[Chapter 40] 40.3 The at Command
Author: Jerry Peek, Tim O'Reilly & Mike Loukides
Date: 1998-08-04T21:50:34Z

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| Chapter 40 Delayed Execution |

## 40.3 The at Command

The at facility submits a command line (or a script) for execution at an arbitrary later time. It has the form:

>     % at options time < scriptfile

This submits the scriptfile for execution at a later time. The redirection (`<`) isn't required on BSD and some other UNIX systems. If you don't want to write a script, you can omit it and type your commands on the terminal, terminated by CTRL-d:

>     % at options time
>     Command 1
>     Command 2
>     ...
>     [CTRL-d]

The time is most commonly a four-digit number representing a time on a 24-hour clock. For example, `0130` represents 1:30 a.m. and `1400` represents 2 p.m. You can also use abbreviations such as `1am`, `130pm`, and so on.

- ML from O'Reilly & Associates' System Performance Tuning, Chapter 3

40.2 Waiting a Little While: sleep |  | 40.4 Choosing the Shell Run (We Hope) by at