DevOps Engineer Playbook: Practical Commands for Everyday Use

• 
  Linux
• 
  Git
• 
  Docker
• 
  Kubernetes
• 
  Helm
• 
  Terraform

Linux is the foundation of DevOps operations – it’s like a Swiss Army knife for servers. These commands help you navigate systems, manage files, configure permissions, and automate tasks in terminal environments.

Basic Linux Commands

Command	Usage
pwd	Print the current working directory.
ls	List files and directories.
cd	Change directory.
touch	Create an empty file.
mkdir	Create a new directory.
rm	Remove files or directories.
rmdir	Remove empty directories.
cp	Copy files or directories.
mv	Move or rename files and directories.
cat	Display the content of a file.
echo	Display a line of text.
clear	Clear the terminal screen.

Intermediate Linux Commands

Command	Usage
chmod	Change file permissions.
chown	Change file ownership.
find	Search for files and directories.
grep	Search for text in a file.
wc	Count lines, words, and characters in a file.
head	Display the first few lines of a file.
tail	Display the last few lines of a file.
sort	Sort the contents of a file.
uniq	Remove duplicate lines from a file.
diff	Compare two files line by line.
tar	Archive files into a tarball.
zip / unzip	Compress and extract ZIP files.
df	Display disk space usage.
du	Display directory size.
top	Monitor system processes in real time.
ps	Display active processes.
kill	Terminate a process by its PID.
ping	Check network connectivity.
wget	Download files from the internet.
curl	Transfer data from or to a server.
scp	Securely copy files between systems.
rsync	Synchronize files and directories.

Advanced Linux Commands

Command	Usage
awk	Text processing and pattern scanning.
sed	Stream editor for filtering and transforming text.
cut	Remove sections from each line of a file.
tr	Translate or delete characters.
xargs	Build and execute command lines from standard input.
ln	Create symbolic or hard links.
df -h	Display disk usage in human-readable format.
free	Display memory usage.
iostat	Display CPU and I/O statistics.
netstat	Network statistics (use ss as modern alternative).
ifconfig / ip	Configure network interfaces (use ip as modern alternative).
iptables	Configure firewall rules.
systemctl	Control the systemd system and service manager.
journalctl	View system logs.
crontab	Schedule recurring tasks.
at	Schedule tasks for a specific time.
uptime	Display system uptime.
whoami	Display the current user.
users	List all users currently logged in.
hostname	Display or set the system hostname.
env	Display environment variables.
export	Set environment variables.

Networking Commands

Command	Usage
ip addr	Display or configure IP addresses.
ip route	Show or manipulate routing tables.
traceroute	Trace the route packets take to a host.
nslookup	Query DNS records.
dig	Query DNS servers.
ssh	Connect to a remote server via SSH.
ftp	Transfer files using the FTP protocol.
nmap	Network scanning and discovery.
telnet	Communicate with remote hosts.
netcat (nc)	Read/write data over networks.

File Management and Search Commands

Command	Usage
locate	Find files quickly using a database.
stat	Display detailed information about a file.
tree	Display directories as a tree.
file	Determine a file’s type.
basename	Extract the filename from a path.
dirname	Extract the directory part of a path.

System Monitoring Commands

Command	Usage
vmstat	Display virtual memory statistics.
htop	Interactive process viewer (alternative to top).
lsof	List open files.
dmesg	Print kernel ring buffer messages.
uptime	Show how long the system has been running.
iotop	Display real-time disk I/O by processes.

Package Management Commands

Command	Usage
apt	Package manager for Debian-based distributions.
yum / dnf	Package manager for RHEL-based distributions.
snap	Manage snap packages.
rpm	Manage RPM packages.

Disk and Filesystem Commands

Command	Usage
mount / umount	Mount or unmount filesystems.
fsck	Check and repair filesystems.
mkfs	Create a new filesystem.
blkid	Display information about block devices.
lsblk	List information about block devices.
parted	Manage partitions interactively.

