Linux terminal which version

How to check your Ubuntu version: a guide

The free Ubuntu operating system serves as a good alternative to Windows and macOS. The open-source system is highly flexible and comes with a variety of pre-installed software. Programmers can further develop its programs or use it for implementing their own software projects. But of course there will be times when you want to install additional programs. So how do you find out if your preferred software is compatible with your Ubuntu operating system? The Ubuntu version you’re using will be crucial information.

You’ll also need to know which Ubuntu version you’re running when troubleshooting. If you include the version number in your searches on forums and blogs, you’ll get a more specific answer to your questions. Keep reading to find out how to check your Ubuntu version.

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Checking the Ubuntu version in the terminal

There are two ways to check your Ubuntu version in the terminal. Both of them use a simple command entered into the command line.

Option 1: Command lsb_release -a

1. Open the terminal using “Show Applications” or use the keyboard shortcut [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [T].
2. Type the command “lsb_release -a” into the command line and press enter.
3. The terminal shows the Ubuntu version you’re running under “Description” and “Release”.

The command lsb_release -a shows you the Ubuntu version you’re using.

Option 2: Read the contents of /etc/lsb-release

1. Open the terminal using “Show Applications” or with the keyboard shortcut [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [T].
2. Type the command “cat /etc/lsb-release” into the command line and press enter.
3. The terminal shows the Ubuntu version you’re running under “DISTRIB_RELEASE” and “DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION”.

You can use the terminal to read the contents of the file cat /etc/lsb-release and view your Ubuntu version.

Checking the Ubuntu version in Settings

Another way to check your Ubuntu version is in the Settings. This can be done in just three clicks.

1. Go to “Show Applications”
2. Open “Settings”
3. When the program is open, you’ll see “Details” at the bottom of the left menu bar. When you click on this, you’ll see information about your system on the right. The Ubuntu version is written in large text right below the Ubuntu logo.

Click on “Details” in the settings to view your Ubuntu version.

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How to check your Linux version: easy ways to view the distribution and version number

When most people think of Linux, an open source operating system that serves as an alternative to Microsoft and Apple comes to mind. But unlike these market leaders that offer commercial operating systems, there is no single Linux operating system.

Instead, there is a whole series of free, open-source operating systems (referred to as “distributions”) that are built based on the Linux kernel. This means that Linux merely serves as the basis for potential operating systems, which are then built from the kernel and other programming elements. While Microsoft and Apple release closed-source, proprietary software products, the Linux kernel is open-source code that any member of the Linux community can use or modify to make their own applications and operating systems.

Since there exist countless Linux versions, it’s of utmost importance to know which version you’re running, especially when you run into technical problems, have questions, or want to do an update. Luckily, it’s very easy to find out. Keep reading for instructions on how tocheck your Linux version.

Linux version: what do the distribution and version number mean?

As of June 2020, there are now over 500 unique Linux distributions. The best-known are Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, SUSE, Manjaro, and Linux Mint.

The family tree for Ubuntu alone contains over 65 software applications built on the basis of Ubuntu. The current distribution was released in 2020 with the version number 20.04. The first version of Ubuntu came out in 2004 and was based on the Debian operating system.

The various Linux distributions can be roughly divided into three basic family trees as well as countless other smaller branches and independent versions. For example, the entire Ubuntu family is based on Debian, the distribution Fedora is based on Red Hat Linux, and SUSE used Slackware.

Even though they’re all based on the Linux kernel, the various distributions serve as their own operating systems with different GNU toolchains and graphic interfaces. In order to find your way in the busy Linux landscape, it’s important to know which version of the Linux kernel and which distribution you’re using.

Checking the Linux version in the terminal

Whether you’re using Linux privately or professionally, it’s always important to know which Linux version and distribution you’re working with. That way you’ll know which package manager you’ll need for downloading new tools and updates, and which Linux forum you should turn to when you have questions or experience problems.

If you’re looking for details about your Linux version, there are two words which will be of particular significance:

1. The version number of the distribution
2. The version of the Linux kernel

To find out these two values, you’ll need to use Linux commands. In general, when working in Linux, user input is entered into so-called “shells”, which are interfaces between systems and users. Shells run using a graphic terminal that processes the commands in the relevant programming language. This will serve as your starting point in checking your Linux version.

Step 1: Distribution version number

Open the Linux terminal with the keys [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [T] or by using the search function. Type the following command into the terminal and then press enter:

The asterisk in the code ensures that the command will apply to all distributions and shows you the installed version. The data that you see now may look a bit messy, with some lines appearing twice or several ending in “release”. The most important line here is “PRETTY_NAME=”, which contains the name of the distribution and version number that you’re currently using.

