How can you find out which linux distribution you are currently using, from the shell?

Question

Possible Duplicate:
How do I find out what version of Linux is running?

This happens sometimes: I ssh into a machine but I forgot (or never knew) what linux distribution it's running.

How can I find out? I'd like a general way to at least solve this problem for the more popular distributions - I don't mind if it involves several steps, but one single command would be ideal :)

A duplicate of 3331. Lots of helpful stuff there for you. – jldugger Sep 25 '09 at 20:02 — jldugger, Sep 25 '09 at 20:02

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:14

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See:

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:14

Community

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answered Sep 25 '09 at 20:01

Zoredache

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score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 26 '09 at 00:25

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"cat /etc/issue" will show the distribution on most platforms, unless someone has modified it.

answered Sep 26 '09 at 00:25

Aaron Brown

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How can you find out which linux distribution you are currently using, from the shell?

2 Answers2