A few different ways to check the linux distribution and release / version
Ever find yourself in need of figuring out the exact linux distro and release number of the system you are on? As usual in Linux – there are several ways to do this!
This is probably my favorite, because its succinct & cross-platform, but in some cases lsb_release may need to be installed. Comes built-in to current Debian releases:
% lsb_release -d
Description: Debian GNU/Linux 8.10 (jessie)
https://refspecs.linuxfoundation.org/LSB_3.0.0/LSB-PDA/LSB-PDA/lsbrelease.html
This is for Debian & Debian-based systems:
% cat /etc/debian_version
8.10
Here are some more methods:
% hostnamectl
Static hostname: brackin-deb-1
Icon name: computer-vm
Chassis: vm
Machine ID: 48cbccecf9bf47c7a403f21ac21ea1d0
Boot ID: 44eaf92350f2479aa3474b60c419dc15
Virtualization: kvm
Operating System: Debian GNU/Linux 8 (jessie)
Kernel: Linux 3.16.0-4-amd64
https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/hostnamectl.html
% cat /etc/os-release
PRETTY_NAME="Debian GNU/Linux 8 (jessie)"
NAME="Debian GNU/Linux"
VERSION_ID="8"
VERSION="8 (jessie)"
ID=debian
HOME_URL="http://www.debian.org/"
SUPPORT_URL="http://www.debian.org/support"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.debian.org/"
https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/os-release.html