Another command that works on all distributions without the need for a special tool is the following:

If you only need the name and version number of your current distribution, the following command will suffice:

In the following example, you can see that Ubuntu 20.04 LTS is currently running:

The command “lsb_release -d” shows the current distribution and its version number.

The following command lists more comprehensive information about the version:

The command “lsb_release -a” shows additional information about the distribution version you’re currently running.

This command should work on every Linux distribution, as long as you’ve installed the lsb-release package or it’s part of your Ubuntu version. If you haven’t already installed it, you can easily do so with the following command for Debian and Ubuntu:

Step 2: Linux kernel version number

If you’d like to know which version of the Linux kernel you’re using, type the following command into the terminal and press enter:

The command “uname -r” shows the version of the Linux kernel that you’re currently using.

You’ll now see which Linux kernel you’re using. In the above example, the Linux kernel is 5.4.0-26.

If you’d like to see more information (about computer architecture for example), you can enter the following command:

The command “uname -a” shows the version of the Linux kernel you’re using, as well as additional details.

Step 3: View everything at once with Inxi

With the tool Inxi, you can easily view all the information about your hardware, host, Linux kernel, desktop environment, and distribution. To install the program in Debian/Ubuntu, enter the following command into the terminal:

Once installed, you can view the above-mentioned data with this simple command:

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  How to check Debian version: the quick and easy way

  Knowing which Debian version you have not only helps you to choose the right install package for a program – you also need it to get appropriate support in forums. There are several different methods to check your Debian version. In this step-by-step guide, we’ll explain how to check your version using Terminal and Hardinfo.

  

  How to check your Ubuntu version: a guide

  Knowing which Ubuntu version you’re running is helpful for different things. You can use this information to check whether programs are compatible with your system. Or you can include the version number in troubleshooting searches. It’s thus of crucial importance to know how to check your Ubuntu version. Keep reading to find out how to do so in a few simple clicks.

  

  Remove a directory in Linux: a simple guide

  Sometimes you may need to delete an entire folder rather than just individual files. If you want to remove a Linux directory, there are several ways to do it. Here are a few basic solutions that use either File Manager or Terminal. We also explain what you can do if you don’t have the necessary rights.

  

  Deleting files in Linux: a how-to guide

  Deleting files in Linux couldn’t be easier. Whether you use the file manager or work directly in the terminal with the command “rm”, you can remove Linux files in just a few clicks. Keep reading to find out how to remove single files, multiple files, files of a certain type, or entire folders.

  Linux find command: search and find files

  While working on a Linux system the command line is frequently used. Many administrative tasks require you to find files and directories based on specific criteria. In doing so, Linux admins are accustomed to using the find command. Here, we’ll show you how the command works and how to use it as a handy tool.

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  Ubuntu Documentation

  Why use the terminal?

  «Under Linux there are GUIs (graphical user interfaces), where you can point and click and drag, and hopefully get work done without first reading lots of documentation. The traditional Unix environment is a CLI (command line interface), where you type commands to tell the computer what to do. That is faster and more powerful, but requires finding out what the commands are.»
  — from man intro(1)

  This page gives an introduction to using the command-line interface terminal, from now on abbreviated to the terminal. There are many varieties of Linux, but almost all of them use similar commands that can be entered from the terminal.

  There are also many graphical user interfaces (GUIs), but each of them works differently and there is little standardization between them. Experienced users who work with many different Linux distributions therefore find it easier to learn commands that can be used in all varieties of Ubuntu and, indeed, in other Linux distributions as well.

  For the novice, commands can appear daunting:

  However, it is important to note that even experienced users often cut and paste commands (from a guide or manual) into the terminal; they do not memorize them.

  It is important, of course, to know how to use the terminal — and anyone who can manage typing, backspacing, and cutting and pasting will be able to use the terminal (it is not more difficult than that).

  Starting a terminal

  In Unity

  Unity is the default desktop environment used as of 11.04. Where systems are not ready for Unity they revert to GNOME which is also used in previous releases such as Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid), see next sub-section.

  The easiest way to open the terminal is to use the ‘search’ function on the dash. Or you can click on the ‘More Apps’ button, click on the ‘See more results’ by the installed section, and find it in that list of applications. A third way, available after you click on the ‘More Apps’ button, is to go to the search bar, and see that the far right end of it says ‘All Applications’. You then click on that, and you’ll see the full list. Then you can go to Accessories -> Terminal after that. So, the methods in Unity are:

  Dash -> Search for Terminal

  Dash -> More Apps -> ‘See More Results’ -> Terminal

  Dash -> More Apps -> Accessories -> Terminal

  Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + T

  In GNOME

  GNOME is the classic desktop environment for Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty) and is the default desktop environment in earlier releases, such as Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid).