Scripting and Automation Commands

Command	Usage
bash	Command interpreter and scripting shell.
sh	Legacy shell interpreter.
cron	Automate tasks.
alias	Create shortcuts for commands.
source	Execute commands from a file in the current shell.

Development and Debugging Commands

Command	Usage
gcc	Compile C programs.
make	Build and manage projects.
strace	Trace system calls and signals.
gdb	Debug programs.
git	Version control system.
vim / nano	Text editors for scripting and editing.

Other Useful Commands

Command	Usage
uptime	Display system uptime.
date	Display or set the system date and time.
cal	Display a calendar.
man	Display the manual for a command.
history	Show previously executed commands.
alias	Create custom shortcuts for commands.

Git is your code time machine. It tracks every change, enables team collaboration without conflicts, and lets you undo mistakes. These commands help manage source code versions like a professional developer.

Basic Git Commands

Command	Usage	Example
git init	Initializes a new Git repository in the current directory.	git init
git clone	Copies a remote repository to the local machine.	git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git
git status	Displays the state of the working directory and staging area.	git status
git add	Adds changes to the staging area.	git add file.txt
git commit	Records changes to the repository.	git commit -m “Initial commit”
git config	Configures user settings, such as name and email.	git config –global user.name “Your Name”
git log	Shows the commit history.	git log
git show	Displays detailed information about a specific commit.	git show <commit-hash>
git diff	Shows changes between commits, the working directory, and the staging area.	git diff
git reset	Unstages changes or resets commits.	git reset HEAD file.txt

Branching and Merging Commands

Command	Usage	Example
git branch	Lists branches or creates a new branch.	git branch feature-branch
git checkout	Switches between branches or restores files.	git checkout feature-branch
git switch	Switches branches (modern alternative to git checkout).	git switch feature-branch
git merge	Combines changes from one branch into another.	git merge feature-branch
git rebase	Moves or combines commits from one branch onto another.	git rebase main
git cherry-pick	Applies specific commits from one branch to another.	git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

Remote Repositories Commands

Command	Usage	Example
git remote	Manages remote repository connections.	git remote add origin https://github.com/user/repo.git
git push	Sends changes to a remote repository.	git push origin main
git pull	Fetches and merges changes from a remote repository.	git pull origin main
git fetch	Downloads changes from a remote repository without merging.	git fetch origin
git remote -v	Lists the URLs of remote repositories.	git remote -v

Stashing and Cleaning Commands

Command	Usage	Example
git stash	Temporarily saves changes not yet committed.	git stash
git stash pop	Applies stashed changes and removes them from the stash list.	git stash pop
git stash list	Lists all stashes.	git stash list
git clean	Removes untracked files from the working directory.	git clean -f

Tagging Commands

Command	Usage	Example
git tag	Creates a tag for a specific commit.	git tag -a v1.0 -m “Version 1.0”
git tag -d	Deletes a tag.	git tag -d v1.0
git push –tags	Pushes tags to a remote repository.	git push origin –tags

Advanced Commands

Command	Usage	Example
git bisect	Finds the commit that introduced a bug.	git bisect start
git blame	Shows which commit and author modified each line of a file.	git blame file.txt
git reflog	Shows a log of changes to the tip of branches.	git reflog
git submodule	Manages external repositories as submodules.	git submodule add https://github.com/user/repo.git
git archive	Creates an archive of the repository files.	git archive –format=zip HEAD > archive.zip
git gc	Cleans up unnecessary files and optimizes the repository.	git gc

GitHub-Specific Commands

Command	Usage	Example
gh auth login	Logs into GitHub via the command line.	gh auth login
gh repo clone	Clones a GitHub repository.	gh repo clone user/repo
gh issue list	Lists issues in a GitHub repository.	gh issue list
gh pr create	Creates a pull request on GitHub.	gh pr create –title “New Feature” –body “Description of the feature”
gh repo create	Creates a new GitHub repository.	gh repo create my-repo

Docker packages applications into portable containers – like shipping containers for software. These commands help build, ship, and run applications consistently across any environment.

