nmcli is a tool for working with NetworkManager via the command-line. This tool is useful when access to a graphical environment is not available and can also be used within scripts to make network configuration changes.
The following are some example of subcommands you can use with nmcli.
| Subcommand | Used To |
|---|---|
| general status | View a summary of network connectivity data. View identification information for each NIC. Enable the specified NIC. |
| connection show | Disable the specified NIC. |
| con up {device ID} | Enter interactive mode to configure the specified NIC. |
| con down {device ID} | Watch for events sent by the kernel or by a udev rule. |
| con edit {device ID} | Simulate a udev event running for a device, with results on output. |
| device status | Display the current status of each NIC. |
Syntax
The syntax of the nmcli command is:
# nmcli [options] [subcommand] [arguments]
nmcli Command Examples
1. Run an `nmcli` subcommand:
# nmcli agent|connection|device|general|help|monitor|networking|radio command_options
2. Display the current version of NetworkManager:
# nmcli --version
3. Display help:
# nmcli --help
4. Display help for a subcommand:
# nmcli subcommand --help
5. Display the list of all connections using nmcli command as follows:
# nmcli con show
6. Display only the active connections using nmcli command as follows:
# nmcli con show --active
7. Display the details of a connection by specifying the connection ID (NAME) using nmcli command as follows:
# nmcli con show "enp0s3"
8. Display the device (interface) status as connected or disconnected using nmcli command as follows:
# nmcli dev status
9. Display the device details using nmcli command as follows:
# nmcli dev show enp0s3
10. Turn off auto connect for a connection profile as shown in command line here:
# nmcli con mod "static" connection.autoconnect no
11. Specify a DNS server using nmcli con mod command as shown here:
# nmcli con mod "static" ipv4.dns "1.1.1.1"
12. We can further add more values to a key by using the + or – symbol in front of the argument. We can also add another DNS server using nmcli con mod command as shown here:
# nmcli con mod "static" +ipv4.dns "8.8.8.8"
13. We can change the static IP address and gateway for a connection profile as shown here:
# nmcli con mod "static" ipv4.address "50.50.50.50/24" ipv4.gateway
14. We can assign a secondary IP address to the same interface without a gateway in an existing profile as shown here:
# nmcli con mod "static" +ipv4.addresses "70.70.70.100/16"
15. To activate the changes, the connection profile needs to be activated using up with nmcli con command as shown here:
# nmcli con up "static"
16. Delete a connection profile using nmcli del command as shown here:
# nmcli del "static"
17. Disable all managed interfaces using nmcli command as shown here:
# nmcli net off
18. Bring down an interface by temporarily disconnecting the device as shown here:
# nmcli dev dis enp0s8
19. Bring up an interface by connecting the device as shown here:
# nmcli dev con enp0s8