Dargslan

Posted on Apr 12

We Built 42 Free Python CLI Tools for Linux Sysadmins - Here's the Full Collection

#python #cli #sysadmin #linux

42 Lightweight Python CLI Tools for Linux Sysadmins — No Heavy Monitoring Stack Required

As a Linux sysadmin, I got tired of installing heavy monitoring stacks just to answer simple questions:

What is using all the memory?
Which services failed?
Are there zombie processes?
Is swap pressure hurting performance?
Are my firewall rules sane?
Is SSH configured securely?

So I built something different:

42 lightweight, zero-dependency Python CLI tools for Linux system administration,
monitoring, auditing, and troubleshooting.

Every tool is focused on one task.

Every tool installs with a single pip install.

Every tool outputs clean, actionable reports.

No bloated agents. No giant dashboards. No dependency chains.

Just practical tools that work.

Why I Built This

Most monitoring stacks are excellent at scale, but they often feel like overkill when you just want to inspect a server quickly,
audit a system, or troubleshoot a problem from the command line.

I wanted tools that were:

Lightweight
Fast to install
Easy to understand
Scriptable
Safe by default

That led to a simple philosophy.

Design Philosophy

1. Zero external dependencies

Everything is built using the Python standard library only.

That means:

no C extensions
no long dependency trees
no extra system packages
no “works on my machine” surprises

If the machine has Python 3.7+, the tools work.

2. One tool, one job

Instead of building one huge all-in-one package, I split everything into focused utilities.

That makes each package:

easier to install
easier to understand
easier to script
easier to trust

3. CLI + Python API

Each tool works both from the command line and as a Python import.

So you can use them interactively or integrate them into your own scripts and automation.

4. Audit mode with severity levels

Every tool can flag findings with severity levels like:

critical
warning
info

That makes the output immediately useful for audits, CI checks, and operational reviews.

5. JSON output

Need to pipe results into your monitoring stack, SIEM, or custom automation?

No problem.

Every tool supports structured output for machine-readable workflows.

Install Everything at Once

If you want the full collection, install the meta-package:

pip install dargslan-toolkit

Then run:

dargslan

to see all available commands.

The Full Collection

System Monitoring & Performance

dargslan-sysinfo — System Information

Get a complete system overview: CPU, memory, disk, network interfaces, kernel version, and uptime in one command.

pip install dargslan-sysinfo

dargslan-sysinfo report

dargslan-process-monitor — Process Monitor

Find zombie processes, track resource-heavy processes, and get per-process CPU/memory breakdown.

pip install dargslan-process-monitor

dargslan-proc report

dargslan-memory-profiler — Memory Profiler

Per-process RSS analysis, swap usage tracking, memory grouped by application name, and shared memory segment listing.

pip install dargslan-memory-profiler

dargslan-memprof report

dargslan-memprof top -n 20

dargslan-memprof grouped

dargslan-swap-analyzer — Swap Analyzer

Per-process swap usage breakdown, swappiness analysis, and memory pressure detection.

pip install dargslan-swap-analyzer

dargslan-swap report

dargslan-cgroup-monitor — Cgroup Resource Monitor

Monitor CPU, memory, and I/O limits for containers and system slices. Supports cgroups v1 and v2.

pip install dargslan-cgroup-monitor

dargslan-cgroup report

dargslan-cgroup containers

dargslan-disk-benchmark — Disk I/O Benchmark

Measure sequential read/write speed, random IOPS, and write latency with P50/P95/P99 percentiles.

pip install dargslan-disk-benchmark

dargslan-diskbench report -s 100

dargslan-diskbench latency

dargslan-bandwidth-monitor — Bandwidth Monitor

Real-time network interface throughput monitoring with per-interface statistics.

pip install dargslan-bandwidth-monitor

dargslan-bw report

Networking & DNS

dargslan-net-scanner — Network Scanner

Lightweight ping sweep and port scanning without an nmap dependency.

pip install dargslan-net-scanner

dargslan-netscan scan 192.168.1.0/24

dargslan-port-monitor — Port Monitor

Track listening ports, identify exposed services, and detect unexpected listeners.

pip install dargslan-port-monitor

dargslan-port report

dargslan-tcp-monitor — TCP Connection Monitor

Track connection states (ESTABLISHED, TIME_WAIT, CLOSE_WAIT), per-IP statistics, and detect connection abuse.

pip install dargslan-tcp-monitor

dargslan-tcp report

dargslan-tcp states

dargslan-tcp per-ip

dargslan-dns-check — DNS Record Checker

Check A, MX, NS, TXT records and verify DNS propagation across multiple nameservers.

pip install dargslan-dns-check

dargslan-dnscheck check example.com

dargslan-dns-resolver — DNS Resolver Tester

Compare resolver performance (Google, Cloudflare, Quad9), test DNSSEC validation, and diagnose resolution issues.

