💡 This list was created to inspire developers, sysadmins, and DevOps enthusiasts to build their own tools instead of spending thousands of dollars on vendor-locked SaaS platforms.

A true DevOps engineer doesn't just use tools—they build them.

This is the mindset that separates a button-pusher from a toolsmith. 👩‍🔬

Too many modern DevOps teams rely on tools that are closed, bloated, overpriced, and slow to evolve. Real DevOps culture is about automation, transparency, and self-sufficiency. 🧰

That’s why I’ve curated this list of 101 CLI-based tool ideas you can build, contribute to, or adapt for your stack.

Perfect for:

• Hackathons 🎎
• Side Projects 🌱
• GitHub Actions and GitLab CI pipelines 🤖
• Learning Bash, Go, Python, Rust 🐍🦀
• Automation scripts at work 💼
• Showing off your DevOps chops 💪

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🐳 Docker & Container Tools

1. DockClean – Clean up unused Docker containers, volumes, and images.
   
   $ dockclean --all

2. ImageShrink – Optimize Dockerfiles and reduce image sizes.
   
   $ imageshrink my-image:latest

3. LayerView – Visualize Docker image layers in the terminal.
   
   $ layerview my-image:latest

4. TagWatch – Monitor Docker Hub for new image tags.
   
   $ tagwatch nginx

5. PrivPush – CLI for interacting with a private Docker registry.
   
   $ privpush myregistry.io/my-image

6. SecretScan – Scan Docker images for secrets.
   
   $ secretscan my-image:latest

7. ComposeDiff – Compare two Docker Compose files.
   
   $ composediff docker-compose.old.yml docker-compose.new.yml

8. LayerDiff – Show changes between Docker image layers.
   
   $ layerdiff image1 image2

9. OrphanWipe – Remove orphaned Docker volumes.
   
   $ orphanwipe

10. DockSpy – Monitor container CPU, memory, and network usage.
    
    $ dockspy container-id

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☸️ Kubernetes Tools

1. KubePodRestart – List pods with frequent restarts.
   
   $ kubepodrestart --threshold 5

2. KubePort – Port-forward to a pod/service with autocomplete.
   
   $ kubeport my-service

3. KubeSnapshot – Snapshot current cluster resources.
   
   $ kubesnapshot --output snapshot.yaml

4. KubeNSwitch – Quickly switch namespaces.
   
   $ kubenswitch dev

5. KubeGarbage – Clean up old deployments and jobs.
   
   $ kubegarbage --older-than 7d

6. KubeWhoami – Show current context, user, and namespace.
   
   $ kubewhoami

7. KubeSecretEdit – Edit secrets in a safe and encrypted way.
   
   $ kubesecretedit my-secret

8. KubeHPAWatch – Monitor Horizontal Pod Autoscaler behavior.
   
   $ kubehpawatch deployment-name

9. KubeNodes – Show node stats (CPU, mem, pods).
   
   $ kubenodes --all

10. KubeLinterWrap – Wrapper for kube-linter with presets.
    
    $ kubelintwrap ./manifests

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🧪 CI/CD Pipeline Tools

1. PipelineTimer – Measure execution time of CI stages.
   
   $ pipelinetimer .gitlab-ci.yml

2. CIEnvExport – Export CI environment variables locally.
   
   $ cienvexport > .env

3. GitCITrigger – Trigger pipelines from CLI.
   
   $ gitcitrigger --project my/repo --ref main

4. CITestMatrix – Generate matrix builds from YAML.
   
   $ citestmatrix matrix.yml

5. CISecretsAudit – Check pipeline for secret leaks.
   
   $ cisecretsaudit .github/workflows/main.yml

6. CIEmojiStatus – Display emoji-based status of last CI run.
   
   $ ciemojistatus

7. ArtifactFetch – Fetch CI/CD artifacts easily.
   
   $ artifactfetch build.zip

8. CIYamlMerge – Merge multiple CI yaml files into one.
   
   $ ciyamlmerge base.yml env.yml > final.yml

9. CIJobKill – Kill hanging CI jobs from CLI.
   
   $ cijobkill --job 12345

10. WebhookFire – Trigger test webhooks locally.
    
    $ webhookfire --url http://localhost --event push

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🧑‍💻 Git & GitHub Tools

1. GitWIP – List all WIP branches across repos.
   
   $ gitwip

2. PRCreator – Open PRs from terminal with template.
   
   $ prcreator --title "Fix bug"