  Applications menu -> Accessories -> Terminal.

  Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + T

  In Xfce (Xubuntu)

  Applications menu -> System -> Terminal.

  Keyboard Shortcut: Super + T

  Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + T

  In KDE (Kubuntu)

  KMenu -> System -> Terminal Program (Konsole).

  In LXDE (Lubuntu)

  Menu -> Accessories -> LXTerminal.

  Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl + Alt + T

  Commands

  sudo: Executing Commands with Administrative Privileges

  The sudo command executes a command with administrative privileges (root-user administrative level), which is necessary, for example, when working with directories or files not owned by your user account. When using sudo you will be prompted for your password. Only users with administrative privileges are allowed to use sudo.

  Be careful when executing commands with administrative privileges — you might damage your system! You should never use normal sudo to start graphical applications with administrative privileges. Please see RootSudo for more information on using sudo correctly.

  File & Directory Commands

  ) symbol stands for your home directory. If you are user, then the tilde (

  ) stands for /home/user

  pwd: The pwd command will allow you to know in which directory you’re located (pwd stands for «print working directory»). Example: «pwd» in the Desktop directory will show «

  /Desktop». Note that the GNOME Terminal also displays this information in the title bar of its window. A useful gnemonic is «present working directory.»

  ls: The ls command will show you (‘list’) the files in your current directory. Used with certain options, you can see sizes of files, when files were made, and permissions of files. Example: «ls

  « will show you the files that are in your home directory.

  cd: The cd command will allow you to change directories. When you open a terminal you will be in your home directory. To move around the file system you will use cd. Examples:

  To navigate into the root directory, use «cd /»

  To navigate to your home directory, use «cd» or «cd

  To navigate up one directory level, use «cd ..»

  To navigate to the previous directory (or back), use «cd -«

  To navigate through multiple levels of directory at once, specify the full directory path that you want to go to. For example, use, «cd /var/www» to go directly to the /www subdirectory of /var/. As another example, «cd

  /Desktop» will move you to the Desktop subdirectory inside your home directory.

cp: The cp command will make a copy of a file for you. Example: «cp file foo» will make an exact copy of «file» and name it «foo», but the file «file» will still be there. If you are copying a directory, you must use «cp -r directory foo» (copy recursively). (To understand what «recursively» means, think of it this way: to copy the directory and all its files and subdirectories and all their files and subdirectories of the subdirectories and all their files, and on and on, «recursively»)

mv: The mv command will move a file to a different location or will rename a file. Examples are as follows: «mv file foo» will rename the file «file» to «foo». «mv foo

/Desktop» will move the file «foo» to your Desktop directory, but it will not rename it. You must specify a new file name to rename a file.

To save on typing, you can substitute ‘

‘ in place of the home directory.

Note that if you are using mv with sudo you can use the

shortcut, because the terminal expands the

to your home directory. However, when you open a root shell with sudo -i or sudo -s,

will refer to the root account’s home directory, not your own.

rm: Use this command to remove or delete a file in your directory.

rmdir: The rmdir command will delete an empty directory. To delete a directory and all of its contents recursively, use rm -r instead.

mkdir: The mkdir command will allow you to create directories. Example: «mkdir music» will create a directory called «music».

Here is an example of when it would be necessary to execute a command with administrative privileges. Let’s suppose that another user has accidentally moved one of your documents from your Documents directory to the root directory. Normally, to move the document back, you would type mv /mydoc.odt

/Documents/mydoc.odt, but by default you are not allowed to modify files outside your home directory. To get around this, you would type sudo mv /mydoc.odt

/Documents/mydoc.odt. This will successfully move the document back to its correct location, provided that you have administrative privileges.

Running a File Within a Directory

So you’ve decided to run a file using the command-line? Well. there’s a command for that too!

./filename.extension

After navigating to the file’s directory, this command will enable any Ubuntu user to run files compiled via GCC or any other programming language. Although the example above indicates a file name extension, please notice that, differently from some other operating systems, Ubuntu (and other Linux-based systems) do not care about file extensions (they can be anything, or nothing). Keep in mind that the ‘extension’ will vary depending upon the language the source code is written in. Also, it is not possible, for compiled languages (like C and C++) to run the source code directly — the file must be compiled first, which means it will be translated from a human-readable programming language to something the computer can understand. Some possible extensions: «.c» for C source, «.cpp» for C++, «.rb» for Ruby, «.py» for Python, etc. Also, remember that (in the case of interpreted languages like Ruby & Python) you must have a version of that language installed on Ubuntu before trying to run files written with it.

