RHEL 9 fleet tooling · over SSH

linux-motd

Standardize the login banner across the fleet. Audit /etc/motd, /etc/issue, and dynamic motd.d against one template, and bring drifting hosts back in line.

View on GitHub Read the docs

$ git clone https://github.com/vikozs/linux-motd

lfm.kosir.info — example run

linux-motd discover -H hosts.txt -u sa.vko --template motd.tmpl --ask-ssh-pass --sudo-pass-same-as-ssh
web01.zav-mb.loc         motd drift  issue drift  banner ok
db01.zav-mb.loc          matches template
legacy01.zav-mb.loc      no warning banner
Plan:   motd_plan.json
Report: motd_report.xlsx
Totals: 2 hosts drifting, 1 missing warning banner

How it works

discover

read motd/issue vs the template

review

see drift and missing banners

apply

write the template, per host

What it does

One template, whole fleet

Define the login banner once. Every host is compared against it, so they stay identical.

Warning banner check

Flags hosts missing a required legal notice in /etc/issue and /etc/issue.net, the login-banner compliance controls.

Dynamic motd aware

Accounts for /etc/motd.d fragments and update-motd, not just the static file.

Applies carefully

Writes the banner with per-host confirmation and keeps a backup. Read-only until you approve.

Output

A report you can hand to anyone

A formatted Excel workbook plus a machine-readable JSON plan. Sheets:

SummaryMOTDIssue BannersDriftErrorsAbout

Safety

GUARDED

apply writes the banner with per-host confirmation and keeps a backup. Nothing changes on a host until you approve it.

The rest of the family

linux-auditlinux-patchlinux-certslinux-userslinux-driftlinux-firewalllinux-motdlinux-applylinux-diskspace