# How To Check Linux OS Version

**URL:** https://www.compsmag.com/blogs/how-to-check-linux-os-version/
**Author:** Ayushi Chauhan
**Published:** 2021-12-21
**Updated:** 2021-12-21
**Categories:** Blogs
**Tags:** Blogs Daily, Computer Guides, guiderobert, Guides and Tutorials, guiding12, How To Guide, How To Guides, Linux Guides, Software tips and tutorials, Tips, Tricks
**Reading Time:** 3 min

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This tip is about the how To Check Linux OS Version. So read this free guide, How To Check Linux OS Version step by step. If you have query related to same article you may contact us.

## How To Check Linux OS Version - Guide

For a normal Linux user, and especially an administrator, it is very important to know the operating system version it is running on.  There can be several reasons to know the version number of your operating system.  It can be very useful when installing a new program, checking the availability of various features and troubleshooting.  There are several ways to check the OS version on a Linux system.  In this article, we explain the graphical and command-line ways to get the operating system version of a Linux system.

## Check operating system version on Linux

The procedure for finding the operating system name and version on Linux:

Open the terminal application (bash shell)

For remote server login using ssh: ssh user @ server-name

Enter any of the following commands to find the operating system name and version on Linux:

cat / etc / os-release

lsb_release -a

hostname

Type the following command to find the Linux kernel version:

## The / etc / os-release file

Enter the following cat command:

We can filter information such as OS version and name using the grep command / egrep command as follows:

$ grep '^ VERSION' / etc / os-release

$ egrep '^ (VERSION | NAME) =' / etc / os-release

### Here's what we see:

NAME = "CentOS Linux"

VERSION = "8 (core)"

Even small Linux distros like Alpine Linux provide the necessary operating system (operating system) information, including the version:

## Checking the operating system version on Linux using the lsb_release command

The lsb_release command provides LSB (Linux Standard Base) and distribution-specific information in the CLI.  The syntax is:

## Hostname command

Use the hostnamectl command to query and change the system hostname and related settings.  Just type the following command to verify the operating system name and Linux kernel version:

And will give the following information.  Search for "Operating System" and "Kernel":

## uname command

Just print the Linux kernel version, run:

## Another option is to type the following command:

### Sample results:

Linux version 3.10.0-693.11.6.el7.x86_64 (mockbuild@x86-041.build.eng.bos.redhat.com) (gcc version 4.8.5 20150623 (Red Hat 4.8.5-16) (GCC)) #1 SMP Thu, 28th of December, 2:23:39 pm EST 2017

## file / etc / issue

Use more command / less command as follows:

$cat / etc / issue

$ plus / etc / issue

$ minus / etc / issue

## Final note

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