Basic Docker Commands

Command	Usage	Example
docker –version	Displays the installed Docker version.	docker –version
docker info	Shows system-wide information about Docker, such as the number of containers and images.	docker info
docker pull	Downloads an image from a Docker registry (default: Docker Hub).	docker pull ubuntu:latest
docker images	Lists all downloaded images.	docker images
docker run	Creates and starts a new container from an image.	docker run -it ubuntu bash
docker ps	Lists running containers.	docker ps
docker ps -a	Lists all containers, including stopped ones.	docker ps -a
docker stop	Stops a running container.	docker stop container_name
docker start	Starts a stopped container.	docker start container_name
docker rm	Removes a container.	docker rm container_name
docker rmi	Removes an image.	docker rmi image_name
docker exec	Runs a command inside a running container.	docker exec -it container_name bash

Intermediate Docker Commands

Command	Usage	Example
docker build	Builds an image from a Dockerfile.	docker build -t my_image .
docker commit	Creates a new image from a container’s changes.	docker commit container_name my_image:tag
docker logs	Fetches logs from a container.	docker logs container_name
docker inspect	Returns detailed information about an object (container or image).	docker inspect container_name
docker stats	Displays live resource usage statistics of running containers.	docker stats
docker cp	Copies files between a container and the host.	docker cp container_name:/path/in/container /path/on/host
docker rename	Renames a container.	docker rename old_name new_name
docker network ls	Lists all Docker networks.	docker network ls
docker network create	Creates a new Docker network.	docker network create my_network
docker network inspect	Shows details about a Docker network.	docker network inspect my_network
docker network connect	Connects a container to a network.	docker network connect my_network container_name
docker volume ls	Lists all Docker volumes.	docker volume ls
docker volume create	Creates a new Docker volume.	docker volume create my_volume
docker volume inspect	Provides details about a volume.	docker volume inspect my_volume
docker volume rm	Removes a Docker volume.	docker volume rm my_volume

Advanced Docker Commands

Command	Usage	Example
docker-compose up	Starts services defined in a docker-compose.yml file.	docker-compose up
docker-compose down	Stops and removes services defined in a docker-compose.yml file.	docker-compose down
docker-compose logs	Displays logs for services managed by Docker Compose.	docker-compose logs
docker-compose exec	Runs a command in a service’s container.	docker-compose exec service_name bash
docker save	Exports an image to a tar file.	docker save -o my_image.tar my_image:tag
docker load	Imports an image from a tar file.	docker load < my_image.tar
docker export	Exports a container’s filesystem as a tar file.	docker export container_name > container.tar
docker import	Creates an image from an exported container.	docker import container.tar my_new_image
docker system df	Displays disk usage by Docker objects.	docker system df
docker system prune	Cleans up unused Docker resources (images, containers, volumes, networks).	docker system prune
docker tag	Assigns a new tag to an image.	docker tag old_image_name new_image_name
docker push	Uploads an image to a Docker registry.	docker push my_image:tag
docker login	Logs into a Docker registry.	docker login
docker logout	Logs out of a Docker registry.	docker logout
docker swarm init	Initializes a Docker Swarm mode cluster.	docker swarm init
docker service create	Creates a new service in Swarm mode.	docker service create –name my_service nginx
docker stack deploy	Deploys a stack using a Compose file in Swarm mode.	docker stack deploy -c docker-compose.yml my_stack
docker stack rm	Removes a stack in Swarm mode.	docker stack rm my_stack
docker checkpoint create	Creates a checkpoint for a container.	docker checkpoint create container_name checkpoint_name
docker checkpoint ls	Lists checkpoints for a container.	docker checkpoint ls container_name
docker checkpoint rm	Removes a checkpoint.	docker checkpoint rm container_name checkpoint_name

Kubernetes is the conductor of your container orchestra. It automates deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications across server clusters.

