---
stage: GitLab Delivery
group: Self Managed
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
title: Change your time zone
---

{{< details >}}

- Tier: Free, Premium, Ultimate
- Offering: GitLab Self-Managed

{{< /details >}}

{{< alert type="note" >}}

Users can set their [time zone in their profile](../user/profile/_index.md#set-your-time-zone).
New users do not have a default time zone and must
explicitly set it before it displays on their profile.
On GitLab.com, the default time zone is UTC.

{{< /alert >}}

The default time zone in GitLab is UTC, but you can change it to your liking.

To update the time zone of your GitLab instance:

1. The specified time zone must be in
   [tz format](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones).
   You can use the `timedatectl` command to see the available time zones:

   ```shell
   timedatectl list-timezones
   ```

1. Change the time zone, for example to `America/New_York`.

{{< tabs >}}

{{< tab title="Linux package (Omnibus)" >}}

1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`:

   ```ruby
   gitlab_rails['time_zone'] = 'America/New_York'
   ```

1. Save the file, then reconfigure and restart GitLab:

   ```shell
   sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
   sudo gitlab-ctl restart
   ```

{{< /tab >}}

{{< tab title="Helm chart (Kubernetes)" >}}

1. Export the Helm values:

   ```shell
   helm get values gitlab > gitlab_values.yaml
   ```

1. Edit `gitlab_values.yaml`:

   ```yaml
   global:
     time_zone: 'America/New_York'
   ```

1. Save the file and apply the new values:

   ```shell
   helm upgrade -f gitlab_values.yaml gitlab gitlab/gitlab
   ```

{{< /tab >}}

{{< tab title="Docker" >}}

1. Edit `docker-compose.yml`:

   ```yaml
   version: "3.6"
   services:
     gitlab:
       environment:
         GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
           gitlab_rails['time_zone'] = 'America/New_York'
   ```

1. Save the file and restart GitLab:

   ```shell
   docker compose up -d
   ```

{{< /tab >}}

{{< tab title="Self-compiled (source)" >}}

1. Edit `/home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml`:

   ```yaml
   production: &base
     gitlab:
       time_zone: 'America/New_York'
   ```

1. Save the file and restart GitLab:

   ```shell
   # For systems running systemd
   sudo systemctl restart gitlab.target

   # For systems running SysV init
   sudo service gitlab restart
   ```

{{< /tab >}}

{{< /tabs >}}