ip Command in Linux
The ip command in Linux displays or manipulates routing, devices, policy routing, and tunnels. It provides a unified interface for configuring and managing networks on Linux systems.
The ip command is a part of the iproute2 suite of networking tools. It serves as a more advanced replacement for the older ifconfig command, offering greater functionality and more options. This package comes pre-installed on all recent Linux distributions.
Table of Contents
Here is a comprehensive guide to the options available with the ip command −
Syntax of ip Command
The syntax of the Linux ip command is as follows −
ip [options] <object> <command>
In the syntax, the [options] field is used to specify various options to change the command's behavior. The <object> is used to specify the network component that needs to be viewed or configured. The <command> field is used to specify the command to perform an action on the specified network component.
ip Command Options
The commonly used options of ip command are listed below −
| Flags | Options | Description |
|---|---|---|
| -a | --all | Executes the command on all supported objects |
| -b | --batch | Allows running multiple commands from a batch file |
| -br | --brief | Displays only essential information |
| -c | Enables color output | |
| -d | --details | Shows detailed information |
| --echo | Requests feedback from the kernel on applied configurations | |
| -f | --family |
Specifies the protocol family (for example, inet, inet6, bridge, mpls, link)
|
| --force | Continues execution in batch mode despite errors | |
| -h |
--human or --human-readable |
Displays stats in human-readable formats with suffixes |
| --iec | Shows human-readable rates using IEC units | |
| -j | --json | Outputs in JSON format. |
| -l | --loops | Sets the maximum attempts for ip address flush |
| -n | --netns | Switches to a specified network namespace (NETNS) |
| -N | --numeric | Outputs numeric values for fields like protocol, and scope |
| -o | --oneline | Displays each record on a single line |
| -p | --pretty | Adds indentation for JSON output |
| -r | --resolve | Resolves hostnames instead of showing addresses |
| --rc | --rcvbuf | Sets the netlink socket's receive buffer size |
| -s |
--stats or --statistics |
Increases information detail in output; can be repeated to add more detail |
| -t | --timestamp | Includes the current timestamp |
|
--ts or --tshort |
Sets the receive buffer size for the netlink socket | |
| -V | --version | Displays the ip command's version |
The object specifies the network component that needs to be viewed or managed. Some common objects include −
| Objects | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| addr | a | Manage IP addresses on interfaces |
| link | l | Manage network interfaces |
| route | r | Configure and display routing tables |
| neigh | n | Manage ARP and neighbor tables |
| tunnel | t | Configure tunnels (e.g., VPN or IP-in-IP tunnels) |
The commonly used commands are as follows −
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| show | Displays information about the object |
| add | Adds a new entry such as IP address or route |
| del | Deletes an existing entry |
| set | Configures or modifies an existing entry |
Examples of ip Command in Linux
In this section, the usage of the ip command in Linux will be discussed with examples −
Displaying IP Address
To display the IP address on Linux, use the ip command in the following way −
ip addr
It will show all the IP addresses, to simplify the output, use the -br or --brief option −
ip -br addr
To list only IPv4 address, use −
ip -4 addr
To display only IPv6 addresses, use the following command −
ip -6 addr
Displaying Network Interface Information
To display the network interface information, use the ip command with the link as an object −
ip link
The link object in the above command can also be specified as the letter l.
To display information on only a specific device, use the dev option with the device name. For example, if the device name is enp0s1, then use the ip command in the following way −
ip link show dev enp0s1
Displaying Interface Statistics
To display interface statistics, use the -s option with the link object −
ip -s link
To view statistics for a specific interface, use the following command −
ip -s link show dev enp0s1
Setting Interface State
To disable an interface, use the set command with the interface name and down option −
sudo ip link set enp0s1 down
To enable it back, replace down with up −
sudo ip link set enp0s1 up
Setting the IP Address of an Interface
To assign an IP address to an interface, use the ip command in the following way −
sudo ip addr add 192.168.1.224/24 dev enp0s1
The above command assigns the IP address 192.168.1.224 with a /24 subnet mask (equivalent to 255.255.255.0) to the enp0s1 interface.
Modifying the MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit)
Adjusting the MTU improves the network performance. The MTU defines the largest data packet. The network rejects packets exceeding the MTU value. For example, to change the MTU on interface enp0s1, to 15000, use the following command −
sudo ip link set mtu 15000 dev enp0s1
To verify the updated MTU value, use the following command −
ip link show dev enp0s1
Displaying Real-time Network Updates
To display real-time updates and changes to the system's network configuration, use the following command −
ip monitor
The specific object can also be monitored, for example, to monitor the addr, use −
ip monitor addr
The above command monitors the IP address changes.
Displaying MAC Addresses of the Connected Devices
To display the MAC addresses of the connected devices, use the following command −
ip neigh
Instead of neigh only n can also be used in the above command.
Changing Transmit Queue
The default transmit queue length for most network interfaces is 1000. To modify the transmit queue length (txqueuelen) for a network interface, you can use the ip command in the following way −
sudo ip link set txqueuelen 1500 dev enp0s1
To view the modification, execute the following command −
ip link show dev enp0s1
Displaying the IP Routing Table
To display the IP routing table, use the following command −
ip route
Adding Entry to Routing Table
To add an entry to the routing table, use the following command −
sudo ip route add 192.168.1.100/24 via 192.168.0.254 dev enp0s1
The above command routes all traffic for the 192.168.1.100/24 network through the 192.168.0.254 gateway on enp0s1.
Deleting a Route
To delete an existing route from the routing table, use the following command −
sudo ip route delete 192.168.1.100/24 via 192.168.0.254 dev enp0s1
The above command removes the route to the 192.168.1.100/24 network via the gateway 192.168.0.254 through the enp0s1 interface.
Displaying Colored Output
To display colored output, use the -c option with the ip command −
ip -br -c addr
Conclusion
The ip command in Linux is a powerful tool to manage networking tasks, replacing the older ifconfig tool. The ip command provides many more options for configuring the network compared to the limited ifconfig command. It allows configuring and viewing IP addresses, routes, network interfaces, and more.
With a wide range of options such as -a for all objects, -br for brief outputs, and -4 or -6 for IPv4 and IPv6, the ip command provides good control over network configurations.