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To disallow normal linux users from changing environment variable HISTFILE, create a file

vi /etc/profile.d/readonly_history.sh

Add following content to the file:

if [[ -n $BASH_VERSION ]]; then
  HISTTIMEFORMAT="%F %T "
  HISTFILE=~/.bash_history
  HISTCONTROL=
  # append to the hsitory file, don't overwrite it
  shopt -s histappend
  # save all lines of a multiple-line command in the same history entry
  shopt -s cmdhist
  # write commands to .bash_history immediately instead of at session end
  PROMPT_COMMAND="history -a"
  # for setting history length see HISTSIZE and HISTFILESIZE in bash(1)
  HISTSIZE=65536
  HISTFILESIZE=65536
  readonly HISTTIMEFORMAT
  readonly HISTFILE
  readonly HISTCONTROL
  readonly HISTSIZE
  readonly HISTFILESIZE
fi

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if you run docker inside an LXD container, it will fail with following error message

root@sok-nodejs:~# docker run hello-world
Unable to find image 'hello-world:latest' locally
latest: Pulling from library/hello-world
e6590344b1a5: Pull complete 
Digest: sha256:c41088499908a59aae84b0a49c70e86f4731e588a737f1637e73c8c09d995654
Status: Downloaded newer image for hello-world:latest
docker: Error response from daemon: failed to create task for container: failed to create shim task: OCI runtime create failed: runc create failed: unable to start container process: error during container init: error mounting "cgroup" to rootfs at "/sys/fs/cgroup": mount cgroup:/sys/fs/cgroup (via /proc/self/fd/6), flags: 0xf: permission denied: unknown.
root@sok-nodejs:~# 

To fix this, run following command on the host machine

lxc config set <your-container-name> security.nesting true
lxc restart <your-container-name>

Example

root@ns5028044:~# lxc config set sok-nodejs security.nesting true
root@ns5028044:~# lxc restart sok-nodejs
root@ns5028044:~# 

Back to LXD

AI code assistants are rapidly transforming how we build software, making development accessible to everyone—from complete beginners to seasoned engineers. In 2025, the landscape is rich with tools offering varying degrees of control, collaboration, and production readiness. Here’s a breakdown of the top platforms, their strengths, and how to choose the right assistant for your needs.

Platform	Level of Control	Ideal User Type
Lovable	Basic control	Non-technical
Bolt / V0	Code tweaking	Non-technical
Replit	File management	Product-minded, non-technical
Tempo / Onlook	Design control	Product-minded, non-technical
Windsurf / Trae / Cursor	Full code control	Technical

Replit

Bridges the gap between no-code and full-code. You can manage files, collaborate in real-time, and deploy instantly. Its conversational AI can generate full-stack apps from a prompt, but you can also dive into the code as needed

https://replit.com

Bolt

Offers a browser-based coding sandbox with AI-powered suggestions, supporting a wide range of frameworks. You can start with templates or customize your tech stack, making it suitable for both beginners and those wanting a bit more control

https://bolt.new

V0

V0 by Vercel is a platform designed to help users ship projects faster. It allows users to input prompts like “Clone a Screenshot” or “Landing Page” to generate project code. V0 also allows users to import designs from Figma. The platform showcases a variety of community-built projects, ranging from landing pages and dashboards to interactive components and games, providing a wide array of examples and starting points for users.

https://v0.dev

OnLook

Onlook is a design tool that allows users to build website interfaces with AI. It enables designers to prompt AI to generate code, adjust layouts, change colors, and modify text, with no setup required. Onlook integrates with existing design systems and offers features such as version control, local code storage, and open-source support.

https://onlook.com

Lovable

Perfect for those who want to build apps without writing any code. Just describe your idea, and Lovable generates a working application, letting you tweak design elements with simple clicks or chat prompts.

https://lovable.dev

Tempo Labs

Focused on visual, design-driven editing. With live previews and AI-powered selectors, you can make real-time UI changes and sync with GitHub for smooth collaboration—ideal for those who want hands-on design control without deep coding

https://www.tempo.new

Windsurf / Trae / Cursor

For developers seeking full code control. Cursor, built on VS Code, offers AI-powered code suggestions, multi-line edits, and deep integration with your codebase. Windsurf goes further, acting as a collaborative coding agent to help break down complex projects and generate multi-file code

• https://windsurf.com/editor
• https://www.trae.ai
• https://www.cursor.com

WordPress Migration plugin migrate your WordPress site easily and fast, plugins are the best helper and it can be done with a few easy steps.

