Sad Servers (Leetcode for DevOps)

I recently came across a website that’s been surprisingly addictive: Sad Servers. It describes itself as “Leetcode for DevOps,” and honestly—that’s a pretty fair assessment. For better or worse.

Much like Leetcode, Sad Servers leans into the puzzle-solving side of tech challenges. That means it’s less about simulating your typical day on the job and more about throwing you into situations that test your problem-solving skills under pressure. If you’re a programmer, and you’ve ever rolled your eyes at a “reverse a linked list in-place” interview question, you’ll know the vibe.

In fact, it might take things a step further. One of the scenarios is a command-line-based murder mystery, inspired by clmystery. You sift through folders and text files hunting for clues, all while brushing up on your awk, grep, less, and more skills. So yes—you’re solving a fictional crime, but you’re also learning valuable command-line tricks. Not a bad trade-off.

Most of the challenges are a bit more grounded, though. You’ll be dropped into a malfunctioning Linux server and asked to get it back in working order. It’s a hands-on way to get familiar with tools like HAProxy, etcd, Nginx, Apache, Kubernetes, and various databases.

One caveat: this is very much a Linux-first experience. There’s no Windows content here. But considering the DevOps focus, that’s pretty much expected.

All in all, I think Sad Servers is a great resource—especially for system administrators or developers looking to sharpen their troubleshooting skills. It’s free to use, with an optional $5/month pro subscription if you want access to extra features or just feel like supporting the project.