Detecting Linux distribution name and version

by Anish

Posted on Sunday May 5th

Just execute lsb_release -a

bash ~ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:  Ubuntu
Description:  Ubuntu 16.04.4 LTS
Release:  16.04
Codename:  xenial

if the lsb_release is not available then

bash ~ cat /etc/issue
Ubuntu 16.04.4 LTS \n \l

Or Look at /etc/os-release

bash ~ cat /etc/os-release 
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="16.04.4 LTS (Xenial Xerus)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 16.04.4 LTS"
VERSION_ID="16.04"
HOME_URL="http://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="http://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="http://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
VERSION_CODENAME=xenial
UBUNTU_CODENAME=xenial

Or you can try cat /etc/*release

bash ~ cat /etc/*release
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=16.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=xenial
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 16.04.4 LTS"
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="16.04.4 LTS (Xenial Xerus)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 16.04.4 LTS"
VERSION_ID="16.04"
HOME_URL="http://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="http://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="http://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
VERSION_CODENAME=xenial
UBUNTU_CODENAME=xenial

For fedora like system look at /etc/redhat-release

$ cat /etc/redhat-release 
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation release 6.7 (Santiago)

execute uname -a to get basic information about the Linux Kernel

bash ~ uname -a 
Linux provisoner 4.4.0-116-generic #140-Ubuntu SMP Mon Feb 12 21:23:04 UTC 2018 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Showing kernel Information el6 architecture x86_64

$ uname -a 
Linux my-rhel 2.6.32-573.el6.x86_64 #1 SMP Wed Jul 1 18:23:37 EDT 2015 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

As per man page here few more options for uname

-a, --all                         print all information, 
-s, --kernel-name       print the kernel name
-n, --nodename          print the network node hostname
-r, --kernel-release     print the kernel release
-v, --kernel-version    print the kernel version
-m, --machine            print the machine hardware name
-p, --processor           print the processor type (non-portable)
-i, --hardware-platform print the hardware platform (non-portable)
-o, --operating-system  print the operating system

Next Reading : How to Monitoring All Executed Commands in Linux

Thanku for reading !!! Give a Share for Support

Your Support Matters!

Instead of directly asking for donations, I'm thrilled to offer you all nine of my books for just $9 on leanpub By grabbing this bundle you not only help cover my coffee, beer, and Amazon bills but also play a crucial role in advancing and refining this project. Your contribution is indispensable, and I'm genuinely grateful for your involvement in this journey!

Any private key value that you enter or we generate is not stored on this site, this tool is provided via an HTTPS URL to ensure that private keys cannot be stolen, for extra security run this software on your network, no cloud dependency