Below is a detailed look at some of the best WordPress backup plugins available.

Migrate Guru

Migrate Guru is a popular WordPress backup, security, and migration plugin. One of the key benefits of using Migrate Guru is its simplicity, making it a user-friendly option for anyone, regardless of their technical expertise. Works with any host via FTP.

https://wordpress.org/plugins/migrate-guru/

UpdraftPlus

UpdraftPlus is a WordPress free plugin used for backups, restoration, and migration of WordPress websites. It allows users to schedule automatic backups of their site’s files and database, store them in cloud services and easily restore their site if needed.

https://wordpress.org/plugins/updraftplus/

Duplicator

Duplicator is a wordpress popular backup free plugin. It is often used for migrations designed to simplify the process of migrating, copying, backing up, and cloning your website.

Easily transfer your site from one host to another or clone your site for development and testing purposes. Duplicator packages all your site’s files, themes, plugins, and database into a single archive, making migration seamless.

https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/

BackWPup

BackWPup is a WordPress backup plugin that allows users to create complete backups of their site. It offers scheduled automatic backups, database optimization, and site restoration features. The Pro version includes additional storage options, encryption, and priority support. BackWPup is designed to help users protect their WordPress sites against data loss due to crashes, hacks, or server failures.

https://wordpress.org/plugins/backwpup/

Total Upkeep

Total Upkeep is a WordPress backup, restoration, and migration free plugin developed by BoldGrid. It allows you to create complete backups of site’s files, databases, and all associated data. Total Upkeep also includes features like fault protection, which detects and prevents failed updates, and site migration tools for moving websites between hosts.

https://wordpress.org/plugins/boldgrid-backup/

AlmaLinux 9 provide node.js version 16. Other versions are available in AppStream repository.

To view available node.js versions, run

dnf module list nodejs

example

[root@sokal9 ~]# dnf module list nodejs
Last metadata expiration check: 0:57:10 ago on Sat 22 Mar 2025 04:25:45 PM UTC.
AlmaLinux 9 - AppStream
Name                               Stream                             Profiles                                                             Summary                                      
nodejs                             18                                 common [d], development, minimal, s2i                                Javascript runtime                           
nodejs                             20                                 common [d], development, minimal, s2i                                Javascript runtime                           
nodejs                             22 [e]                             common [d] [i], development, minimal, s2i                            Javascript runtime                           

Hint: [d]efault, [e]nabled, [x]disabled, [i]nstalled
[root@sokal9 ~]# 

To install node.js 22, run

dnf module install nodejs:22/common

If you need to install another version, you need to reset the installed module first

dnf module reset nodejs:22/common

Install another version of node.js

dnf module install nodejs:20/common

See Node.js

Traceroute is a network diagnostic tool that provides insights into how data packets travel across a network. Whether you’re troubleshooting network issues or exploring the internet’s infrastructure, traceroute can help you map the journey of data packets from source to destination.

Traceroute is a command-line utility that traces the path data packets take across a network. It identifies each intermediate device (or “hop”) between your computer and the destination server, providing information about latency and routing.

On Ubuntu/Debian, you can install traceroute with the command:

apt install traceroute -y

Usage:

traceroute IP or HostName

example

root@vps-535faf74:~# traceroute serverok.in
traceroute to serverok.in (172.67.133.148), 30 hops max, 60 byte packets
 1  _gateway (15.204.204.1)  0.091 ms  0.080 ms  0.035 ms
 2  192.168.250.254 (192.168.250.254)  0.073 ms  0.045 ms  0.034 ms
 3  10.142.1.126 (10.142.1.126)  0.198 ms  0.212 ms  0.223 ms
 4  10.142.0.40 (10.142.0.40)  0.266 ms 10.142.0.42 (10.142.0.42)  0.248 ms 10.142.0.40 (10.142.0.40)  0.129 ms
 5  10.142.0.6 (10.142.0.6)  0.240 ms 10.142.0.8 (10.142.0.8)  0.297 ms 10.142.0.10 (10.142.0.10)  0.332 ms
 6  10.244.64.238 (10.244.64.238)  0.175 ms 10.244.64.240 (10.244.64.240)  0.195 ms 10.244.64.254 (10.244.64.254)  0.261 ms
 7  * 10.244.120.2 (10.244.120.2)  2.354 ms *
 8  was-cva1-sbb1-nc5.va.us (178.32.135.210)  1.721 ms was-nva1-sbb1-nc5.va.us (178.32.135.154)  1.705 ms was-cva1-sbb1-nc5.va.us (178.32.135.210)  1.532 ms
 9  10.200.2.195 (10.200.2.195)  1.479 ms  1.425 ms  1.421 ms
10  * * *
11  173.245.63.99 (173.245.63.99)  2.452 ms 173.245.63.119 (173.245.63.119)  2.617 ms 173.245.63.85 (173.245.63.85)  2.585 ms
12  172.67.133.148 (172.67.133.148)  1.738 ms  2.036 ms  1.867 ms
root@vps-535faf74:~# 

