What terminal command checks the Ubuntu version

Question

What terminal command tells the version of Ubuntu.

@fossfreedom this question is not a duplicate of the question you linked because i am asking how to check using terminal, not the graphical way. remove your concern — Nick Bailuc, Jul 02 '14 at 04:39
The duplicate covers both terminal and graphical. IMHO they are the same question. These probably should be merged. I'll ask some 20K users before making that decision. — fossfreedom, Jul 02 '14 at 06:02
the duplicate does but the question doesnt. when others search for a terminal command and they find the other question, they wount look into it because it doesnt say anything about it in the question description — Nick Bailuc, Jul 02 '14 at 21:03

score 140 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 21 '16 at 09:23

140

For the description and the release number including the OS name, run:

$ lsb_release -d
Description:    Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

Just for the the codename, use:

$ lsb_release -c
Codebase:   precise

For the release number only, use:

$ lsb_release -r
Release:    12.04

For all lsb version details, use:

$ lsb_release -a
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
Release:    12.04
Codename:   precise

edited Sep 21 '16 at 09:23

k0pernikus

answered Jun 14 '12 at 19:24

carnendil

5

That gives the codename. for the description including the OS name ("Ubuntu" on an Ubuntu system) and the release number, use lsb_release -d. For the release number only, use lsb_release -r. For all available lsb information, use lsb_release -a. – Eliah Kagan Jun 14 '12 at 19:30
Note on 16.04 there it does not work. Getting message instead "No LSB modules are available." – Marcin May 05 '16 at 05:22

score 79 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 14 '12 at 17:35

79

This should give you what you want:

cat /etc/lsb-release

answered Jun 14 '12 at 17:35

SirCharlo

Using lsb_releasejust gives me "No LSB modules are available". This does the trick. – eis Dec 29 '15 at 16:09
Use lsb_release -ra – Konrad Gajewski May 02 '16 at 08:36
Works on 16.04 unlike lsb_release. – Marcin May 05 '16 at 05:22
Fiddling around with Ubuntu via Docker, and this command works if you're using the 16.04 version and later and 12.04. The one in the accepted answer works for the 14.04 release. – MattD Feb 26 '17 at 05:00

2 Answers2