Basic Kubernetes Commands

Command	Usage	Example
kubectl version	Displays the Kubernetes client and server version.	kubectl version –short
kubectl cluster-info	Shows information about the Kubernetes cluster.	kubectl cluster-info
kubectl get nodes	Lists all nodes in the cluster.	kubectl get nodes
kubectl get pods	Lists all pods in the default namespace.	kubectl get pods
kubectl get services	Lists all services in the default namespace.	kubectl get services
kubectl get namespaces	Lists all namespaces in the cluster.	kubectl get namespaces
kubectl describe pod	Shows detailed information about a specific pod.	kubectl describe pod pod-name
kubectl logs	Displays logs for a specific pod.	kubectl logs pod-name
kubectl create namespace	Creates a new namespace.	kubectl create namespace my-namespace
kubectl delete pod	Deletes a specific pod.	kubectl delete pod pod-name

Intermediate Kubernetes Commands

Command	Usage	Example
kubectl apply	Applies changes defined in a YAML file.	kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml
kubectl delete	Deletes resources defined in a YAML file.	kubectl delete -f deployment.yaml
kubectl scale	Scales a deployment to the desired number of replicas.	kubectl scale deployment my-deployment –replicas=3
kubectl expose	Exposes a pod or deployment as a service.	kubectl expose deployment my-deployment –type=LoadBalancer –port=80
kubectl exec	Executes a command in a running pod.	kubectl exec -it pod-name — /bin/bash
kubectl port-forward	Forwards a local port to a port in a pod.	kubectl port-forward pod-name 8080:80
kubectl get configmaps	Lists all ConfigMaps in the namespace.	kubectl get configmaps
kubectl get secrets	Lists all Secrets in the namespace.	kubectl get secrets
kubectl edit	Edits a resource definition directly in the editor.	kubectl edit deployment my-deployment
kubectl rollout status	Displays the status of a deployment rollout.	kubectl rollout status deployment/my-deployment

Advanced Kubernetes Commands

Command	Usage	Example
kubectl rollout undo	Rolls back a deployment to a previous revision.	kubectl rollout undo deployment/my-deployment
kubectl top nodes	Shows resource usage for nodes.	kubectl top nodes
kubectl top pods	Displays resource usage for pods.	kubectl top pods
kubectl cordon	Marks a node as unschedulable.	kubectl cordon node-name
kubectl uncordon	Marks a node as schedulable.	kubectl uncordon node-name
kubectl drain	Safely evicts all pods from a node.	kubectl drain node-name –ignore-daemonsets
kubectl taint	Adds a taint to a node to control pod placement.	kubectl taint nodes node-name key=value:NoSchedule
kubectl get events	Lists all events in the cluster.	kubectl get events
kubectl apply -k	Applies resources from a kustomization directory.	kubectl apply -k ./kustomization-dir/
kubectl config view	Displays the kubeconfig file.	kubectl config view
kubectl config use-context	Switches the active context in kubeconfig.	kubectl config use-context my-cluster
kubectl debug	Creates a debugging session for a pod.	kubectl debug pod-name
kubectl delete namespace	Deletes a namespace and its resources.	kubectl delete namespace my-namespace
kubectl patch	Updates a resource using a patch.	kubectl patch deployment my-deployment -p ‘{“spec”:{“replicas”:2}}’
kubectl rollout history	Shows the rollout history of a deployment.	kubectl rollout history deployment my-deployment
kubectl autoscale	Automatically scales a deployment based on resource usage.	kubectl autoscale deployment my-deployment –cpu-percent=50 –min=1 –max=10
kubectl label	Adds or modifies a label on a resource.	kubectl label pod pod-name environment=production
kubectl annotate	Adds or modifies an annotation on a resource.	kubectl annotate pod pod-name description=”My app pod”
kubectl delete pv	Deletes a PersistentVolume (PV).	kubectl delete pv my-pv
kubectl get ingress	Lists all Ingress resources in the namespace.	kubectl get ingress
kubectl create configmap	Creates a ConfigMap from a file or literal values.	kubectl create configmap my-config –from-literal=key1=value1
kubectl create secret	Creates a Secret from a file or literal values.	kubectl create secret generic my-secret –from-literal=password=myPassword
kubectl api-resources	Lists all available API resources in the cluster.	kubectl api-resources
kubectl api-versions	Lists all API versions supported by the cluster.	kubectl api-versions
kubectl get crds	Lists all CustomResourceDefinitions (CRDs).	kubectl get crds

Helm is the app store for Kubernetes. It simplifies installing and managing complex
applications using pre-packaged “charts” – think of it like apt-get for Kubernetes.

Basic Helm Commands

Command	Usage	Example
helm help	Displays help for the Helm CLI or a specific command.	helm help
helm version	Shows the Helm client and server version.	helm version
helm repo add	Adds a new chart repository.	helm repo add stable https://charts.helm.sh/stable
helm repo update	Updates all Helm chart repositories to the latest version.	helm repo update
helm repo list	Lists all the repositories added to Helm.	helm repo list
helm search hub	Searches for charts on Helm Hub.	helm search hub nginx
helm search repo	Searches for charts in the repositories.	helm search repo stable/nginx
helm show chart	Displays information about a chart, including metadata and dependencies.	helm show chart stable/nginx

Working with Helm Charts

Command	Usage	Example
helm install	Installs a chart into a Kubernetes cluster.	helm install my-release stable/nginx
helm upgrade	Upgrades an existing release with a new version of the chart.	helm upgrade my-release stable/nginx
helm upgrade –install	Installs a chart if it isn’t installed or upgrades it if it exists.	helm upgrade –install my-release stable/nginx
helm uninstall	Uninstalls a release.	helm uninstall my-release
helm list	Lists all the releases installed on the Kubernetes cluster.	helm list
helm status	Displays the status of a release.	helm status my-release

Advanced Helm Commands

Command	Usage	Example
helm rollback	Rolls back a release to a previous version.	helm rollback my-release 1
helm history	Displays the history of a release.	helm history my-release
helm get all	Gets all information (including values and templates) for a release.	helm get all my-release
helm get values	Displays the values used in a release.	helm get values my-release
helm test	Runs tests defined in a chart.	helm test my-release

Helm Chart Repositories

Command	Usage	Example
helm repo remove	Removes a chart repository.	helm repo remove stable
helm repo update	Updates the local cache of chart repositories.	helm repo update
helm repo index	Creates or updates the index file for a chart repository.	helm repo index ./charts

Helm Values and Customization

Command	Usage	Example
helm install –values	Installs a chart with custom values.	helm install my-release stable/nginx –values values.yaml
helm upgrade –values	Upgrades a release with custom values.	helm upgrade my-release stable/nginx –values values.yaml
helm install –set	Installs a chart with a custom value set directly in the command.	helm install my-release stable/nginx –set replicaCount=3
helm upgrade –set	Upgrades a release with a custom value set.	helm upgrade my-release stable/nginx –set replicaCount=5
helm uninstall –purge	Removes a release and deletes associated resources, including the release history.	helm uninstall my-release –purge

Helm Template and Debugging

Command	Usage	Example
helm template –debug	Renders Kubernetes manifests and includes debug output.	helm template my-release ./my-chart –debug
helm install –dry-run	Simulates the installation process without actually installing.	helm install my-release stable/nginx –dry-run
helm upgrade –dry-run	Simulates an upgrade process without applying changes.	helm upgrade my-release stable/nginx –dry-run

Helm and Kubernetes Integration

Command	Usage	Example
helm list –namespace	Lists releases in a specific Kubernetes namespace.	helm list –namespace kube-system
helm uninstall –namespace	Uninstalls a release from a specific namespace.	helm uninstall my-release –namespace kube-system
helm install –namespace	Installs a chart into a specific namespace.	helm install my-release stable/nginx –namespace mynamespace
helm upgrade –namespace	Upgrades a release in a specific namespace.	helm upgrade my-release stable/nginx –namespace mynamespace

