Linux Ubuntu Check Version: lsb_release, /etc/os-release, hostnamectl

Q: What Ubuntu version am I running?

`lsb_release -a` or `cat /etc/os-release`.

Q: How do I check the kernel version?

`uname -r`. The team that uses this has kernel-specific debug info.

Linux Ubuntu check version: lsb_release -a shows release + codename + description, cat /etc/os-release shows PRETTY_NAME, VERSION, ID. hostnamectl shows OS + kernel + architecture. The team that checks the version has the right info for support, compatibility, and version-specific commands.

lsb_release
/etc/os-release
hostnamectl
Check kernel version
Check architecture
All-in-one
FAQ

lsb_release

lsb_release -a

Output:

Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS
Release:        22.04
Codename:       jammy

The team that uses lsb_release -a has full version info. May not be installed by default (apt install lsb-release).

/etc/os-release

cat /etc/os-release

Output:

NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="22.04.3 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS"
VERSION_ID="22.04"
VERSION_CODENAME=jammy
UBUNTU_CODENAME=jammy

The team that uses /etc/os-release has shell-script-friendly key=value format.

hostnamectl

hostnamectl

Shows OS, kernel, architecture, virtualization. The team that uses hostnamectl has more than just version - includes kernel and arch.

Check kernel version

uname -r          # kernel release
uname -a          # all info

The team that uses uname -r has the kernel version (separate from OS version).

Check architecture

uname -m          # x86_64, aarch64, armv7l
arch             # same, more portable

The team that uses uname -m has the architecture for binary compatibility.

All-in-one

echo "$(lsb_release -ds) / $(uname -r) / $(uname -m)"
# Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS / 5.15.0-89-generic / x86_64

The team that uses this has all info in one line.

FAQ

What Ubuntu version am I running?

lsb_release -a or cat /etc/os-release.

What’s the latest Ubuntu?

24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) as of 2026. 22.04 LTS (Jammy) is also widely used.

What’s the difference between Ubuntu and Linux Mint?

Mint is based on Ubuntu. The team that knows the difference picks correctly for their needs (Ubuntu: server, Mint: desktop).

How do I check the kernel version?

uname -r. The team that uses this has kernel-specific debug info.

How do I find which Ubuntu release notes apply?

Note the version (e.g., 22.04) and the codename (jammy). The team that has the version has the right docs.

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Useful related references: