Age

Comprehensive age commands and usage patterns for efficient workflow management.

Overview

Age is a powerful tool for various operations and system management. This cheat sheet covers essential commands, configuration options, and best practices.

Installation

Linux/Ubuntu

# Package manager installation
sudo apt update
sudo apt install age

# Alternative installation
wget -O age https://github.com/example/age/releases/latest/download/age-linux
chmod +x age
sudo mv age /usr/local/bin/

macOS

# Homebrew installation
brew install age

# Manual installation
curl -L -o age https://github.com/example/age/releases/latest/download/age-macos
chmod +x age
sudo mv age /usr/local/bin/

Windows

# Chocolatey installation
choco install age

# Scoop installation
scoop install age

# Manual installation
# Download from official website and add to PATH

Basic Commands

Command	Description
`age --help`	Display help information
`age --version`	Show version information
`age init`	Initialize age in current directory
`age status`	Check current status
`age list`	List available options
`age info`	Display system information
`age config`	Show configuration
`age update`	Update to latest version

Essential Operations

Getting Started

# Initialize age
age init

# Basic usage
age run

# With verbose output
age --verbose run

# With configuration file
age --config config.yaml run

Configuration

# View configuration
age config show

# Set configuration option
age config set key value

# Get configuration value
age config get key

# Reset configuration
age config reset

Advanced Operations

# Debug mode
age --debug run

# Dry run (preview changes)
age --dry-run run

# Force operation
age --force run

# Parallel execution
age --parallel run

File Operations

Command	Description
`age create <file>`	Create new file
`age read <file>`	Read file contents
`age update <file>`	Update existing file
`age delete <file>`	Delete file
`age copy <src> <dst>`	Copy file
`age move <src> <dst>`	Move file

Network Operations

# Connect to remote host
age connect host:port

# Listen on port
age listen --port 8080

# Send data
age send --data "message" --target host

# Receive data
age receive --port 8080

Security Features

Authentication

# Login with credentials
age login --user username

# Logout
age logout

# Change password
age passwd

# Generate API key
age generate-key

Encryption

# Encrypt file
age encrypt file.txt

# Decrypt file
age decrypt file.txt.enc

# Generate certificate
age cert generate

# Verify signature
age verify file.sig

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: Command not found

# Check if installed
which age

# Reinstall if necessary
sudo apt reinstall age

Issue: Permission denied

# Run with sudo
sudo age command

# Fix permissions
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/age

Issue: Configuration errors

# Reset configuration
age config reset

# Validate configuration
age config validate

Debug Commands

Command	Description
`age --debug`	Enable debug output
`age --verbose`	Verbose logging
`age test`	Run self-tests
`age doctor`	Check system health

Best Practices

Security

Always verify checksums when downloading
Use strong authentication methods
Regularly update to latest version
Follow principle of least privilege

Performance

Use appropriate buffer sizes
Monitor resource usage
Optimize configuration for your use case
Regular maintenance and cleanup

Maintenance

# Update age
age update

# Clean temporary files
age clean

# Backup configuration
age backup --config

# Restore from backup
age restore --config backup.yaml

Integration

Scripting

#!/bin/bash
# Example script using age

if ! command -v age &> /dev/null; then
    echo "age is not installed"
    exit 1
fi

if age run; then
    echo "Success"
else
    echo "Failed"
    exit 1
fi

API Integration

import subprocess
import json

def run_age(command):
    try:
        result = subprocess.run(['age'] + command.split(),
                              capture_output=True, text=True)
        return result.stdout
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: \\\\{e\\\\}")
        return None

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
`AGE_CONFIG`	Configuration file path	`~/.age/config`
`AGE_HOME`	Home directory	`~/.age`
`AGE_LOG_LEVEL`	Logging level	`INFO`
`AGE_TIMEOUT`	Operation timeout	`30s`

Configuration File

# ~/.age/config.yaml
version: "1.0"
settings:
  debug: false
  timeout: 30
  log_level: "INFO"

network:
  host: "localhost"
  port: 8080
  ssl: true

security:
  auth_required: true
  encryption: "AES256"

Examples

Basic Workflow

# 1. Initialize
age init

# 2. Configure
age config set host example.com

# 3. Run operation
age run

# 4. Check results
age status

# 5. Cleanup
age clean

Advanced Workflow

# Comprehensive operation
age run \
  --config production.yaml \
  --parallel \
  --verbose \
  --timeout 300

# Monitoring
age monitor \
  --interval 60 \
  --alert-threshold 80

Resources

Official Documentation

Community

Tutorials

Last updated: 2025-07-05