Helm Chart Development

Command	Usage	Example
helm package –sign	Packages a chart and signs it using a GPG key.	helm package ./my-chart –sign –key my-key-id
helm create –starter	Creates a new Helm chart based on a starter template.	helm create –starter https://github.com/helm/charts.git
helm push	Pushes a chart to a Helm chart repository.	helm push ./my-chart my-repo

Helm with Kubernetes CLI

Command	Usage	Example
helm list -n	Lists releases in a specific Kubernetes namespace.	helm list -n kube-system
helm install –kube-context	Installs a chart to a Kubernetes cluster defined in a specific kubeconfig context.	helm install my-release stable/nginx –kube-context my-cluster
helm upgrade –kube-context	Upgrades a release in a specific Kubernetes context.	helm upgrade my-release stable/nginx –kube-context my-cluster

Helm Chart Dependencies

Command	Usage	Example
helm dependency build	Builds dependencies for a Helm chart.	helm dependency build ./my-chart
helm dependency list	Lists all dependencies for a chart.	helm dependency list ./my-chart

Helm History and Rollbacks

Command	Usage	Example
helm rollback –recreate-pods	Rolls back to a previous version and recreates pods.	helm rollback my-release 2 –recreate-pods
helm history –max	Limits the number of versions shown in the release history.	helm history my-release –max 5

Terraform lets you build cloud infrastructure with code. Instead of clicking buttons in AWS/GCP/Azure consoles, you define servers and services in configuration files.

Terraform Commands You Should Know

Command	Usage
terraform –help	Displays general help for Terraform CLI commands.
terraform init	Initializes the working directory containing Terraform configuration files. It downloads the necessary provider plugins.
terraform validate	Validates the Terraform configuration files for syntax errors or issues.
terraform plan	Creates an execution plan, showing what actions Terraform will perform to make the infrastructure match the desired configuration.
terraform apply	Applies the changes required to reach the desired state of the configuration. It will prompt for approval before making changes.
terraform show	Displays the Terraform state or a plan in a human-readable format.
terraform output	Displays the output values defined in the Terraform configuration after an apply.
terraform destroy	Destroys the infrastructure defined in the Terraform configuration. It prompts for confirmation before destroying resources.
terraform refresh	Updates the state file with the real infrastructure’s current state without applying changes.
terraform taint	Marks a resource for recreation on the next apply. Useful for forcing a resource to be recreated even if it hasn’t been changed.
terraform untaint	Removes the “tainted” status from a resource.
terraform state	Manages Terraform state files, such as moving resources between modules or manually.
terraform import	Imports existing infrastructure into Terraform management.
terraform graph	Generates a graphical representation of Terraform’s resources and their relationships.
terraform providers	Lists the providers available for the current Terraform configuration.
terraform state list	Lists all resources tracked in the Terraform state file.
terraform backend	Configures the backend for storing Terraform state remotely (e.g., in S3, Azure Blob Storage, etc.).
terraform state mv	Moves an item in the state from one location to another.
terraform state rm	Removes an item from the Terraform state file.
terraform workspace	Manages Terraform workspaces, which allow for creating separate environments within a single configuration.
terraform workspace new	Creates a new workspace.
terraform module	Manages and updates Terraform modules, which are reusable configurations.
terraform init -get-plugins=true	Ensures that required plugins are fetched and available for modules.
TF_LOG	Sets the logging level for Terraform debug output (e.g., TRACE, DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR).
TF_LOG_PATH	Directs Terraform logs to a specified file.
terraform login	Logs into Terraform Cloud or Terraform Enterprise for managing remote backends and workspaces.
terraform remote	Manages remote backends and remote state storage for Terraform configurations.
terraform push	Pushes Terraform modules to a remote module registry.

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