Finally, the file will only be executed if the file permissions are correct — please see the FilePermissions help page for details.

System Information Commands

df: The df command displays filesystem disk space usage for all mounted partitions. «df -h» is probably the most useful — it uses megabytes (M) and gigabytes (G) instead of blocks to report. (-h means «human-readable»)

du: The du command displays the disk usage for a directory. It can either display the space used for all subdirectories or the total for the directory you run it on. Example:

In the above example -s means «Summary» and -h means «Human Readable».

free: The free command displays the amount of free and used memory in the system. «free -m» will give the information using megabytes, which is probably most useful for current computers.

top: The top (‘table of processes’) command displays information on your Linux system, running processes and system resources, including CPU, RAM & swap usage and total number of tasks being run. To exit top, press «q».

uname -a: The uname command with the -a option prints all system information, including machine name, kernel name & version, and a few other details. Most useful for checking which kernel you’re using.

lsb_release -a: The lsb_release command with the -a option prints version information for the Linux release you’re running, for example:

ip addr reports on your system’s network interfaces.

Adding A New User

The «adduser newuser» command will create a new general user called «newuser» on your system, and to assign a password for the newuser account use «passwd newuser».

Options

The default behaviour for a command may usually be modified by adding a —option to the command. The ls command for example has an -s option so that «ls -s» will include file sizes in the listing. There is also a -h option to get those sizes in a «human readable» format.

Options can be grouped in clusters so «ls -sh» is exactly the same command as «ls -s -h». Most options have a long version, prefixed with two dashes instead of one, so even «ls —size —human-readable» is the same command.

«Man» and getting help

man command, info command and command —help are the most important tools at the command line.

Nearly every command and application in Linux will have a man (manual) file, so finding them is as simple as typing «man «command»» to bring up a longer manual entry for the specified command. For example, «man mv» will bring up the mv (move) manual.

Move up and down the man file with the arrow keys, and quit back to the command prompt with «q».

«man man» will bring up the manual entry for the man command, which is a good place to start!

«man intro» is especially useful — it displays the «Introduction to user commands» which is a well-written, fairly brief introduction to the Linux command line.

There are also info pages, which are generally more in-depth than man pages. Try «info info» for the introduction to info pages.

Some software developers prefer info to man (for instance, GNU developers), so if you find a very widely used command or app that doesn’t have a man page, it’s worth checking for an info page.

Virtually all commands understand the -h (or —help) option which will produce a short usage description of the command and it’s options, then exit back to the command prompt. Try «man -h» or «man —help» to see this in action.

Caveat: It’s possible (but rare) that a program doesn’t understand the -h option to mean help. For this reason, check for a man or info page first, and try the long option —help before -h.

Searching the manual pages

If you aren’t sure which command or application you need to use, you can try searching the manual pages. Each manual page has a name and a short description.

To search the names for enter:

For example, whatis -r cpy will list manual pages whose names contain cpy. The output from whatis -r cpy will in part depend on your system — but might be as follows:

To search the names or descriptions for enter:

For example, apropos -r «copy files» will list manual pages whose names or descriptions contain copy files. The output from apropos -r «copy files» will in part depend on your system — but might be as follows:

Other Useful Things

Prettier Manual Pages

Users who have Konqueror installed will be pleased to find they can read and search man pages in a web browser context, prettified with their chosen desktop fonts and a little colour, by visiting man:/command in Konqueror’s address bar. Some people might find this lightens the load if there’s lots of documentation to read/search.

Pasting in commands

Often, you will be referred to instructions that require commands to be pasted into the terminal. You might be wondering why the text you’ve copied from a web page using Ctrl + C won’t paste in with ctrl+V. Surely you don’t have to type in all those nasty commands and filenames? Relax. ctrl+shift+V pastes into a GNOME terminal; you can also do middle button click on your mouse (both buttons simultaneously on a two-button mouse) or right click and select Paste from the menu. However, if you want to avoid the mouse and yet paste it, use «Shift + Insert», to paste the command. If you have to copy it from another terminal / webpage, you can use «Ctrl + Insert» to copy.

Save on typing

Up Arrow or Ctrl + P

Scrolls through the commands you’ve entered previously.