If you need to traceroute to specific port, you can use -p option

traceroute -T -p 587 smtp.google.com

-T specifies tcp option, some traceroute implementation do not support it.

tcptraceroute is another useful command

apt install tcptraceroute

To traceroute to a port, use

tcptraceroute smtp.google.com 25

On a fresh carbonio install, when trying to send email from webmail, it fails.

On checking the log file /opt/zextras/log/mailbox.log

tail -f /opt/zextras/log/mailbox.log

found following error message

com.zimbra.cs.mailbox.MailServiceException: try again: Unable to connect to the MTA

The error was because carbonio use invalid port for smtp:

zextras@mail:~$ zmprov gcf zimbraSmtpPort
zimbraSmtpPort: 20025
zextras@mail:~$ 

To fix it, set SMTP port to 25 with the command:

zmprov mcf  zimbraSmtpPort 25

After running the command, you can verify SMTP port is changed with the command:

zextras@mail:~$ zmprov gcf zimbraSmtpPort
zimbraSmtpPort: 25
zextras@mail:~$ 

When you need to backup a MySQL database and no phpMyAdmin or SSH available, you can use a PHP script with exec function.

<?php

exec("mysqldump --opt -u DB_USER -p'DB_PASSWORD' DB_NAME --result-file=DB_NAME.sql 2>&1", $result, $rval);

if ($rval === 0) {
    echo "Backup successful!";
} else {
    echo "Backup failed! Verify Database credentials.";
    echo "<pre style='color:red'>";
    foreach ($result as $line) {
        echo $line . "\n";
    }
}

In the above code, replace DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD and DB_NAME with actual database user, password and database name.

You can execute this program by going to your website and accessing the PHP file.

Backup will be saved in current directory with .sql extension.

Back to MySQL Backup

Before upgrading, take a backup all databases.

mysqldump  --routines --triggers --all-databases | gzip -9 > "$(date +%F-%H%m%S)"-mysql-backup.sql.gz

run these commands

sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https curl
sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -o /etc/apt/keyrings/mariadb-keyring.pgp 'https://mariadb.org/mariadb_release_signing_key.pgp'

Create file

vi /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mariadb.sources

and add the following content. If you need repo config for another version of MariaDB or download server from another country, you can do so at

https://mariadb.org/download/?t=repo-config&d=20.04+%22focal%22&v=10.5&r_m=rackspace

# MariaDB 10.5 repository list - created 2024-10-10 04:35 UTC
# https://mariadb.org/download/
X-Repolib-Name: MariaDB
Types: deb
# deb.mariadb.org is a dynamic mirror if your preferred mirror goes offline. See https://mariadb.org/mirrorbits/ for details.
# URIs: https://deb.mariadb.org/10.5/ubuntu
URIs: https://mirror.rackspace.com/mariadb/repo/10.5/ubuntu
Suites: focal
Components: main main/debug
Signed-By: /etc/apt/keyrings/mariadb-keyring.pgp

To update MariaDB to version 10.5, run

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mariadb-server

Back to MySQL

The .wpress file format is generated by the “All-in-One WP Migration” plugin, which is widely used for migrating WordPress sites.

If you cannot restore a “wpress” file for any reason, you can manually extract the file and restore it manually.

To extract, we will use wpress-extract package available at

https://github.com/ofhouse/wpress-extract

To use it, you need node.js installed on your computer.

To extract a .wpress file, run

npx wpress-extract your-site.wpress

Once extracted, you will get the content of the “wp-content” directory and MySQL backup file. To manually restore, do a fresh WordPress installation, and replace “wp-content” folder with the extracted files.

Before restoring the database, you need to correct the table prefix. Open the database backup SQL file in a text editor and replace the table prefix with the string you need.

Delete existing database tables, restore the new SQL file, and update wp-config.php as needed, you may need to update the table prefix in wp-config.php

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