System Administration Shell Scripts

Modern, secure, and cross-platform system administration scripts for Linux servers.

Overview

This repository contains a comprehensive collection of bash and Python scripts designed to automate and simplify common system administration tasks on Linux servers. The scripts have been modernized with security best practices, multi-OS support, and extensive error handling.

Features

✅ Multi-OS Support: RHEL 8/9, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, CentOS Stream, Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+
✅ Security-First: No hardcoded credentials, input validation, secure password handling
✅ Modern Standards: set -euo pipefail, comprehensive error handling, proper logging
✅ Shared Library: Reusable functions via lib/common.sh
✅ Configuration Files: Template-based configuration in config/ directory
✅ Dry-Run Mode: Test scripts without making actual changes
✅ Comprehensive Logging: Syslog integration and colored terminal output

Quick Start

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/sysadmin-shell-scripts.git
cd sysadmin-shell-scripts

# Example: Install Ansible
sudo ./installation_scripts/install_ansible.sh

# Example: Backup /etc directory with 30-day retention
sudo ./miscellaneous/etcbackup.sh

# Example: Check if port 22 is open on a host
python3 python-scripts/portcheck.py example.com 22

Repository Structure

sysadmin-shell-scripts/
├── lib/                          # Shared function library
│   └── common.sh                 # Common functions for all scripts
├── config/                       # Configuration templates
│   ├── defaults.conf             # Global defaults
│   ├── *.conf.example            # Script-specific configs
│   └── README.md                 # Configuration guide
├── installation_scripts/         # Software installation scripts
│   ├── install_ansible.sh
│   ├── install_flask.sh
│   ├── install_jenkins.sh
│   ├── install_nagios.sh
│   ├── install_nginx.sh
│   ├── install_python3.sh
│   ├── install_salt.sh
│   ├── install_salt_minion.sh
│   └── install_squid.sh
├── miscellaneous/                # Utility scripts
│   ├── checkssh_conn.sh          # Check SSH connections
│   ├── dirbackup.sh              # Directory backup
│   ├── etcbackup.sh              # /etc backup
│   ├── passgen.sh                # Password generator
│   └── webpagedl.sh              # Webpage downloader
├── python-scripts/               # Python utilities
│   ├── checkcpu.py               # CPU information
│   ├── portcheck.py              # Port connectivity checker
│   └── timer.py                  # Execution timer
└── server_management/            # Server management scripts
    ├── CentOS/
    │   ├── change_hostname.sh    # Change server hostname
    │   ├── create_db.sh          # MySQL database creator
    │   ├── permissive_selinux.sh # SELinux configuration
    │   ├── sync_emails.sh        # IMAP email sync
    │   ├── system_stats.sh       # System statistics
    │   └── nginx/
    │       └── newuser.sh        # Create Nginx user
    └── Debian/
        └── install_salt_minion.sh # Salt minion for Debian

Installation Scripts

Available Installers

Script	Description	OS Support
`install_ansible.sh`	Install Ansible automation platform	RHEL, Debian
`install_flask.sh`	Install Flask + Nginx + Gunicorn stack	RHEL
`install_jenkins.sh`	Install Jenkins CI/CD server	RHEL
`install_nagios.sh`	Install Nagios monitoring system	RHEL
`install_nginx.sh`	Install Nginx web server	RHEL
`install_python3.sh`	Compile Python 3 from source	RHEL
`install_salt.sh`	Install SaltStack master & minion	RHEL
`install_salt_minion.sh`	Install SaltStack minion only	RHEL, Debian
`install_squid.sh`	Install Squid proxy server	RHEL

Usage Examples

# Install Ansible (as root)
sudo ./installation_scripts/install_ansible.sh

# Install Flask application with domain
sudo ./installation_scripts/install_flask.sh example.com

# Install Jenkins
sudo ./installation_scripts/install_jenkins.sh

# Install Python 3 from source
sudo ./installation_scripts/install_python3.sh

Utility Scripts

Backup Scripts

# Backup /etc directory
sudo ./miscellaneous/etcbackup.sh

# Backup any directory
sudo ./miscellaneous/dirbackup.sh /var/www

Security Scripts

# Generate secure passwords
./miscellaneous/passgen.sh 5 20  # 5 passwords, 20 characters each

# Check SSH connections
sudo ./miscellaneous/checkssh_conn.sh

Network Scripts

# Download webpage
./miscellaneous/webpagedl.sh https://example.com

Python Scripts

Requirements

# Install Python dependencies
pip3 install -r python-scripts/requirements.txt

Usage

# Check CPU cores
python3 python-scripts/checkcpu.py

# Check if port is open
python3 python-scripts/portcheck.py example.com 80

# Time command execution
python3 python-scripts/timer.py

Server Management

Change Hostname

sudo ./server_management/CentOS/change_hostname.sh new-hostname

Create MySQL Database

sudo ./server_management/CentOS/create_db.sh <mysql_root_password>

System Statistics

sudo ./server_management/CentOS/system_stats.sh

Configuration

Many scripts support configuration files. See config/README.md for details.

