Problem

In the Hipchat Server CLI (command line interface), the default timezone set is UTC (GMT+0). This means that all the log files under /var/log/* will be in UTC time.

Cause

UTC is set by default intentionally since certain features are dependent on UTC to calculate time stamps. For instance, the time zone set in the users preferences is used to not only calculate the remote time shown for the user in a 1-1 chat, but also in message history for the user in the web user interface. Changing the time zone in the Hipchat Server CLI will offset these values explicitly by how far away from GMT the new time zone is. i.e. If the time zone in Hipchat Server is set to GMT-2 then all time stamps in the message history will be off by two hours. 

Additional Notes

• Please note that the Hipchat client time stamps are pulled from the time zone set in the OS (including the mobile clients).
• The time zone setting in the users preferences on the web interface is specific to the user account logged in. 
• If your message history time stamps are off, please first check your timezone setting under the web user interface -> Edit Profile. (If the web app loads when you log into the interface, please click your avatar on the top right, then choose 'Log Out' to gain access to the UI).

Workaround

Presently, we do not recommend changing the the time zone value in the Hipchat Server console as it will affect all the time stamps in message history. If need be, you can use a time zone calculator (like World Time Buddy) to calculate the time of the logs to your local time zone.