control over the timezone based on graphical settings is unnecessary and potentially disruptive. You can safely disable this plugin.
How to Disable the Gsd-datetime Service
Because gsd-datetime is loaded dynamically as a plugin by the main GNOME Settings Daemon, you cannot disable it using standard systemctl commands. You must remove the binary’s ability to execute.
- Open your Ubuntu Terminal.
- To disable the date and time management plugin, remove its execute permissions by running the following command:
sudo chmod -x /usr/libexec/gsd-datetime(Note: Depending on your specific version of Ubuntu, the plugin binary might be located at /usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon/gsd-datetime).
- Restart your computer, or log out of your GNOME session and log back in to apply the change.
GNOME will no longer attempt to manage or synchronize your system clock, leaving that responsibility entirely to your underlying command-line NTP services.