How-To Geek
How to Tell What Version of Ubuntu You Are Running
Telling what version of Ubuntu you are running is extremely easy. You would commonly use this command to figure out if you are running Edgy after you upgraded from Dapper.
cat /etc/issue
Ubuntu edgy (development branch)
Note that the version numbers might change over time. I’m running the beta version so that’s what shows up when I run that command. Either way, it should be clear that you are running Edgy.
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Comments (28)
Programmer by day, geek by night, The Geek, also known as Lowell Heddings, spends all his free time bringing you fresh geekery on a daily basis. You can follow him on Google+ if you'd like.
- Published 10/19/06
I think that the file /etc/lsb-release should be more reliable
I agree w/ John — you don’t really know what “issue” is used for, do you?
I suggest you RTFM by: “man issue motd”
The more paranoid you get, the less hints you give to non-authenticated users, y’know?
You are correct, lsb-release is a better option for ubuntu, but in my experience /etc/issue works across most linux varieties.
uname ?
uname really just prints information about the kernel version… and while much more useful, is not the same as the version of the OS.
For instance, uname -a on my dev server:
Linux superfast 2.6.17-10-server #2 SMP Tue Dec 5 22:29:32 UTC 2006 i686 GNU/Linux
No mention of Ubuntu in there.
$ uname
Linux
$_
I use: lsb_release in this way:
$ lsb_release -d -s -c
uname tell you the kernel vercion only not the distribution information
command for to know the version of the ubuntu now i am working
Thanks, this was very useful today.
yea command tells you that about the running version.
thank you it works for me
The answer to my question:
/usr/share/gnome/help-langpack/about-ubuntu
… then the folder of the language your Ubuntu uses
… then open the file about-ubuntu.xml
The default help page (in English of the USA I think):
/usr/share/gnome/help/about-ubuntu/C/about-ubuntu.xml
This one cannot be opened with firefox but yes with gedit (it’s a template with variables).
Alright, you guys are all way ahead of me… can’t make head or tail of much of this (my fault I’m sure not yours!) I’m just on this forum because I can’t decipher which type of Audacity I should download for my (Ubuntu) Dell Netbook. i don’t know what version of Ubuntu I am and certainly don’t recognise which Audacity version would be suitable. How EXACTLY do I find out the former to start trying to understand the latter? Where do I click on my desktop? All help much, much appreciated,
H
HenryD Assuming you have a standard gnome desktop click top left on applications then accessories then terminal. In the terminal type or copy and paste the exact words or characters and then hit enter. For the version number I would type lsb_release -a
To quickly install the recommended audacity using the terminal type sudo apt-get install audacity then enter, then you probably will have to type your ubuntu login password and enter. To generally install and search for stuff I use Synaptic package manager which is under System – administration menu, or you could try the ubuntu software centre which may be easier if your new to this.
projectbroadband.co.uk
Another way:
a) From the web browser’s address bar: ghelp:about-ubuntu
b) From the run dialog (Alt + F2): gnome-help ghelp:about-ubuntu
Both of them have the same effect as using the Main menu->System->About Ubuntu:
They open the “Display application and GNOME system help” in a page giving the same information as https://help.ubuntu.com/10.04/about-ubuntu/C/index.html (in the language in which you are using Ubuntu).
To know if the installed Ubuntu is of 32 or 64 bits:
uname -m
If it shows i686 or i386 it means 32 bits.
If it shows x86_64 it means 64 bits.
If the CPU is of 32 bits Ubuntu must be of 32 bits.
If the CPU is of 64 bits it can work in 64 or 32 bits. So we can choose: Ubuntu can be of 32 bits or of 64 bits.
To know if the CPU is of 32 or 64 bits:
a) grep -w lm /proc/cpuinfo
If we see lm in red is of 64 bits. Otherwise is of 32 bits.
b) sudo lshw | grep “description: CPU” -A 12 | grep width
It says clearly what we want to know.
Another way to know if the installed Ubuntu is of 32 or 64 bits:
getconf LONG_BIT
f you type in at the system console or at the terminal console
uname -v, you get the kernel version.
to get all the uses of uname, type
uname –help;
type
uname -v (this prints kernel version)
or type uname –help to get a complete list of uname commands
or just type : volname
Thank you Mariuhd. I wanted to double check and make sure I wasn’t running in a 32 bit OS. Your instructions really helped me:
uname -m
If it shows i686 or i386 it means 32 bits.
If it shows x86_64 it means 64 bits.
Not at all.
In the command:
sudo lshw | grep “description: CPU” -A 12 | grep width
the quotation marks have to be vertical (straight), not typographic (curly). I put them straight but they become curly here. Just replace them.
I hope the quotation marks to be vertical this time (I’m using the HTML code for them: ampersand number sign 34 semicolon):
sudo lshw | grep "description: CPU" -A 12 | grep width
@administrators:
volname (a few comments above) has nothing to do with this. Please if you could delete that comment (and this one).
Fine command thnks alot
You can also get it by clicking:
Applications–>System Monitor [Application Tab]
It give the vs and kernal….and more.
Dough!!
I meant:
Applications–>System Monitor [Systems Tab]