Posts

Where Linux logs live, how to read the systemd journal with journalctl, how to work with traditional log files, and practical patterns for finding what you need when something breaks.

A practical guide to capturing and analyzing network traffic with tcpdump — filters, output formats, common patterns, and how to read packet dumps.

How to customize Git to fit your workflow — global and local settings, useful aliases, output formatting, and hooks that automate repetitive tasks.

How to work with others using Git — managing remotes, syncing changes, handling upstream repositories, forking, and the pull request workflow.

How to explore and investigate your project’s history — viewing commits, comparing changes, finding who changed what, and tracking down the exact commit that introduced a bug.

How to use man pages effectively — understanding sections, navigating entries, reading the synopsis format, and finding the right documentation for any command, system call, or config file.

How to use SSH tunnels to securely access remote services, expose local servers, set up SOCKS proxies, and hop through bastion hosts.

How to use Vim’s visual block mode to select columns, insert text on multiple lines, delete vertical slices, replace blocks, and reformat aligned data.

A practical guide to sed — how to find and replace text, edit files in place, delete and insert lines, and use address ranges to target exactly what you need.

How to use branches to work on features independently, merge them back together, and resolve conflicts when they arise.

Getting started with Git — creating repositories, tracking changes, and syncing with remote servers.

A methodical approach to diagnosing network problems on Linux — working layer by layer from physical connectivity to application-level issues.

Find text, patterns, and symbols across all files in a project without leaving Vim — using grep, vimgrep, and the quickfix list.

Multiple techniques for renaming variables in Vim — from simple substitution to selective renaming with gn, macros, and the quickfix list.

Master Vim’s text objects to change, delete, or yank content inside quotes, parentheses, braces, brackets, and HTML tags — without touching the delimiters.

A practical guide to ss — viewing listening ports, active connections, filtering by state and protocol, and diagnosing network issues.

A practical guide to ps — listing processes, reading output, filtering results, customizing columns, and combining with other tools.

How to control incoming and outgoing network traffic on a Linux host using iptables and nftables — rules, chains, policies, and practical configurations.

The essential commands for checking your IP address, gateway, DNS, and connectivity — plus how to configure network settings on a Linux host.

Navigate compiler errors, grep results, and lint output without leaving Vim — using the quickfix list to jump between locations across your project.

Navigate codebases like an IDE — jump from function calls to definitions across files using ctags, tag commands, and tag stacks.

Understanding the Linux filesystem hierarchy, what lives where, and the essential commands for navigating the directory tree.

How Linux controls access to files and resources — users, groups, ownership, file permissions, and sudo.

How the shell connects commands together — standard streams, redirection, pipes, command chaining, and practical patterns for combining simple tools into powerful workflows.

How Linux manages running programs — viewing processes, controlling jobs, managing services with systemd, and understanding resource usage.

How software is installed, updated, and removed on Linux — covering package management concepts and practical commands for Debian and RHEL-based systems.

How to work with multiple files in Vim using buffers, splits, and tabs — and when to use each one.

Searching, substitution, regex, jumping between locations, and marks — the tools that let you move through files with precision.

Registers for managing multiple clipboards, macros for automating repetitive edits, and power commands that save time daily.

Understanding Vim’s composable grammar — operators, motions, text objects, and counts — and why it makes editing faster than any other approach.

How to configure Vim with .vimrc — essential settings, key mappings, the leader key, and a practical starter configuration.

A practical introduction to Vim — modes, movement, basic editing, and the commands you need to be productive from day one.

A practical guide to environment variables in Linux — how they work, how to set them, where they’re loaded from, and common use cases.

A practical guide to tar and gzip — creating archives, compressing files, extracting contents, and common patterns you’ll use daily.

A practical guide to using scp for secure file transfers between local and remote systems, covering common flags, patterns, and troubleshooting.

A practical guide to DNS covering record types, resolution flow, caching, and common tools for troubleshooting.

Deeper networking concepts mapped to OSI layers — packet captures, TCP internals, MTU issues, NAT, firewalls, and L4 vs L7 load balancing.

A practical breakdown of the 7 OSI layers, what happens at each one, the protocols involved, and how to troubleshoot at each level.

Production-level networking — BGP, anycast, container networking, mTLS, eBPF, service meshes, and network observability.

A practical guide to generating SSH keys with ssh-keygen, covering key types, common parameters, and best practices.