How to Check CentOS Version With Different Methods

It’s a important part to know the version of the system on which you are working. There are different ways to check CentOS version. CentOS release version has three major parts major release version, minor release version, and data code version. This tutorial will show you different methods to get CentOS version.

Check CentOS version from the Command Line#

It is preferred to check version using command line as it is not depend on anything. So here we are going to check CentOS version using lsb_release (Linux Standard Base) utility. Generally, this method is best because it will work regardless of any desktop environment or version you are using.

Open your terminal and type the following command:

lsb_release -a

It will show output as below:

Output
LSB Version:    :core-4.1-amd64:core-4.1-noarch
Distributor ID: CentOS
Description:    CentOS Linux release 7.6.1810 (Core)
Release:        7.6.1810
Codename:       Core

In above output you can see that Description line is showing OS version. Currently, I am using CentOS Linux release 7.6.1810.

Check Version Using RPM Command#

rpm (Red Hat Package Manager) is a package management tool for CentOS, Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux which are based on Red Hat.

You can use below command to get CentOS version using rpm tool:

rpm --query centos-release

Output
centos-release-7-6.1810.2.el7.centos.x86_64

Check CentOS version using /etc/centos-release file#

You also can get version using centos-release file which is located at /etc/centos-release. It contains package information in CentOS.

cat /etc/centos-release

The output should look like:

Output
CentOS Linux release 7.6.1810 (Core)

Get Version using /etc/os-release file#

You also can check version using os-release file. It contains identification data of operating system and this available only with newer CentOS distribution. This method will work only if you have CentOS 7.

Output
NAME="CentOS Linux"
VERSION="7 (Core)"
ID="centos"
ID_LIKE="rhel fedora"
VERSION_ID="7"
PRETTY_NAME="CentOS Linux 7 (Core)"
ANSI_COLOR="0;31"
CPE_NAME="cpe:/o:centos:centos:7"
HOME_URL="https://www.centos.org/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.centos.org/"
CENTOS_MANTISBT_PROJECT="CentOS-7"
CENTOS_MANTISBT_PROJECT_VERSION="7"
REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT="centos"
REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT_VERSION="7"

Check CentOS Version using hostnamectl command#

Generally, hostnamectl command is used to set hostname in CentOS systems but you also can check the system details using it. Execute below command:

hostnamectl

Output
Static hostname: local.tecnstuff
    Pretty hostname: TecNStuff's Server
          Icon name: computer-vm
            Chassis: vm
         Machine ID: 44dddc11e56e403d8053ecdf0b92d462
            Boot ID: 615f6cb9fc2e4903818a192eddb860bc
     Virtualization: kvm
   Operating System: CentOS Linux 7 (Core)
        CPE OS Name: cpe:/o:centos:centos:7
             Kernel: Linux 3.10.0-957.5.1.el7.x86_64
       Architecture: x86-64

Conclusion#

In this guide, you have learned how to get CentOS version using different methods.

If you have any query or suggestion then leave a comment below.