3. BranchLinter – Enforce branch naming policies.
   
   $ branchlinter --check

4. GHStatus – Check GitHub Actions CI status of repo.
   
   $ ghstatus

5. RepoSync – Sync forks or mirror repositories.
   
   $ reposync --all

6. StarStats – Show star growth of a repo.
   
   $ starstats myrepo

7. GHDash – Terminal dashboard of GitHub issues and PRs.
   
   $ ghdash

8. GHReviewers – Suggest reviewers for PRs based on history.
   
   $ ghreviewers PR-ID

9. GitConfigCheck – Ensure global/local configs are set.
   
   $ gitconfigcheck

10. PRConflictCheck – Check if a PR is conflicting before merge.
    
    $ prconflictcheck PR-ID

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🧠 Dev Tools

1. SnippetGen – Generate code boilerplates.
   
   $ snippetgen react-component

2. RandData – Generate fake data for DB seeding.
   
   $ randdata --rows 100 --format csv

3. RandUser – Generate fake user profiles.
   
   $ randuser --count 5

4. PassGen – Strong password generator.
   
   $ passgen --length 20

5. NickGen – Generate nicknames for users/bots.
   
   $ nickgen

6. Text2Speech – Convert text to audio (mp3).
   
   $ text2speech "Hello world"

7. TextSummary – Summarize a text using OpenAI.
   
   $ textsummary my-report.txt

8. FlashcardCSV – Convert text into flashcards CSV for Anki.
   
   $ flashcardcsv notes.txt

9. HT2PDF – Convert HTML to PDF.
   
   $ ht2pdf index.html

10. MD2HTML – Convert Markdown to HTML.
    
    $ md2html README.md

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🛠️ System & Infra Tools

1. PortScan – Scan open ports on a host.
   
   $ portscan 192.168.1.1

2. DiskWatch – Watch disk usage over time.
   
   $ diskwatch /mnt/data

3. MemCheck – Print memory usage of top processes.
   
   $ memcheck

4. CpuTemp – Display CPU temperature.
   
   $ cputemp

5. ProcWatch – Monitor a process by name or PID.
   
   $ procwatch nginx

6. LoadAvg – Show system load average.
   
   $ loadavg

7. LogTail – Tail and grep multiple logs.
   
   $ logtail /var/log/*.log --grep ERROR

8. SysUpdate – Unified updater for multiple Linux distros.
   
   $ sysupdate

9. DnsPing – Test DNS resolution and latency.
   
   $ dnsping google.com

10. UptimeTop – Visual uptime and reboot history.
    
    $ uptimetop

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🔐 Security Tools

1. JwtDecode – Decode and verify JWTs.
   
   $ jwtdecode token.jwt

2. VaultPeek – View secrets in Vault without revealing full value.
   
   $ vaultpeek secret/myapp

3. CertCheck – Check SSL certificate expiry.
   
   $ certcheck google.com

4. PortAudit – Find services exposed on public IPs.
   
   $ portaudit

5. BashSafe – Scan bash scripts for insecure patterns.
   
   $ bashsafe deploy.sh

6. KeyGenRSA – Generate RSA key pairs.
   
   $ keygenrsa --bits 2048

7. HashFile – Compute hash (md5, sha1, sha256) of a file.
   
   $ hashfile my.zip --algo sha256

8. YaraWatch – Run YARA rules on files or folders.
   
   $ yarawatch ./bin

9. IPBanCheck – Check if your IP is in common blocklists.
   
   $ ipbancheck

10. SecureWipe – Securely delete files.
    
    $ securewipe secrets.txt

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📦 Package & Build Tools

1. BinSize – Check the size of compiled binaries.
   
   $ binsize ./myapp

2. PkgVersion – Auto-increment semver version.
   
