Written 27 Aug 2026. This is a how-to, not a product card.

See how long the computer has been awake

Before you buy a UPS or a new mini PC, see how long the computer has been awake.

Ping says the computer answers. That is is the computer still on?. This note is different. You are already logged in. You want the clock: up for two days, or up for fourteen minutes. A short awake time after you left it on overnight often means a reboot, a power blink, or sleep. A long awake time means it has been sitting there doing house jobs. You don't need a battery box this morning because you have not looked.

Skip until SSH works

If ping fails and SSH hangs, start with is the computer still on? If you have never logged in from the couch, that is SSH from the couch. Prefer this look after the computer is supposed to stay on: your first weekend with the computer. This note assumes you can log in from the couch.

What this is

A look, not a shopping trip. You are reading how long the computer has been running since the last boot. You are not buying a UPS tonight. You are not buying an N100, a mesh kit, or a monitoring box this morning.

Ask how long it has been awake

SSH in from the couch, then run:

uptime -p

You should see something like up 2 days, 3 hours, 11 minutes. That plain sentence is the whole answer. Days and hours mean the computer has been awake through your last night. Minutes alone, when you thought it had been on for days, means it rebooted or woke up recently. Don't buy a UPS because the sentence says up 14 minutes once. Look again tomorrow morning.

Optional full line

If you want the longer line with load numbers:

uptime

The awake time is still in that line. The three load numbers at the end are a different look. When the computer feels slow, use see what is keeping the computer busy and see if the computer still has free memory. Keep this note on the awake clock.

If the awake time is short

Confirm the house jobs came back: after a reboot, check the computer still does its jobs. An old laptop may have slept with the lid. That is don't let the old laptop sleep. A blink of the lights can reboot a computer on a plain outlet. You still don't need a UPS this weekend: you don't need a UPS yet. A later cheap battery box, when blinks keep interrupting house jobs, is cheap UPS for a closet that stays on overnight. Skip buying one because uptime -p said minutes once.

What next

The awake knock from the couch stays is the computer still on?. After a short awake time, confirm jobs in after a reboot, check the computer still does its jobs. Failed house jobs after a reboot are see if any house jobs failed to start. A clean power-off when you mean to stop is shut down the computer without yanking the plug. The first rule stays start with what you already have.

Skip

• Skip if SSH fails. That is is the computer still on? or SSH from the couch.
• Skip a UPS because uptime -p printed minutes once.
• Skip a new mini PC for a short awake time. Check sleep, power, and house jobs first.
• Skip a monitoring appliance for this look.
• Skip a NAS for this look.
• Skip Proxmox tonight. That is what a VM is, and when you don't need one.