LKBEN11169: Howto find the version of kubuntu, ubuntu or debian you are running
LKB | Created: 02/04/2020 | Version: 0 | Language: EN | Rating: 0 | Outdated: False | Marked for deletion: False
Author: Wim Peeters - Keskon GmbH & Co. KG
Symptom
You need to know which version you are running right now
Cause
none
Solution
There are more than one possibilities to identify which version of Linux you are running
In Kubuntu, Ubuntu and derivates you can have a look at /etc/issue
cat /etc/issue
In my case the output looks like this:
Ubuntu 9.04 \n \l
For a debian system you can have a look at /etc/debian_version. This exists on Kubuntu and Ubuntu to and tells you on wich debian version it is based.
cat /etc/debian_version
The output will show you just a number. In my case:
5.0
Another way to find out is to use the lsb_release command. (a python script)
lsb_release -a
Output:
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 9.04
Release: 9.04
Codename: jaunty
or you can look at het file /etc/lsb-release:
cat /etc/lsb-release
e.g.
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=9.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=jaunty
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 9.04"
For a lost resort, you can have a look at your /etc/apt/sources.list which will give you most of the information.
About the Author
Wim Peeters is electronics engineer with an additional master in IT and over 30 years of experience including time spent in support, development, consulting, training and database administration. Wim has worked with SQL Server since version 6.5. He has developed in C/C++, Java and C# on Windows and Linux in different European countries and different European languages. He writes knowledge base articles to solve IT problems and publishes them on the Lubby Knowledge Platform where he is one of the most important contributors and the main developer.