Configuring Language and Timezone on Linux: Automate with locale.sh

Setting the correct language and timezone on your Linux server is vital, especially for global deployments. In this post, we’ll discuss locale.sh, a script designed to automate locale and timezone configuration on both Fedora and Ubuntu systems, which you can find in my GitHub repository. The script intelligently adapts to the distribution it’s running on, ensuring your configuration needs are met seamlessly. Let’s delve into the script to understand its purpose and functionality.

Why Configure Locale and Timezone?

Proper locale and timezone settings enhance system efficiency, conserve disk space, and ensure timestamps align with your regional preferences. Incorrect configurations can lead to confusion and inconsistencies in logs and application behavior. By automating these settings with locale.sh, you can save time and avoid errors during server initialization.

The locale.sh Script

The revised script below dynamically adjusts based on the operating system, allowing you to configure locale and timezone settings effortlessly:

#!/bin/bash -ex

# locale.sh       - Set up language and timezone settings on a Linux system

# Set the default locale to an environment variable if it exists, otherwise use en_US.utf8
DEFAULT_LOCALE="${LOCALE_OVERRIDE:-en_US.utf8}"

# Set the timezone (change this to your preferred timezone or export TIMEZONE in the environment)
TIMEZONE="${TIMEZONE_OVERRIDE:-America/New_York}"

echo "Configuring locale settings..."

# Function to check the distribution
get_distro() {
    if [[ -f /etc/os-release ]]; then
        . /etc/os-release
        echo "$ID"
    else
        echo "unknown"
    fi
}

# Detect the distribution
DISTRO=$(get_distro)

# Remove unused locales and handle the locale archive based on the distribution
case $DISTRO in
    ubuntu|debian)
        echo "Removing unused locales on Ubuntu/Debian..."
        localedef --list-archive | grep -a -v "$DEFAULT_LOCALE" | xargs -r sudo localedef --delete-from-archive

        # Set system-wide locale settings
        echo "Setting default locale to $DEFAULT_LOCALE on Ubuntu/Debian..."
        echo "LANG=$DEFAULT_LOCALE" | sudo tee /etc/default/locale > /dev/null
        update-locale LANG=$DEFAULT_LOCALE
        ;;
    fedora|centos|rhel)
        echo "Removing unused locales on Fedora/RHEL..."
        localedef --list-archive | grep -a -v "$DEFAULT_LOCALE" | xargs -r sudo localedef --delete-from-archive

        # Rebuild locale archive on Fedora/RHEL
        echo "Rebuilding locale archive on Fedora/RHEL..."
        cp /usr/lib/locale/locale-archive{,.tmpl}
        build-locale-archive

        # Set system-wide locale settings
        echo "Setting default locale to $DEFAULT_LOCALE on Fedora/RHEL..."
        echo "LANG=$DEFAULT_LOCALE" | tee /etc/locale.conf > /dev/null
        localectl set-locale LANG=$DEFAULT_LOCALE
        ;;
    *)
        echo "Unsupported distribution: $DISTRO"
        exit 1
        ;;
esac

# Set the timezone
echo "Configuring timezone to $TIMEZONE..."
timedatectl set-timezone $TIMEZONE

echo "Locale and timezone configuration completed."

Script Walkthrough

1. Environment Variables

The script starts by checking for environment variables LOCALE_OVERRIDE and TIMEZONE_OVERRIDE. If these variables are set, their values are used; otherwise, it defaults to en_US.UTF-8 for the locale and America/New_York for the timezone:

DEFAULT_LOCALE="${LOCALE_OVERRIDE:-en_US.utf8}"
TIMEZONE="${TIMEZONE_OVERRIDE:-America/New_York}"

2. Distribution Detection

The script includes a function, get_distro, to determine the Linux distribution by reading the /etc/os-release file. This enables the script to adapt its behavior based on whether it is running on Fedora, Ubuntu, or another supported distribution.

get_distro() {
    if [[ -f /etc/os-release ]]; then
        . /etc/os-release
        echo "$ID"
    else
        echo "unknown"
    fi
}

3. Locale Management

Depending on the detected distribution, the script handles locale management:

• For Ubuntu/Debian: It removes unused locales and updates the system-wide locale settings in /etc/default/locale using localedef:

localedef --list-archive | grep -a -v "$DEFAULT_LOCALE" | xargs -r sudo localedef --delete-from-archive

• For Fedora/RHEL: It performs the same locale removal and additionally rebuilds the locale archive with build-locale-archive:

sudo cp /usr/lib/locale/locale-archive{,.tmpl}
sudo build-locale-archive

4. Setting the Default Locale

After handling locale removal, the script sets the default locale for the system:

echo "LANG=$DEFAULT_LOCALE" | sudo tee /etc/default/locale > /dev/null

For Fedora/RHEL, it updates /etc/locale.conf instead:

echo "LANG=$DEFAULT_LOCALE" | sudo tee /etc/locale.conf > /dev/null

5. Configuring the Timezone

Finally, the script sets the system timezone using timedatectl, ensuring that timestamps and scheduling are correctly aligned with your preferred time zone:

timedatectl set-timezone $TIMEZONE

Running the Script

You can execute this script on either Ubuntu or Fedora systems. Set the necessary environment variables for locale and timezone before running the script:

export LOCALE_OVERRIDE="fr_FR.UTF-8"
export TIMEZONE_OVERRIDE="Europe/Paris"
./locale.sh

This allows you to customize the script’s behavior based on your server’s needs without modifying the script directly.

Conclusion

The updated locale.sh script provides a flexible and automated way to configure locale and timezone settings across different Linux distributions. By intelligently detecting the operating system, the script ensures that the correct commands are used, streamlining the setup process. This makes it an invaluable tool for DevOps practices and server management.

Try it out to simplify your language and timezone configuration, and enjoy a more efficient server setup!