pip install dargslan-dns-resolver

dargslan-dns compare 8.8.8.8 1.1.1.1 9.9.9.9

dargslan-dns dnssec google.com

dargslan-ip-geo — IP Geolocation

IP geolocation lookup with WHOIS data, reverse DNS, and ISP identification.

pip install dargslan-ip-geo

dargslan-ipgeo lookup 8.8.8.8

Security & Hardening

dargslan-security-scan — Security Scanner

Comprehensive Linux security scan: SSH config, SUID files, kernel parameters, with a numeric security score.

pip install dargslan-security-scan

dargslan-secscan report

dargslan-firewall-audit — Firewall Auditor

Audit iptables and nftables rules for security weaknesses and misconfigurations.

pip install dargslan-firewall-audit

dargslan-fwaudit report

dargslan-iptables-export — Firewall Rule Exporter

Export iptables/nftables rules to readable, JSON, and CSV formats for documentation and compliance.

pip install dargslan-iptables-export

dargslan-iptexp readable -o firewall-rules.txt

dargslan-iptexp csv -o rules.csv

dargslan-ssh-audit — SSH Configuration Auditor

Audit SSH server configuration: cipher suites, key exchange algorithms, and authentication policies.

pip install dargslan-ssh-audit

dargslan-sshaudit report

dargslan-user-audit — User Account Auditor

Find empty passwords, duplicate UIDs, unauthorized sudo access, and inactive accounts.

pip install dargslan-user-audit

dargslan-useraudit report

dargslan-kernel-check — Kernel Parameter Checker

Audit sysctl kernel parameters for security hardening with a security score and recommendations.

pip install dargslan-kernel-check

dargslan-kernelchk report

dargslan-cert-manager — SSL/TLS Certificate Manager

Track certificate expiry across all your servers and local files. Bulk check with alerting thresholds.

pip install dargslan-cert-manager

dargslan-cert check example.com api.example.com

dargslan-cert local

dargslan-ssl-checker — SSL/TLS Checker

Quick SSL certificate expiry and security configuration check for any hostname.

pip install dargslan-ssl-checker

dargslan-sslchk check example.com

dargslan-git-audit — Git Repository Auditor

Scan Git repositories for accidentally committed secrets, API keys, large files, and security leaks.

pip install dargslan-git-audit

dargslan-gitaudit scan /path/to/repo

dargslan-grub-check — GRUB Bootloader Checker

Audit boot entries, installed kernels, UEFI/Secure Boot status, and GRUB password protection.

pip install dargslan-grub-check

dargslan-grub report

dargslan-grub kernels

Services & Configuration

dargslan-service-monitor — Systemd Service Monitor

Track failed systemd units, enabled/disabled services, and service health status.

pip install dargslan-service-monitor

dargslan-svcmon report

dargslan-systemd-timer — Systemd Timer Manager

List, audit, and compare systemd timers with cron jobs.

pip install dargslan-systemd-timer

dargslan-timer report

dargslan-systemd-analyze — Boot Time Analyzer

Find slow services, view the critical boot chain, and optimize Linux startup time.

pip install dargslan-systemd-analyze

dargslan-boottime blame

dargslan-boottime chain

dargslan-cron-audit — Crontab Auditor

Audit crontab entries for security issues, syntax errors, and schedule conflicts.

pip install dargslan-cron-audit

dargslan-cronaudit report

dargslan-nginx-analyzer — Nginx Config Analyzer

Audit Nginx server blocks, SSL configuration, security headers, and reverse proxy settings.

pip install dargslan-nginx-analyzer

dargslan-nginx report

dargslan-apache-analyzer — Apache Config Analyzer

Audit Apache VirtualHosts, SSL settings, module configuration, and security headers.

pip install dargslan-apache-analyzer

dargslan-apache report

Logs & Maintenance

dargslan-log-parser — Log File Parser

Parse and analyze syslog, auth.log, nginx, and Apache access/error logs with pattern matching.

pip install dargslan-log-parser

dargslan-logparse analyze /var/log/syslog

dargslan-log-rotate — Log Rotation Analyzer

Audit logrotate configuration, find large unrotated logs, and check rotation health.

pip install dargslan-log-rotate

dargslan-logrot report

dargslan-journald-analyzer — Journal Log Analyzer

Find boot errors, OOM kills, failed units, and security events in systemd journal.

pip install dargslan-journald-analyzer

dargslan-journal report

dargslan-journal oom

dargslan-journal security

Storage & Filesystems

dargslan-disk-cleaner — Disk Cleaner

Find large files, analyze disk usage by directory, and clean temporary files.

pip install dargslan-disk-cleaner

dargslan-diskclean report

dargslan-backup-monitor — Backup Monitor

Check backup freshness, verify integrity, and monitor backup job status.

