RHCE Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield RHCE facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What command builds a container image from a `Containerfile` in the current directory? → podman build -t myimage .
2. Which systemd command shows the output (logs) of a timer-triggered service? → journalctl -u myservice.service
3. What command syntax is used to perform a dry run (check mode) of an Ansible playbook without making changes? → ansible-playbook -C playbook.yml
4. How do you save the output from an Ansible module to a variable? → register: var_name
5. What is a Pod in the context of Podman? → A group of containers sharing network and IPC namespaces
6. What log file contains SELinux denial messages (AVC denials)? → /var/log/audit/audit.log
7. Which bash construct tests if a variable `$FILE` exists as a regular file? → if [ -f $FILE ]
8. What is the Samba directive that limits access to systems on the example.org network? → hosts allow .example.org
9. Which command loads a compiled SELinux policy module named `mypolicy.pp`? → semodule -i mypolicy.pp
10. What command syntax is used to perform a syntax check on an Ansible playbook? → ansible-playbook --syntax-check playbook.yml
11. Which command generates a systemd unit file to run a Podman container as a service? → podman generate systemd mycontainer
12. What is the relevant SELinux boolean associated with the sharing of home directories on Samba? → samba_enable_home_dirs
13. What DNF command lists all currently installed packages on the system? → dnf list installed
14. Which command locks a user account to prevent login? → Both A and B
15. Which command forces user `jdoe` to change their password on next login? → passwd -e jdoe
16. (SHELL) How do you tell if a file is of a certain type? → test -f /var/cache/man/whatis
17. What mount option in `/etc/fstab` causes a file system to be mounted read-only? → ro
18. What is the SELinux file type appropriate for shared Samba directories? → samba_share_t
19. What is the purpose of the `/etc/cron.deny` file? → Lists users who are NOT allowed to use crontab
20. Which option in `mkfs.xfs` sets a label for a new XFS file system? → -L
21. What command generates an SELinux policy module from audit denials to allow a previously blocked action? → audit2allow -M mypolicy
22. What keyword is used for looping over a list (which can be a variable) in Ansible? → loop
23. Which command removes the 'vsftpd' package along with any packages that depend on it? → dnf remove vsftpd
24. What field in `/etc/passwd` specifies the user's default shell? → 7th field
25. What does the `id` command display when run as a normal user? → UID, GID, and group memberships
26. What is the purpose of `skopeo` in a RHEL container workflow? → Inspects and copies container images between registries without running them
27. Which configurations in ansible.cfg are used for privilege escalation? → become, become_method, become_user, become_ask_pass
28. Which Ansible module is used for creating and editing filesystems? → mount
29. Which file must be edited to make SELinux mode changes persistent across reboots? → /etc/selinux/config
30. Which shebang line is correct for a bash script on RHEL? → #!/bin/bash