How to Determine OS Versions Using the Command Line

Knowing your system’s OS version is vital for troubleshooting issues, seeking software support, and ensuring software compatibility. This guide covers every major platform: Windows, Linux (all major distros), macOS, and Unix, using command-line tools that give you instant, accurate results without opening a single settings menu.

Quick Reference: All Commands at a Glance

Use the table below to instantly find the right command for your platform.

Platform	Command	Output
Windows CMD	ver	Windows version
Windows CMD	winver	Version & build dialog
Windows CMD	systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS"	OS details
Windows CMD	wmic os get Caption,Version,BuildNumber	OS + version + build
PowerShell	[System.Environment]::OSVersion	Full OS version
Linux	uname -a	Kernel + architecture
Linux	cat /etc/os-release	Distro + version
Linux	lsb_release -a	Release details
Ubuntu	lsb_release -d	Ubuntu version
Debian	cat /etc/debian_version	Debian version
CentOS/RHEL	cat /etc/redhat-release	RHEL/CentOS version
Fedora	cat /etc/fedora-release	Fedora version
Kali	cat /etc/os-release | grep VERSION	Kali version
WSL	wsl --version	WSL + kernel
macOS	sw_vers	macOS version
macOS	sw_vers -productVersion	Version only
Unix/AIX	uname -a	Kernel + OS details
Unix/AIX	oslevel	AIX version

Checking OS Version on Windows (CMD & PowerShell)

Windows provides several command-line methods to check your OS version. Here are the most reliable ones, from quickest to most detailed.

1. Using the ver Command (Quickest)

Windows: The ver command is the simplest way to display the Windows OS version and copyright information. It works on all Windows versions from XP through Windows 11 and runs without administrator privileges.

ver

Example output:

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.22621.3593]

The number breakdown: 10.0 = Windows 10 / 11 base, 22621 = build number (22H2 in this case), 3593 = update revision.

2. Using winver

Windows The winver command launches a small dialog box that shows your Windows edition, version, build number, and registered user, more human-readable than ver.

winver

This opens the About Windows dialog. It tells you the Windows edition (e.g., Windows 11 Home), version (e.g., 23H2), and OS build number all on one screen. You can run it from the Run dialog (Win+R) or any command prompt.

3. Using systeminfo

Windows The systeminfo command provides comprehensive system information, including OS version, build, install date, processor, RAM, and more. It is ideal when you need full system details.

systeminfo

To filter just the OS-related lines:

systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version" /C:"OS Build Type"

Example output:

OS Name: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
OS Version: 10.0.22621 N/A Build 22621
OS Build Type: Multiprocessor Free

4. Using wmic for Scripting

Windows The Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (wmic) lets you query OS information in a format that is easy to parse in scripts.

wmic os get Caption,Version,BuildNumber

Example output:

BuildNumber Caption Version
22621 Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 10.0.22621

To get the OS architecture:

wmic os get osarchitecture

To get the product name and version together:

wmic os get name,version

5. Using PowerShell

Windows PowerShell provides rich OS version information through .NET and WMI objects.

Get full OS version object:

[System.Environment]::OSVersion

Get just the version string:

[System.Environment]::OSVersion.VersionString

Get OS name and version via CIM (recommended for Windows 10+):

(Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem).Caption
(Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem).Version

Check Windows Server version from the command line:

Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object OsName, OsVersion, WindowsVersion

Example output:

OsName : Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
OsVersion : 10.0.22621
WindowsVersion : 2009

Checking OS Version on Linux

# Full info: kernel name, hostname, kernel release, version, machine, OS
uname -a
# Just the kernel version number
uname -r
# Just the OS/kernel name
uname -s
# Machine hardware (x86_64, aarch64, etc.)
uname -m

Example output of uname -a:

Linux myserver 5.15.0-107-generic #117-Ubuntu SMP Fri Apr 19 02:08:17 UTC 2024 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

# Show all contents
cat /etc/os-release
# Show only the pretty name (e.g., "Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS")
grep PRETTY_NAME /etc/os-release
# Show just the version number
grep VERSION_ID /etc/os-release

Example output:

NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="22.04.4 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS"
VERSION_ID="22.04"
HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/"

3. Using lsb_release

Linux lsb_release prints Linux Standard Base (LSB) information about the distribution. It is available on Debian, Ubuntu, and most derivatives. On minimal installs, you may need to install it first.

# Show all LSB info
lsb_release -a
# Show only the description line
lsb_release -d
# Show only the release number
lsb_release -r
# Show codename only
lsb_release -c

Example output of lsb_release -a:

No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS
Release:        22.04
Codename:       jammy

Install if missing:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install lsb-release
# CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum install redhat-lsb-core

4. Checking Ubuntu Version

Ubuntu uses both lsb_release and its own release file.

# Best method — shows full Ubuntu version
lsb_release -a
# Quick check — just the version number
lsb_release -d
# Alternative — from the release file
cat /etc/ubuntu-release 2>/dev/null || cat /etc/os-release
# Check via the update manager file
cat /etc/lsb-release

Example output:

Description: Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS

5. Checking Debian Version

Debian maintains its own version file alongside the standard /etc/os-release.

# Debian-specific version file
cat /etc/debian_version
# Full info via os-release
cat /etc/os-release
# Check distribution version via lsb_release
lsb_release -a

Example output of cat /etc/debian_version:

12.5

6. Checking CentOS and RHEL Version

CentOS, RHEL, and Red Hat-based systems use a dedicated release file.

# CentOS/RHEL release file
cat /etc/redhat-release
# Rocky Linux / AlmaLinux (RHEL-compatible)
cat /etc/rocky-release
cat /etc/almalinux-release
# Universal method
cat /etc/os-release
# Using rpm to check release version
rpm -q centos-release
rpm -q redhat-release-server

Example output:

# CentOS
CentOS Linux release 7.9.2009 (Core)
# RHEL
Red Hat Enterprise Linux release 9.3 (Plow)

To check the RHEL version from the command line with a single command:

cat /etc/os-release | grep "PRETTY_NAME"

7. Checking Fedora Version

# Fedora-specific release file
cat /etc/fedora-release
# Universal method
cat /etc/os-release
# via rpm
rpm -E %fedora

Example output:

Fedora release 40 (Forty)

8. Checking Kali Linux Version

Kali Linux is a rolling-release distribution. Version information is in the standard files.

# Show Kali version
cat /etc/os-release | grep VERSION
# Full details
cat /etc/os-release
# Kali-specific
cat /etc/kali-release 2>/dev/null || lsb_release -a

Example output:

VERSION="2024.1"
VERSION_ID="2024.1"
VERSION_CODENAME="kali-rolling"

Checking OS Version on macOS

macOS provides the sw_vers command for clean, scriptable version output.

Example output of sw_vers:

You can also use the system_profiler command for detailed information:

Or via the terminal with uname:

uname -a
# Darwin MacBook.local 23.5.0 Darwin Kernel Version 23.5.0 ... x86_64

Checking OS Version on Unix (AIX, Solaris)

Traditional Unix systems use uname plus platform-specific commands.

General Unix (any system):

uname -a
uname -r   # kernel release
uname -s   # OS name
uname -v   # OS version

AIX:

Solaris / Oracle Solaris:

Example AIX output:

Working with a VPS or Dedicated Server?

If you are managing a Linux VPS or Dedicated Server, checking your OS version is often the first step when troubleshooting compatibility issues, applying security patches, or installing software. The commands on this page work for any Linux VPS regardless of the control panel.

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