pip install dargslan-backup-monitor

dargslan-backup report

dargslan-lvm-check — LVM Volume Checker

Audit PV, VG, LV status, thin pool usage, and snapshot health.

pip install dargslan-lvm-check

dargslan-lvm report

dargslan-lvm thin

dargslan-lvm snapshots

dargslan-nfs-health — NFS Health Checker

Detect stale NFS mounts, measure I/O latency, audit exports, and run throughput tests.

pip install dargslan-nfs-health

dargslan-nfs report

dargslan-nfs throughput -m /mnt/share

Containers & Databases

dargslan-docker-health — Docker Health Checker

Check Docker container health, resource usage, and configuration issues.

pip install dargslan-docker-health

dargslan-docker report

dargslan-container-audit — Container Security Auditor

Audit Docker/Podman containers for privileged mode, root user, excessive capabilities, and security misconfigurations.

pip install dargslan-container-audit

dargslan-contaudit report

dargslan-mysql-health — MySQL/MariaDB Health Checker

Monitor connections, slow queries, replication status, and buffer pool usage.

pip install dargslan-mysql-health

dargslan-mysql report

dargslan-postgres-health — PostgreSQL Health Checker

Monitor connections, table bloat, vacuum status, locks, and replication lag.

pip install dargslan-postgres-health

dargslan-pghealth report

dargslan-redis-health — Redis Health Checker

Monitor memory usage, persistence status, replication health, and slow log.

pip install dargslan-redis-health

dargslan-redis report

dargslan-package-audit — Package Auditor

Find outdated, orphaned, and security-vulnerable packages on Debian/Ubuntu and RHEL/CentOS.

pip install dargslan-package-audit

dargslan-pkgaudit report

The Meta-Package

Don’t want to install tools one by one?

Install everything in a single command:

pip install dargslan-toolkit

This meta-package pulls in the full collection, so you can explore the entire toolkit and keep the commands available
on any Linux box with Python 3.7+.

My Recommendations: Which Tools to Install First

For a Quick Server Health Check

pip install dargslan-sysinfo dargslan-memory-profiler dargslan-disk-cleaner

These three immediately show you CPU, memory, and disk status.

For Security Hardening

pip install dargslan-security-scan dargslan-user-audit dargslan-ssh-audit dargslan-kernel-check

Run these on every new server. The security scanner gives you a numeric score and concrete recommendations.

For Container Environments

pip install dargslan-docker-health dargslan-container-audit dargslan-cgroup-monitor

Essential for Docker and container-heavy Linux environments.

For Web Server Administration

pip install dargslan-nginx-analyzer dargslan-cert-manager dargslan-log-parser

Audit web server config, monitor SSL certificate expiry, and analyze logs.

For Database Administrators

pip install dargslan-postgres-health dargslan-mysql-health dargslan-redis-health dargslan-disk-benchmark

A practical bundle for database health monitoring plus storage benchmarking.

For Network Troubleshooting

pip install dargslan-tcp-monitor dargslan-dns-resolver dargslan-net-scanner dargslan-port-monitor

Track TCP connections, compare DNS resolver performance, and scan your network quickly.

For Compliance & Documentation

pip install dargslan-iptables-export dargslan-git-audit dargslan-grub-check

Export firewall rules, scan repositories for leaked secrets, and audit boot security.

Read-Only by Default

One design choice I care about a lot is safety.

Almost every tool is read-only by default and only inspects system state.

The one notable exception is:

dargslan-disk-benchmark — which writes temporary test files for benchmarking

That makes the toolkit practical for production audits, troubleshooting sessions, and scripted checks.

Built for Humans and Automation

These tools are designed for two use cases at the same time:

Human-friendly CLI output

When you're SSH'd into a server at 2 AM, you want readable output that gets to the point.

Machine-friendly structured output

When you're integrating into pipelines, health checks, automation, or monitoring systems, JSON output gives you flexibility.

That means the same tool can be used:

by a sysadmin on the terminal
inside a cron job
in CI/CD
in compliance workflows
inside larger monitoring automation

What’s Next

I’m continuing to expand the collection.

Planned additions include:

dargslan-k8s-health — Kubernetes cluster health checker
dargslan-zfs-check — ZFS pool and dataset health monitor
dargslan-wireguard-audit — WireGuard VPN configuration auditor

If you have ideas for additional Linux admin tools, I’d love to hear them.

Final Thoughts

Linux sysadmins do not always need a full monitoring platform.

Sometimes the right answer is a lightweight, zero-dependency CLI tool that does one thing well and gives you a useful report immediately.

That’s exactly why I built this toolkit.

If that sounds useful, start with:

pip install dargslan-toolkit

Or install only the tools that match your workflow.

If you find the project useful, share it with your team.

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