The ip command suite replaced the older ifconfig/route/arp tools years ago — more powerful and consistent, though the older commands still appear constantly in tutorials and muscle memory.
# View all interfaces and their addresses (replaces ifconfig) ip addr show ip a # common shorthand # Bring an interface up or down sudo ip link set eth0 up sudo ip link set eth0 down # Add/remove an IP address sudo ip addr add 192.168.1.50/24 dev eth0 sudo ip addr del 192.168.1.50/24 dev eth0 # View the routing table (replaces route) ip route show # Add a static route sudo ip route add 10.0.0.0/24 via 192.168.1.1 # View the ARP/neighbor table (replaces arp) ip neigh show
Changes made with ip commands directly are not persistent across reboots by default — they’re runtime-only, which is exactly why permanent configuration still goes through netplan, NetworkManager, or a distro-specific config file, with ip reserved for live inspection and temporary changes.