Linuux - Command: Show Linux Version and dist

by nixCraft on July 1, 2009 · 14 comments· LAST UPDATED December 29, 2013

in BASH Shell, Commands, Linux

What command I need to type to display Linux kernel version and other information such as Linux distribution name? How do I check Linux kernel version number?

You need to use the following two commands:[a] uname - Print kernel and system information.

Tutorial details
Difficulty	Easy (rss)
Root privileges	No
Requirements	None
Estimated completion time	1m

[b] lsb_release - Print distribution-specific information.[c] /proc/version file - Print running kernel information.

How to check linux kernel version number?

Open a shell prompt (or a terminal) and type the following command to see your current Linux kernel version:
$ uname -r
Sample outputs:

2.6.32-23-generic-pae

Or type the following command:
$ uname -mrs
Sample outputs:

Linux 2.6.32-23-generic-pae i686

To print all information, enter:
$ uname -a
Sample outputs:

Linux vivek-laptop 2.6.32-23-generic-pae #37-Ubuntu SMP Fri Jun 11 09:26:55 UTC 2010 i686 GNU/Linux

Where,

• 2.6.32-23 - Linux kernel version number
• pae - pae kernel type indicate that I'm accssing more than 4GB ram using 32 bit kernel.
• SMP - Kernel that supports multi core and multiple cpus.

/proc/version file

Type the following command to see Linux version info:
$ cat /proc/version
Sample outputs:

Linux version 3.2.0-0.bpo.1-amd64 (Debian 3.2.4-1~bpo60+1) (ben@decadent.org.uk) (gcc version 4.4.5 (Debian 4.4.5-8) ) #1 SMP Sat Feb 11 08:41:32 UTC 2012

The above output identifies the kernel version that is currently running. It includes the contents of /proc/sys/kernel/ostype, /proc/sys/kernel/osrelease, and /proc/sys/kernel/version files. For example:
$ cat /proc/sys/kernel/{ostype,osrelease,version}
Sample outputs:

Linux
3.2.0-0.bpo.1-amd64
#1 SMP Sat Feb 11 08:41:32 UTC 2012

Find Distribution Version

Type the following command:
$ cat /etc/*release
OR
$ lsb_release -a
Sample outputs:

No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS
Release: 10.04
Codename: lucid

Here is another output from my Debian based server:

lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Debian
Description: Debian GNU/Linux 6.0.6 (squeeze)
Release: 6.0.6
Codename: squeeze

Related media

This tutorial is also available in a quick video format:


Video 01: Find The Linux Kernel Version Command Tutorial Tweet itFacebook itG+ itDownload PDF versionFound an error/typo on this page?

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