/usr/bin/time: No such file or directory

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Resolving '/usr/bin/time: No such file or directory' on Linux

A broken clock icon symbolizing the 'time' command error, with a Linux terminal background.

Encountering the '/usr/bin/time: No such file or directory' error can be confusing. This article explains why it happens, how to diagnose it, and provides solutions for various Linux distributions, focusing on Fedora.

The /usr/bin/time: No such file or directory error message typically appears when you try to execute the time command in your Linux terminal. While it seems straightforward, the root cause is often a misunderstanding of how the time command works, especially the difference between the shell built-in time and the external /usr/bin/time utility. This article will guide you through diagnosing and resolving this common issue, with a particular focus on Fedora systems.

Understanding the 'time' Command Variants

Linux systems, and specifically your shell (like Bash or Zsh), often provide two versions of the time command:

  1. Shell Built-in time: This is a feature directly integrated into your shell. It's used to measure the execution time of a command that follows it. For example, time ls will measure how long the ls command takes. This version is almost always available and doesn't rely on an external executable.

  2. External time Utility (/usr/bin/time): This is a standalone program that provides more detailed timing statistics, often including memory usage, I/O operations, and more granular time breakdowns (real, user, sys). It's a separate executable file located, by convention, at /usr/bin/time.

The error /usr/bin/time: No such file or directory specifically refers to the external utility. This means your system cannot find or execute the /usr/bin/time program, even if the shell built-in time works perfectly fine.

flowchart TD
    A[User executes 'time command'] --> B{Is 'time' a shell built-in?}
    B -- Yes --> C[Shell built-in 'time' executes 'command']
    B -- No --> D{Is 'time' aliased or in PATH?}
    D -- Yes --> E[External 'time' utility executes 'command']
    D -- No --> F{Is '/usr/bin/time' explicitly called?}
    F -- Yes --> G{Does '/usr/bin/time' exist?}
    G -- Yes --> E
    G -- No --> H["Error: '/usr/bin/time: No such file or directory'"]

Decision flow for 'time' command execution

Diagnosing the Problem

Before attempting a fix, it's crucial to confirm which time command you're trying to use and why it's failing. Here are some diagnostic steps:

  1. Check for the shell built-in time: This command will tell you if time is a shell built-in.

  2. Check for the external time utility: This command attempts to locate the external time executable in your system's PATH.

  3. Verify the existence of /usr/bin/time: This directly checks if the file /usr/bin/time exists on your filesystem.

If which time returns nothing or a path other than /usr/bin/time, and ls /usr/bin/time also fails, then the external time utility is indeed missing or not in your PATH.

type time
which time
ls -l /usr/bin/time

Commands to diagnose the 'time' utility issue

Solutions for Missing '/usr/bin/time' on Fedora

The external time utility is usually provided by a package named time or util-linux. On Fedora, it's typically part of the time package. If you're encountering the 'No such file or directory' error, it's highly likely that this package is not installed or has been inadvertently removed.

Here's how to resolve it on Fedora and other RPM-based systems:

  1. Install the time package: Use the dnf package manager to install the time package. This will place the /usr/bin/time executable on your system.

  2. Verify the installation: After installation, confirm that /usr/bin/time is now present and executable.

For Debian/Ubuntu users, the package is also called time and can be installed using sudo apt install time. For Arch Linux, it's part of util-linux and should be present by default.

1. Install the 'time' package

Open your terminal and run the following command to install the time package using dnf:

2. Verify the installation

After the installation completes, check if the /usr/bin/time utility is now available and working correctly:

sudo dnf install time

Installing the 'time' package on Fedora

ls -l /usr/bin/time
/usr/bin/time ls

Verifying the 'time' utility after installation