Check Ubuntu Version – Quick & Simple

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to Check Ubuntu Version by using the command line or the Ubuntu Desktop GUI. There are several ways of checking your Ubuntu version and we cover all of them in this article.

Table of Contents

• Method 1 – The os-release File
• Method 2 – The lsb_release File
• Method 3 – The issue File
• Method 4 – The lsb_release Command
  • Less Information
• Method 5 – The hostnamectl Command
• Method 5 – Check Ubuntu Version with GUI
• Summary

Method 1 – The os-release File

We can read the os-release file located in /etc/ using the cat command to find out which Ubuntu version we are running:

cat /etc/os-releaseCode language: Bash (bash)

Output:

Method 2 – The lsb_release File

We can also read the lsb-release file located in the /etc/ folder to check Ubuntu versions:

cat /etc/lsb-releaseCode language: Bash (bash)

Output:

Method 3 – The issue File

Another file we can check to figure out which Ubuntu version we are running is the issue file located in the /etc/ folder:

cat /etc/issue

Output:

Method 4 – The lsb_release Command

Another way is by using the built-in lsb_release command:

lsb_release -a

Note: This might not work on WSL 2.

Output:

No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTS
Release:	20.04
Codename:	focalCode language: plaintext (plaintext)

Less Information

You can also use the -d flag to shorten the output:

lsb_release -dCode language: Bash (bash)

Output:

Description:  Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTSCode language: plaintext (plaintext)

Method 5 – The hostnamectl Command

We can also use the hostnamectl command to check our Ubuntu version:

hostnamectlCode language: Bash (bash)

Note: This might not work on WSL 2.

Output:

Static hostname: ceos3c-ubuntu
Icon name: Virtual Machine
Chassis: 
Machine ID:
Boot ID:
Operating System Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTS
Kernel:
Architecture: x86-64Code language: CSS (css)

Method 5 – Check Ubuntu Version with GUI

If you are uncomfortable using the command line, you can also check your Ubuntu version inside of the Ubuntu GUI:

1. Click on the Show Applications button in the lower-left corner.
2. Click on Settings (type settings in the search bar if you can’t find it).
3. Select About from the left navigation menu and scroll down until you find the OS Name field.

Summary

This is how easy it is to check Ubuntu versions. To summarize:

1. You can read the os_release file.
2. You can read the lsb_release file.
3. You can read the issue file.
4. You can use the lsb_release command with either the -a or the -d flag.
5. You can use the hostnamectl command.

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