NTP: Network Time Protocol

NTP is a protocol and open source reference implementation for synchronizing computer clocks over a network to a common timebase. The NTP Project conducts research and development in the protocol, maintains the implementation, and develops the protocol and algorithmic standard used to communicate time between systems. It is part of Network Time Foundation.

The project provides documentation for the stable release, security notices and security contacts, the David Mills Reference Library, public primary and secondary time servers, mailing lists, contacts, contributor information, time product vendors, downloads, and a bug reporting channel. The reference implementation is open source, and the project maintains it alongside the protocol and algorithmic standard.

NTP is intended for systems and applications that require synchronized time, including infrastructure, networked devices, and services that depend on consistent timekeeping. The project is supported through donations rather than a commercial product plan; no free plan, trial, editions, or seat-based or usage-based packaging is described.