networkctl

TLDR

List all network links with status

$ networkctl list

Show overall network status

$ networkctl status

Bring up network devices

$ networkctl up eth0

Bring down network devices

$ networkctl down eth0

Renew DHCP leases

$ networkctl renew eth0

Reload network configuration files

$ networkctl reload

Reconfigure network interfaces

$ networkctl reconfigure eth0

SYNOPSIS

networkctl [OPTIONS] COMMAND [LINK...]

DESCRIPTION

networkctl queries and controls the state of network links as seen by systemd-networkd. It provides administrative control over network interfaces managed by the systemd networking daemon.

PARAMETERS

-a, --all

Show all links with status

-s, --stats

Include link statistics

-l, --full

Disable output truncation

-n, --lines=NUM

Control journal output lines (default: 10)

--json=MODE

Format output as JSON (short/pretty/off)

--drop-in=NAME

Edit drop-in configuration files

--no-reload

Skip service reload after editing

COMMANDS

list [PATTERN]

Display existing links with status; supports pattern matching

status [LINK]

Show detailed link information including type, state, DNS, and IPs

lldp [LINK]

Display discovered LLDP neighbor information

label

Show numerical address labels for address selection

delete LINK

Remove virtual network devices

up LINK

Activate network devices

down LINK

Deactivate network devices

renew LINK

Refresh dynamic configurations (DHCP addresses)

forcerenew LINK

Trigger DHCP reconfiguration on connected clients

reconfigure LINK

Reapply network interface settings

reload

Reload .netdev and .network configuration files

edit FILE

Modify network configuration files

cat FILE

Display network configuration file contents

This tool manages interfaces through systemd-networkd, not NetworkManager. Configuration files are stored in /etc/systemd/network/. Changes made with reload require reconfigure to take effect on running interfaces.

HISTORY

Part of systemd, networkctl was introduced to provide command-line management of systemd-networkd network configuration, offering an alternative to NetworkManager for server and embedded systems.