Hosting Operations
Read-onlyReview Critical File Modes in the Archive
You need to inspect critical file modes inside the backup archive before trusting a restore.
Command
cd restore-dr && tar -tvf backups/2026-06-25/site.tar | awk '/secrets.env|deploy.sh/ {print $1, $6}'Before you run this
System impact: Read-only. Low when scoped to the shown target.
When not to use it: Do not print sensitive file names from real systems into public logs without review.
Expected output
Mode strings for app/secrets.env and bin/deploy.sh.
System impact
Read-only. Nothing changes. The command reads archive metadata.
Recovery / rollback: no state is changed.
When to use it
Use during DR validation to confirm important modes are preserved.
When not to use it
Do not print sensitive file names from real systems into public logs without review.
Watch this command run
Command transcript
This sanitized transcript shows the commands and output shape without exposing host details.
$ cd restore-dr && tar -tvf backups/2026-06-25/site.tar | sed -n '1,12p'
drwxr-xr-x 0/0 0 2026-06-25 12:00 ./
-rw-r--r-- 0/0 493 2026-06-25 12:00 ./CHECKSUMS.sha256
drwxr-xr-x 0/0 0 2026-06-25 12:00 ./app/
-rw-r--r-- 0/0 48 2026-06-25 12:00 ./app/config.yml
-rw-r--r-- 0/0 41 2026-06-25 12:00 ./app/orders.csv
-rw-r----- 0/0 83 2026-06-25 12:00 ./app/secrets.env
drwxr-xr-x 0/0 0 2026-06-25 12:00 ./bin/
-rwxr-xr-x 0/0 32 2026-06-25 12:00 ./bin/deploy.sh
drwxr-xr-x 0/0 0 2026-06-25 12:00 ./public/
-rw-r--r-- 0/0 40 2026-06-25 12:00 ./public/index.html
drwxr-xr-x 0/0 0 2026-06-25 12:00 ./uploads/
-rw-r--r-- 0/0 18 2026-06-25 12:00 ./uploads/avatar.txt$ cd restore-dr && tar -tvf backups/2026-06-25/site.tar | awk '/secrets.env|deploy.sh/ {print $1, $6}'
-rw-r----- ./app/secrets.env
-rwxr-xr-x ./bin/deploy.shView commands shown
These are the commands shown in the sanitized transcript.
Commands shown
cd restore-dr && tar -tvf backups/2026-06-25/site.tar | sed -n '1,12p'cd restore-dr && tar -tvf backups/2026-06-25/site.tar | awk '/secrets.env|deploy.sh/ {print $1, $6}'
next steps
Related commands
Find Missing Files in an Old Backup
The fastest failed restore drill is the one that finds missing critical files early.
cd restore-dr && tar -tf backups/2026-06-24/site.tar | sed 's#^./##' | sort | comm -23 required-files.txt -
List Archive Contents Before Extracting
You can inspect a tar backup before it writes a single file.
cd restore-dr && tar -tf backups/2026-06-25/site.tar | sed 's#^./##' | sort
Extract a Backup Into a Restore Sandbox
A restore drill should write to a sandbox, not production.
cd restore-dr && rm -rf restore-sandbox/full && mkdir -p restore-sandbox/full && tar -xf backups/2026-06-25/site.tar -C restore-sandbox/full
Verify Restored File Checksums
A restore is not validated until the bytes match.
cd restore-dr && rm -rf restore-sandbox/full && mkdir -p restore-sandbox/full && tar -xf backups/2026-06-25/site.tar -C restore-sandbox/full && (cd restore-sandbox/full && sha256sum -c CHECKSUMS.sha256)
Diff Restored Config Against Expected
A restored config can exist and still be the wrong config.
cd restore-dr && rm -rf restore-sandbox/full && mkdir -p restore-sandbox/full && tar -xf backups/2026-06-25/site.tar -C restore-sandbox/full && diff -u expected/app/config.yml restore-sandbox/full/app/config.yml
Study mapping
Use this as independent command practice: read the notes, predict the output, then compare it with the example before using a real shell.
Useful for
- LPIC-1 style command-line practice
- LFCS style performance tasks
- Linux+ style troubleshooting review
Independent study support only. No affiliation, endorsement, exam dumps, or real exam questions.