Numerous Linux distributions exist, such as Ubuntu, Fedora, and openSUSE. Each distribution varies in many aspects, and you may need to identify the name and version of your Linux system, often for programmatic purposes.
The Linux Foundation provides the lsb_release specification and command to display distribution-specific information easily. However, not all Linux distributions include lsb_release by default. Most store this information in the /etc directory, but with slightly different file names. Additionally, the hostnamectl and uname commands can reveal some information about the Linux distribution name and version.
To find details like the Linux distribution name and version, try each of the following methods, as one might work for one distribution but not another.
$ lsb_release -a LSB Version: core-11.1.0ubuntu4-noarch:security-11.1.0ubuntu4-noarch Distributor ID: Ubuntu Description: Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS Release: 22.04 Codename: jammy
Install lsb_core package if you get the No LSB modules are available warning.
$ sudo apt install lsb-core
$ cat /etc/centos-release CentOS Linux release 8.3.2011
$ cat /etc/system-release CentOS Linux release 8.3.2011
The file is normally just a symbolic link to /etc/<distribution>-release file.
$ ls -l /etc/system-release lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root 14 Nov 10 10:49 /etc/system-release -> centos-release
$ cat /etc/os-release NAME="CentOS Stream" VERSION="9" ID="centos" ID_LIKE="rhel fedora" VERSION_ID="9" PLATFORM_ID="platform:el9" PRETTY_NAME="CentOS Stream 9" ANSI_COLOR="0;31" LOGO="fedora-logo-icon" CPE_NAME="cpe:/o:centos:centos:9" HOME_URL="https://centos.org/" BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugzilla.redhat.com/" REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT="Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9" REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT_VERSION="CentOS Stream"
$ cat /etc/lsb-release DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu DISTRIB_RELEASE=20.10 DISTRIB_CODENAME=groovy DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 20.10"
$ hostnamectl Static hostname: host Icon name: computer-vm Chassis: vm Machine ID: 421dd0de69664dc49728efbdd7ef476d Boot ID: a881d479f0364cb387a972597dce5ee4 Virtualization: parallels Operating System: CentOS Stream 9 CPE OS Name: cpe:/o:centos:centos:9 Kernel: Linux 5.14.0-165.el9.aarch64 Architecture: arm64 Hardware Vendor: Parallels International GmbH. Hardware Model: Parallels ARM Virtual Machine
$ uname -a Linux host 5.8.0-34-generic #37-Ubuntu SMP Thu Dec 10 18:01:14 UTC 2020 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
Some information can be inferred such as kernel version 5.8 for this system is what Ubuntu 20.10 ships with.
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