macOS processes

What is timed on Mac?

timed keeps the Mac's clock correct. It uses NTP, so it sends small requests to a time server.

Process: timedApplies to: macOS 13 Ventura and later for the System Settings path. Seen on macOS 27.2.Checked: 29 October 2026

Where you see it

  • timed is in the list in Activity Monitor › Network, in nettop or in Kilobat.
  • A firewall or network monitor asks if timed can connect.
  • A small UDP request to a time server.

What it is

The man page says that timed “maintains system clock accuracy by synchronizing the clock with reference clocks via technologies like NTP”.

It reads the NTP server from /etc/ntp.conf. It first appeared in macOS 10.13.

Why it uses the network

  • Clock synchronization. It asks a time server for the correct time.

Is it normal?

Yes. The requests are very small.

See how much it uses

  1. Open Activity Monitor from Applications > Utilities. Click Network.

  2. Type timed in the search field. The Sent Bytes and Rcvd Bytes columns show what it moved.

  3. In Terminal, watch only this process. Press d to show the change per second, and q to quit.

    nettop -p timed -P

Reduce or pause it safely

  1. Keep it on. A wrong clock makes valid certificates look expired. See “This Connection Is Not Private” and certificate warnings on a Mac.

  2. To change the time server, choose Apple menu > System Settings > General > Date & Time.

With Kilobat

  1. Open the Kilobat app list and search for timed. Its row shows the live rate and the bytes it moved.

  2. In Terminal, see the same live list. Press / and type the name to search.

    kilobat status --watch

  3. Show its traffic over one day. Names match kilobat report --summary.

    kilobat bandwidth timed day

  4. Through MCP, an AI agent gets the same history with get_app_bandwidth and the name timed.

  5. The live view is free. History in the app needs Pro. Kilobat records history only while the app runs.

Questions

What happens if the clock is wrong?

Secure websites can show certificate errors, such as ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID in Chrome. See NET::ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID in Chrome on Mac.

Sources

Sources checked on 29 October 2026. Man pages are the ones installed with macOS; open one with man <name> in Terminal.