https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/One server command a day: what it does, when to use it, and the mistake to avoid. For people with their first VPS.en-gb https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/see-last-logins-linux-serverhttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/see-last-logins-linux-serverTue, 06 Oct 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use last -n 20 to list the 20 most recent logins to your Linux server, see who logged in, from where and for how long. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/see-which-ips-fail2ban-has-bannedhttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/see-which-ips-fail2ban-has-bannedMon, 05 Oct 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use sudo fail2ban-client status sshd to list the IPs fail2ban has banned from SSH, how many failed logins it has seen, and what each number means. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/list-ufw-firewall-rules-with-numbershttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/list-ufw-firewall-rules-with-numbersSat, 03 Oct 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use sudo ufw status numbered to see every firewall rule on Ubuntu with an index you can pass to ufw delete or ufw insert. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/list-ssl-certificates-expiry-dates-certbothttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/list-ssl-certificates-expiry-dates-certbotMon, 28 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Run sudo certbot certificates to list every Let's Encrypt certificate on your server, the domains each one covers and how many days until it expires. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/test-certbot-can-renew-ssl-certificatehttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/test-certbot-can-renew-ssl-certificateFri, 25 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Run sudo certbot renew --dry-run to prove every Let's Encrypt certificate on your server can renew, before one expires and takes a site down. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/check-website-ssl-certificate-command-linehttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/check-website-ssl-certificate-command-lineThu, 24 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use openssl s_client to check a website's certificate chain, expiry dates and trust status from the Linux command line. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/query-specific-dns-server-dighttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/query-specific-dns-server-digWed, 23 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use dig example.com @1.1.1.1 to ask one named resolver for a DNS record, so you can spot propagation lag after changing a record. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/check-what-domain-resolves-to-command-linehttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/check-what-domain-resolves-to-command-lineTue, 22 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use dig +short to see which IP address a domain points to right now, read the output, and know why a fresh DNS change can still show the old address. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/measure-website-response-time-command-linehttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/measure-website-response-time-command-lineMon, 21 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use curl to print a site's HTTP status code and total response time in one line, and learn how to read the numbers. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/check-website-status-code-headers-curlhttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/check-website-status-code-headers-curlSun, 20 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use curl -I to see a site's HTTP status code, redirects and response headers straight from the terminal, with no browser or cache in the way. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/check-if-service-is-running-linuxhttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/check-if-service-is-running-linuxSat, 19 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use systemctl status to see whether a service like nginx is running on Ubuntu, when it stopped and the last log lines that explain why. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/read-service-logs-last-hour-linuxhttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/read-service-logs-last-hour-linuxFri, 18 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Read the last hour of any systemd service's logs on Ubuntu with journalctl -u and --since, and learn what the output means. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/watch-cpu-memory-per-process-linuxhttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/watch-cpu-memory-per-process-linuxThu, 17 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use htop to watch CPU and memory use per process on an Ubuntu VPS, sort by memory, and find the app that is eating your server. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/check-memory-usage-linux-serverhttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/check-memory-usage-linux-serverWed, 16 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use free -m to see how much RAM your Linux server really has spare, and why the low free column is not the number to worry about. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/find-what-is-using-disk-space-linuxhttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/find-what-is-using-disk-space-linuxTue, 15 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use du -sh * with sort -h to list every folder by size and find what is eating the disk on an Ubuntu VPS. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/check-disk-space-linux-serverhttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/check-disk-space-linux-serverMon, 14 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use df -h to see how much disk space is used and free on your Linux VPS, and catch a filling disk before it takes your sites down. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/make-pm2-apps-start-after-reboothttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/make-pm2-apps-start-after-rebootSun, 13 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use pm2 save and pm2 startup to register PM2 with systemd on Ubuntu so your Node apps come back on their own after a reboot. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/restart-one-app-pm2-after-deployhttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/restart-one-app-pm2-after-deploySat, 12 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use pm2 restart appname to restart a single Node app after a deploy, check the output, and avoid the environment variable gotcha. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/read-last-100-lines-pm2-app-logshttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/read-last-100-lines-pm2-app-logsFri, 11 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use pm2 logs appname --lines 100 to read the last 100 lines of one Node app's output under PM2, then follow new lines as they arrive. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/see-all-node-apps-running-pm2https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/see-all-node-apps-running-pm2Thu, 10 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use pm2 list to see every Node app on your VPS with its status, memory, CPU and restart count in one table. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/watch-nginx-error-log-real-timehttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/watch-nginx-error-log-real-timeWed, 09 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use tail -f on the nginx error log to watch errors appear live while you reproduce a 502, 504 or missing file problem on your Ubuntu VPS. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/reload-nginx-without-dropping-connectionshttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/reload-nginx-without-dropping-connectionsTue, 08 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Apply nginx configuration changes on Ubuntu without dropping a single connection using systemctl reload nginx, with the output explained. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/test-nginx-config-before-reloadhttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/test-nginx-config-before-reloadMon, 07 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use nginx -t to check your nginx configuration for syntax errors before you reload, so a typo cannot take every site on your server offline. https://asksteves.co.uk/blog/which-process-is-using-a-port-linuxhttps://asksteves.co.uk/blog/which-process-is-using-a-port-linuxSun, 06 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000Use ss -ltnp on Ubuntu to list every listening TCP port and the process behind it, read the output, and fix 'address already in use' errors.