brctl

Show all bridges

$ sudo brctl show

$ sudo brctl add bridge_name

$ sudo brctl del bridge_name

$ sudo brctl addif bridge_name eth0

$ sudo brctl delif bridge_name eth0

brctl command [bridge] [interface]

brctl manages Ethernet bridge interfaces on Linux. Bridges connect multiple network segments at Layer 2, allowing them to act as a single network. This is commonly used for virtualization, containers, and network infrastructure.

show

Display information about existing bridges

Create a new bridge

Delete a bridge

Add an interface to a bridge

Remove an interface from a bridge

Enable/disable Spanning Tree Protocol

Set MAC address ageing time

Set forwarding delay

brctl is deprecated in favor of the ip and bridge commands from iproute2. Interfaces must be up to participate in bridging. STP should be enabled in complex topologies to prevent loops.

brctl is part of the bridge-utils package, being replaced by the iproute2 bridge command.

bridge(8), ip(8)