iproute2 is the Linux networking toolkit that replaced legacy tools (ifconfig, route, arp, etc.), originally written by Alex Kuznetsov and now maintained by Stephen Hemminger. The suite includes ip for most networking tasks, tc for traffic control, bridge for software bridges, and ss as a netstat replacement. Most distributions install iproute2 by default.

This task-centered guide, maintained by Daniil Baturin under CC-BY-SA 4.0, covers ip and bridge commands with practical examples rather than exhaustive option lists. Source is available at github.com/dmbaturin/iproute2-cheatsheet.

Key features include command abbreviation (e.g., `ip a a` for `ip address add`), machine-readable output formats (`--oneline`, `--brief` since 4.11, `--json` since 4.13), and flexible IPv4/IPv6 address management. Commands demonstrate adding, deleting, and flushing addresses, with notes on primary/secondary address behavior controlled by `promote_secondaries` sysctl.

All configuration changes require root privileges. Configuration files in `/etc/iproute2` assign symbolic names to routing tables and are re-read on each command invocation.