Example: Configure Backups

# Copy example config
cp config/backup.conf.example config/backup.conf

# Edit configuration
vim config/backup.conf

# Use in scripts (auto-loaded)
./miscellaneous/etcbackup.sh

Common Library

All scripts can leverage shared functions from lib/common.sh:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# Source common library
source "$(dirname "$0")/../lib/common.sh"

# Use library functions
require_root
print_info "Starting installation..."
validate_domain "example.com"
log_success "Installation complete"

Available functions:

Color output: print_info, print_success, print_warning, print_error
OS detection: detect_os, detect_os_version, get_package_manager
Validation: validate_domain, validate_ip, validate_port, validate_hostname
Backups: backup_file, backup_dir
Logging: log_info, log_error, log_success
Network: get_public_ip, get_private_ip, check_internet
And many more...

See lib/common.sh for complete documentation.

OS Compatibility

Operating System	Version	Status
RHEL	8, 9	✅ Tested
Rocky Linux	8, 9	✅ Tested
AlmaLinux	8, 9	✅ Tested
CentOS Stream	8, 9	✅ Tested
CentOS	7	⚠️ Legacy (EOL)
Ubuntu	20.04, 22.04, 24.04	🔄 Partial
Debian	11, 12	🔄 Partial

Legend:

✅ Fully supported and tested
🔄 Partially supported (some scripts)
⚠️ Legacy support (no new features)

Security Considerations

Best Practices Implemented

No Hardcoded Credentials: Use read -s for password input
Input Validation: All user inputs are validated
Principle of Least Privilege: Root checks where necessary
Secure Defaults: SELinux enabled, strong passwords required
Logging: All operations logged to syslog
Backup Before Modify: Configuration files backed up automatically

Known Limitations

Some scripts require root access
Network-dependent operations may fail without internet
SELinux may need policy adjustments for some operations

Development

Prerequisites

Bash 4.0+
Python 3.9+
ShellCheck (for linting)
BATS (for testing)

Running Tests

# Shell script tests
bats tests/*.sh

# Python tests
pytest tests/

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines on:

Code style
Testing requirements
Pull request process
Commit message format

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: Script fails with "command not found"

# Solution: Install missing dependencies
sudo dnf install <package>  # RHEL-based
sudo apt install <package>  # Debian-based

Issue: Permission denied

# Solution: Run with sudo if root required
sudo ./script.sh

Issue: SELinux denials

# Solution: Check audit logs and create policy
sudo ausearch -m avc -ts recent
sudo audit2allow -a -M mypolicy
sudo semodule -i mypolicy.pp

Roadmap

Planned Improvements

Complete multi-OS support for all scripts
Add Docker/Podman installation scripts
Add Kubernetes setup scripts
Implement automated testing (CI/CD)
Add S3 backup support
Add email notification support
Create interactive menus for complex scripts

See CHANGELOG.md for version history.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

Original scripts created for CentOS/RHEL administration
Modernized with community feedback and best practices
Inspired by system administration needs across diverse environments

Support

Issues: Report bugs via GitHub Issues
Discussions: Join community discussions
Documentation: Check config/README.md and inline script comments

Note: Always test scripts in a non-production environment first. Use the --dry-run flag where available to preview changes.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 93 Commits
config		config
installation_scripts		installation_scripts
lib		lib
miscellaneous		miscellaneous
python-scripts		python-scripts
server_management		server_management
tests		tests
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md

License

errnair/sysadmin-shell-scripts

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System Administration Shell Scripts

Overview

Features

Quick Start

Repository Structure

Installation Scripts

Available Installers

Usage Examples

Utility Scripts

Backup Scripts

Security Scripts

Network Scripts

Python Scripts

Requirements

Usage

Server Management

Change Hostname

Create MySQL Database

System Statistics

Configuration

Example: Configure Backups

Common Library

OS Compatibility

Security Considerations

Best Practices Implemented

Known Limitations

Development

Prerequisites

Running Tests

Contributing

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Roadmap

Planned Improvements

License

Acknowledgments

Support

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