DevOps / DevSecOps Command Handbook
Commands, Purpose, and Real-World Use Cases
systemctl
Command: systemctl status nginx
Purpose: Check service status
Real-World Use Case: Verify if nginx is running after deployment.
Command: systemctl restart nginx
Purpose: Restart a service
Real-World Use Case: Apply configuration changes.
Command: systemctl reload nginx
Purpose: Reload config without restart
Real-World Use Case: Update nginx config with minimal downtime.
Command: systemctl enable nginx
Purpose: Start service at boot
Real-World Use Case: Ensure service survives server reboot.
Command: systemctl list-units --state=failed
Purpose: List failed services
Real-World Use Case: Quick troubleshooting after outages.
journalctl
Command: journalctl -f
Purpose: Follow live logs
Real-World Use Case: Monitor logs during deployment.
Command: journalctl -u nginx
Purpose: Show service logs
Real-World Use Case: Investigate nginx startup failures.
Command: journalctl -p err
Purpose: Show only errors
Real-World Use Case: Focus on critical issues.
Command: journalctl --since today
Purpose: Logs from today
Real-World Use Case: Review today's incidents.
cron
Command: crontab -e
Purpose: Edit cron jobs
Real-World Use Case: Schedule backups and maintenance tasks.
Command: crontab -l
Purpose: List cron jobs
Real-World Use Case: Verify scheduled tasks.
Command: 0 2 * * * [Link]
Purpose: Run daily at 2 AM
Real-World Use Case: Nightly database backups.
ps
Command: ps aux
Purpose: List all processes
Real-World Use Case: Find resource-hungry applications.
Command: ps aux --sort=-%cpu
Purpose: Sort by CPU usage
Real-World Use Case: Identify CPU bottlenecks.
Command: ps -ef | grep nginx
Purpose: Find specific process
Real-World Use Case: Verify nginx process is running.
top
Command: top
Purpose: Real-time process monitoring
Real-World Use Case: Monitor server performance.
Command: M
Purpose: Sort by memory
Real-World Use Case: Find memory-consuming processes.
Command: P
Purpose: Sort by CPU
Real-World Use Case: Find CPU-intensive processes.
ss
Command: ss -tulnp
Purpose: Show listening ports
Real-World Use Case: Check which services are listening.
Command: ss -tulnp | grep :80
Purpose: Check port 80
Real-World Use Case: Verify web server binding.
Command: ss -s
Purpose: Connection summary
Real-World Use Case: Analyze network usage.
find
Command: find / -type f
Purpose: Find files
Real-World Use Case: Search configuration or log files.
Command: find /etc -name '*.conf'
Purpose: Find config files
Real-World Use Case: Locate application configs.
Command: find / -size +100M
Purpose: Find large files
Real-World Use Case: Investigate disk space issues.
grep
Command: grep -i error [Link]
Purpose: Search errors
Real-World Use Case: Troubleshoot application failures.
Command: grep -C 3 error [Link]
Purpose: Show context around matches
Real-World Use Case: Analyze surrounding log entries.
Command: grep 'Failed password' [Link]
Purpose: Find failed logins
Real-World Use Case: Security investigation.