How to track server configs with Git

How to track server configs with Git

Version-control server configuration files under /etc using Git for change tracking and rollback.

Prerequisites

• Git and root access on a Linux server.

Step-by-Step: Track Server Configs with Git

1. Initialize a Git repository in /etc:

   cd /etc
   sudo git init

2. Create a .gitignore to exclude volatile files:

   sudo tee /etc/.gitignore << 'EOF'
   mtab
   adjtime
   ld.so.cache
   resolv.conf
   *.cache
   *.pid
   EOF

3. Add and commit the initial configuration state:

   sudo git add -A
   sudo git commit -m "Initial commit of /etc configuration"

4. After making configuration changes, commit them with a descriptive message:

   sudo git add -A
   sudo git commit -m "Increase Nginx worker_connections to 4096"

5. View the change history:

   sudo git log --oneline

6. Roll back a change by reverting a specific commit:

   sudo git revert abc1234