   $ pkgversion patch

3. TarPlus – Enhanced tar wrapper with progress.
   
   $ tarplus -czf archive.tar.gz folder/

4. MakeGraph – Visualize Makefile dependencies.
   
   $ makegraph Makefile

5. DebMaker – Create .deb packages easily.
   
   $ debmaker ./build

6. PyInstallerWrap – Simplified CLI for PyInstaller.
   
   $ pyinstallerwrap app.py

7. GoBuildScan – Scan Go binaries for debug info.
   
   $ gobuildscan mytool

8. NPMSizeCheck – Check size of npm dependencies.
   
   $ npmsizecheck

9. LicenseCheck – Check open-source licenses in your project.
   
   $ licensecheck

10. BinCompat – Check binary compatibility across systems.
    
    $ bincompat ./app

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📊 Monitoring & Visualization Tools

1. GrafLog – Convert logs to Grafana-friendly JSON.
   
   $ graflog access.log

2. AlertTest – Trigger mock alerts to test integrations.
   
   $ alerttest --channel slack

3. DashTerm – Terminal-based live dashboard.
   
   $ dashterm

4. TracePlot – Visualize HTTP traces.
   
   $ traceplot traces.json

5. HeatmapGen – Generate activity heatmaps.
   
   $ heatmapgen git-log.txt

6. MetricGen – Create mock Prometheus metrics.
   
   $ metricgen --type gauge

7. StatusTicker – Show system status in ticker format.
   
   $ statusticker

8. JsonStat – Summarize large JSON logs.
   
   $ jsonstat logs.json

9. TrendDiff – Show visual diffs in metric trends.
   
   $ trenddiff --before old.json --after new.json

10. PulseBeat – Show heartbeat events in terminal.
    
    $ pulsebeat --interval 10

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🧰 Misc Tools

1. TodoLog – Add todos with timestamps.
   
   $ todolog "Fix NGINX config"

2. ClipShare – Share clipboard text via short URL.
   
   $ clipshare

3. QrText – Generate QR codes from text.
   
   $ qrtext "https://my.site"

4. DirSizeTop – Show largest directories.
   
   $ dirsizetop /var

5. AsciiArtify – Convert images to ASCII.
   
   $ asciiartify logo.png

6. SleepCalc – Calculate optimal sleep cycles.
   
   $ sleepcalc --now

7. WakeMe – Schedule a command to run at wakeup.
   
   $ wakeme "notify-send \"Get to work!\""

8. HttpDump – Dump HTTP requests/responses.
   
   $ httpdump --port 8080

9. ChatMem – Store short chat memory notes.
   
   $ chatmem "Need to check cron jobs"

10. NowWhat – Suggest a random productivity tip.
    
    $ nowwhat

11. ToolSuggest – Suggest a random tool idea from this list.
    
    $ toolsuggest

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📣 Join the Hackathon!

I'm launching a community DevOps Hackathon 👨‍💻👩‍💻

Build one of these tools (or your own!)

Fork it, share it, improve it, make it yours.

And submit it for feedback, visibility, and collaboration!

More info coming soon. Stay tuned on my LinkedIn and GitHub!

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💬 Share This With Your Team

👈 If you found even one idea useful, hit ❤️ and

📬 share this list in your company Slack or Discord channel

💬 Ask: "Which one shall we build in our next hackday?"

🚀 Let's stop buying stuff we can build better ourselves.

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🔁 Like. Share. Build.

Let’s bring the craft back to DevOps.

Let’s build smart tools, not just use bloated ones.

Which idea will you build first?

Let me know in the comments 👇👇👇