How to check your Ubuntu version from the command line

1. Why you need to know your Ubuntu version
2. The quickest answer: lsb_release
3. Reading /etc/os-release
4. The old-school /etc/issue
5. A richer view with hostnamectl
6. Checking the kernel version
7. Which one should you use?

#Why you need to know your Ubuntu version

Before I install a package, follow a tutorial, or open a support ticket, I want to know exactly which Ubuntu release I'm on. The version decides which package versions are available, which docs apply, and whether a release is still getting security updates. Here are the commands I reach for.

#The quickest answer: lsb_release

My go-to is lsb_release, which prints the distributor info in a clean format:

lsb_release -a

The -a flag means "all". You'll get the distributor ID, a description like Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS, the release number (24.04), and the codename (noble). If you only want the number, use -r, and -c gives just the codename:

lsb_release -r
lsb_release -c

#Reading /etc/os-release

lsb_release isn't installed on every minimal image, but /etc/os-release always is. It's a plain file you can just print:

cat /etc/os-release

This shows VERSION_ID, VERSION_CODENAME, and PRETTY_NAME. Because it's structured as shell variables, scripts can source it directly, which makes it handy in automation.

#The old-school /etc/issue

For a fast glance, /etc/issue holds the text shown before login:

cat /etc/issue

It prints something like Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS \n \l. The \n and \l are placeholders the login prompt fills in, so just ignore them.

#A richer view with hostnamectl

hostnamectl gives the OS plus the hostname, architecture, and kernel in one go:

hostnamectl

I like this one on servers because the "Operating System" and "Kernel" lines tell me almost everything at a glance.

#Checking the kernel version

The Ubuntu release and the kernel are separate things. To see the running kernel, use uname:

uname -r

The -r flag prints just the kernel release, like 6.8.0-52-generic. Want the full picture, including architecture and build date? Use -a:

uname -a

#Which one should you use?

For everyday use, lsb_release -a is the friendliest. On a stripped-down container or cloud image where it's missing, fall back to cat /etc/os-release. And when you're chasing a driver or hardware issue, uname -r is the kernel detail that actually matters.

Once you know your version, you'll likely want to update Ubuntu from the command line to pull in the latest security patches.