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ip Command Cheat Sheet

The ip command is the powerhouse of Linux networking. It replaces ifconfig, route, arp, and netstat. It allows configuration of network interfaces, routing tables, ARP tables, and tunnels.

Synopsis

ip [ OPTIONS ] OBJECT { COMMAND | help }
Objects: address, link, route, neigh, rule, tunnel, maddr

Managing Addresses (ip addr)

Replaces ifconfig.

Show IP Addresses

ip addr show
Short form: ip a

Show Only IPv4 or IPv6

ip -4 a   # IPv4 only
ip -6 a   # IPv6 only

Add an IP Address

sudo ip addr add 192.168.1.100/24 dev eth0
Note: Use CIDR notation (/24) instead of subnet mask.

Delete an IP Address

sudo ip addr del 192.168.1.100/24 dev eth0

Flush All IPs from an Interface

sudo ip addr flush dev eth0

Replaces ifconfig up/down.

Show Interface Status

ip link show
Short form: ip l

Bring Interface Up/Down

sudo ip link set eth0 up
sudo ip link set eth0 down

Change MTU

sudo ip link set eth0 mtu 1400

Change MAC Address

sudo ip link set dev eth0 address 00:11:22:33:44:55

Rename Interface

sudo ip link set dev eth0 down
sudo ip link set dev eth0 name wan0
sudo ip link set dev wan0 up

Managing Routes (ip route)

Replaces route.

Show Routing Table

ip route show
Short form: ip r

Add Default Gateway

sudo ip route add default via 192.168.1.1

Add Static Route

Route traffic for 10.0.0.0/8 network through 192.168.1.5 gateway.

sudo ip route add 10.0.0.0/8 via 192.168.1.5 dev eth0

Delete Route

sudo ip route del 10.0.0.0/8

Managing Neighbors (ip neigh)

Replaces arp.

Show ARP Table

ip neigh show
Short form: ip n

Add Static ARP Entry

sudo ip neigh add 192.168.1.5 lladdr 00:11:22:33:44:55 dev eth0

Delete ARP Entry

sudo ip neigh del 192.168.1.5 dev eth0

Output Formatting

Color Output (-c)

Highlights IP addresses and status.

ip -c a

JSON Output (-j)

Critical for scripting (Python/jq content).

ip -j a | jq

Brief Output (-br)

Shows a clean, one-line summary per interface. Highly recommended.

ip -br a
# Output:
# lo        UNKNOWN        127.0.0.1/8 ::1/128
# eth0      UP             192.168.1.100/24

Advanced: Validation

Show Detailed Statistics

ip -s link
(Shows RX/TX bytes, errors, dropped packets).

Monitor Network Events

Watch network changes (cable plug, IP update) in real-time.

ip monitor

Notes

  • Persistence: Like ifconfig, ip commands do not survive a reboot. Use Netplan (/etc/netplan), NetworkManager (nmcli), or /etc/network/interfaces.
  • Secondary IPs: ip addr add 10.0.0.1/24 dev eth0 adds a second IP (aliasing). ifconfig required :0 aliases; ip does not.