After 30 days of consistent Bash scripting practice, I wrapped up with a bang: building a fully functional System Admin Dashboard using only Bash. This dashboard brings together common sysadmin tasks into one modular, menu-driven terminal interface. Here's how I planned, built, and refined it step-by-step.

Why I Built This

I wanted a way to:

  • Consolidate routine Linux sysadmin tasks.
  • Practice everything I'd learned over the past month.
  • Build something real, modular, and extendable.

Plus, I wanted a project I could confidently show in interviews or demos—something that wasn't just a collection of scripts, but an actual tool.

Project Structure

I created a clean and modular folder structure:

admin_dashboard/
├── main.sh
├── logs/
│   └── actions.log
├── functions/
    ├── sys_info.sh
    ├── user_mgmt.sh
    ├── network.sh
    ├── processes.sh
    ├── services.sh
    ├── logs.sh
    ├── backup_restore.sh
    ├── updates.sh
    ├── cron.sh
    └── intrusion.sh

Each .sh file in functions/ handles a specific task, keeping the code clean and DRY.

The Main Menu

The main.sh script provides a simple menu-based interface using a case statement:

case $choice in
  1) system_info ;;
  2) user_management ;;
  ...
  0) echo "Exiting..."; exit 0 ;;
  *) echo "Invalid choice!" ;;
esac

It also logs each action to logs/actions.log like this:

echo "$(date): Viewed system info" >> "$LOG_FILE"

Key Functions

Here are some highlights:

sys_info.sh

Displays:

  • Uptime
  • OS version
  • CPU info

user_mgmt.sh

Allows:

  • Listing users
  • Adding/deleting users
  • Changing passwords

services.sh

Manage services using systemctl:

  • Start/stop/restart
  • List services

logs.sh

View latest logs or search by keyword. Logged with:

echo "$(date): Searched logs for keyword '$keyword'" >> "$LOG_FILE"

intrusion.sh

Runs chkrootkit to check for rootkits. Installs it if missing.

Logging Actions

Every major action logs to logs/actions.log. This makes it easier to track usage and debug issues.

Example:

echo "$(date): Backup created for $dir as $name.tar.gz" >> "$LOG_FILE"

Lessons Learned

  • Functions make Bash maintainable. Keeping scripts modular saved me from spaghetti code.
  • Logging matters. It's not just for syslogs. Tracking user actions is essential.
  • Git + GitHub saves the day. Versioning this project helped me learn Git in context.

What’s Next?

I'll be upgrading this dashboard to Version 2, adding:

  • Color-coded UI with tput
  • User authentication
  • Real-time monitoring with htop or similar tools
  • Web-based interface (maybe with Python Flask or Node.js)

Final Thoughts

This dashboard was the perfect final project to consolidate everything from my Bash journey. Whether you're learning Linux or want a real project to showcase, I recommend building your own version.

Feel free to fork mine:
[https://github.com/TechKrypt/System-Admin-Dashboard]

linux #bash #devops #sysadmin #portfolio