Down Arrow or Ctrl + N

Takes you back to a more recent command.

Enter

When you have the command you want.

tab

A very useful feature. It autocompletes any commands or filenames, if there’s only one option, or else gives you a list of options.

Ctrl + R

Searches for commands you’ve already typed. When you have entered a very long, complex command and need to repeat it, using this key combination and then typing a portion of the command will search through your command history. When you find it, simply press Enter.

History

The history command shows a very long list of commands that you have typed. Each command is displayed next to a number. You can type !x to execute a previously typed command from the list (replace the X with a number). If you history output is too long, then use history | less for a scrollable list.

Example: you ran history and found you want to use command 1967. Simply enter

Change the text

The mouse won’t work. Use the left/right arrow keys to move around the line.

When the cursor is where you want it in the line, typing inserts text — ie it doesn’t overtype what’s already there.

Ctrl + A or Home

Moves the cursor to the start of a line.

Ctrl+ E or End

Moves the cursor to the end of a line.

Esc + B

Moves to the beginning of the previous or current word.

Ctrl + K

Deletes from the current cursor position to the end of the line.

Ctrl + U

Deletes from the start of the line to the current cursor position.

Ctrl + W

Deletes the word before the cursor.

Alt + B

Goes back one word at a time.

Alt + F

Moves forward one word at a time.

Alt + C

Capitalizes letter where cursor is and moves to end of word.

More ways to run a terminal

You can set your own keyboard shortcut to run a terminal. See KeyboardShortcuts for details of keyboard shortcuts.

You can run more than terminal — in tabs or separate windows.

You can also install guake (GNOME), tilda (XFCE / LXDE/Mate) or yakuake (KDE) and have a terminal which appears and hides on shortcut key. This can be particularly useful if you use terminal a lot. Drop down terminals can make things a lot easier if you are trying to run a desktop enviroment with a non defualt window manager and something goes wrong drop down terminals can run the orginal window manager —replace to restore a previous option to make things much less painful.

An extremely handy tool :: Incremental history searching

In terminal enter:

Then copy paste and save:

From now on, and many agree this is the most useful terminal tool, it saves you a lot of writing/memorizing.

All you need to do to find a previous command is to enter say the first two or three letters and upward arrow will take you there quickly:

All I need to do is enter:

And hit upward arrow command will soon appear.

How to create upsidedown and/or reverse text with your terminal

If you wish or need to ever flip text upside down [vertical flip] «uʍop ǝpısdn ʇxǝʇ dıʃɟ» or/and create reverse text here is a terminal way to achieve this.

Copy/paste and save the following as flip.pl in your home folder (thanks to Lars Noodén for script).

Then to set it up:

Then open terminal and enter:

Write what you want and hit return

Copy and paste wherever you want text document or Internet forum, etc.

• ɹǝʇuǝ puɐ ʇuɐʍ noʎ ʇɐɥʍ ǝʇıɹʍ ˙˙˙ɔʇǝ ɯnɹoɟ ʇǝuɹǝʇuı ɹo ʇuǝɯnɔop ʇxǝʇ ʇuɐʍ noʎ ɹǝʌǝɹǝɥʍ ǝʇsɐd puɐ ʎdoɔ

If you want to reverse back to front, write your text in a text editor and save as mytext to the home folder.

Copy and paste the result, tluser eht etsap dna ypoc.

And of course you can combine both for truly cryptic results, ɔodʎ ɐup dɐsʇǝ ʇɥǝ ɹǝsnʃʇ

More Information

Within the Community Help Wiki:

grep Howto — grep is a powerful command line search tool.

CommandlineHowto — another introduction to the terminal.

HowToReadline — more advanced customization.

Detailed tutorials on the Linux command line:

http://linuxtutorial.todolistme.net — «Here you will learn the Linux command line (Bash) with our 13 part beginners tutorial . «.

http://mywiki.wooledge.org/BashGuide — «This guide aims to aid people interested in learning to work with BASH. It aspires to teach good practice techniques for using BASH, and writing simple scripts».

http://linuxcommand.org/ — Learning the shell and writing shell scripts.

http://linuxsurvival.com/index.php — «Linux Survival is a free tutorial designed for people who have little or no experience with the Linux operating system».

http://www.ss64.com/bash/ — «An A-Z Index of the Bash command line for Linux».

http://tinyurl.com/ycyg4mk — «Top 3 Sites to Help You Become a Linux Command Line Master».

UsingTheTerminal (последним исправлял пользователь clissold345 2016-07-02 09:16:41)

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